Special counsel Robert Mueller, breaking a two-year silence on his investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, announced his resignation from the Justice Department on Wednesday so that he can "return to private life."
Mueller's statement was expected to be relatively brief, about eight minutes, and Attorney General William Barr was given a heads-up about what he would say, according to people who were not authorized to provide details on the record and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The statement came amid demands for Mueller to testify on Capitol Hill about his findings and tension with Barr.
Special counsel Robert Mueller said Wednesday he believed he was constitutionally barred from charging President Donald Trump with a crime but pointedly emphasized that his report did not exonerate the president. He cautioned lawmakers who have been negotiating for his public testimony that he would not go beyond his report in the event he appears before Congress.
The comments were Mueller's first public statements since his appointment as special counsel two years ago.
"If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so," Mueller said. "We did not however make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime."
Trump, who has repeatedly and falsely claimed that Mueller's report cleared him of obstruction of justice, modified that contention somewhat shortly after the special counsel's remarks. He tweeted, "There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent. The case is closed!"
Mueller's statement came amid demands for Mueller to testify on Capitol Hill about his findings and tension with Attorney General William Barr.
Barr has said he was surprised Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether the president had criminally obstructed justice, though Mueller in his report and again in his public statement Wednesday said that he had no choice because of a Justice Department legal opinion that says a sitting president cannot be indicted.
Mueller, for his part, complained privately to Barr that he believed a four-page letter from the attorney general summarizing his main conclusions did not adequately represent his findings.
MUELLER SAYS CHARGING TRUMP 'NOT AN OPTION'
Mueller says charging a president with a crime was "not an option" his team could consider in the Russia investigation.
Mueller says that he was bound by longstanding Justice Department opinions that say a president can't be indicted while in office.
In his first public comments in the probe, Mueller said on Wednesday "it would be unfair" to potentially accuse someone of a crime when the person couldn't stand trial to defend himself.
Mueller's comments echoed the findings in his public report.
Mueller's report revealed that President Donald Trump tried to seize control of the Russia probe and force Mueller's removal to stop him from investigating potential obstruction of justice by the Republican president. Trump has called the investigation a "witch hunt."
MUELLER CITES 'EFFORTS' TO MEDDLE IN ELECTION
Mueller says there were "multiple, systematic efforts" to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that "deserves the attention of every American."
Mueller made the comments Wednesday as he ended an almost 10-minute statement about his two-year investigation into Russian election interference and obstruction of justice. Mueller detailed that meddling in an indictment last year, charging 12 Russian military intelligence officers with hacking Democratic email accounts.
Mueller's probe found there was no evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign colluded or conspired with Russia. But a report released at the end of the investigation detailed many contacts between Russia and the campaign.
The Republican president has repeatedly called Mueller's investigation a "witch hunt."
"RUSSIA REPORT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF"
Mueller is not ruling out testifying before Congress but is serving notice that he does not intend to go beyond what has already been revealed in his report.
Mueller said Wednesday he and the special counsel team chose their words carefully in the report and "the work speaks for itself."
Mueller says that the report is his "testimony" and that he "would not provide information beyond that which is already public in any appearance before Congress."
He says that beyond what he said in his public statement and in his written work he doesn't believe it is "appropriate" for him "to speak further about the investigation."
