Rep. Jayapal on Mueller statement: ‘It’s time for Congress to do our job’
May 29, 2019, 4:54 PM
House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Pramila Jayapal. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Washington State Democrats balked at overt calls for impeachment Wednesday, in the wake of a press conference from Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Despite that, many still called for further investigation in Congress.
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“No one is above the law, and Congress must respond with full force to the President’s abuses of power, repeated cover-ups and ongoing obstruction of justice,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal said in a news release, sent shortly after Mueller’s press conference.
Mueller reiterated the conclusions of his written report, highlighting the Justice Department’s standing policy of not indicting a sitting president, and stopped short of exonerating President Trump on allegations he obstructed justice during the investigation.
That’s had some interpreting it as a call to have lawmakers step in.
“The Special Counsel’s office did their job; now it’s time for Congress to do our job,” said Rep. Jayapal.
Washington Rep. Derek Kilmer agreed with Jayapal on the need for further investigation.
“The American people understand and expect Congress to fulfill its oversight role,” Kilmer told KTTH’s Jason Rantz.
That being so, Rep. Kilmer was clear that at least for him, impeachment is still a ways off.
“The findings of the Mueller report are too serious to ignore, but Congress needs to take things one step at a time; no one’s above the law, not even the president,” he noted. “But those committees have an obligation to follow the facts and and see where that goes.”
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Both Kilmer and Jayapal also cited concerns over what Mueller called “multiple, systemic efforts by Russian intelligence to interfere in our election.”
Jayapal pushed for President Trump and Senate Republicans to hold Russia accountable, and prevent further interference in future elections.
Kilmer in turn touted bipartisan legislation to address just that, requiring political ads on the internet to disclose donors. The bill has already passed out of the House, and next moves to the Republican-controlled Senate.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee didn’t release a full statement, but did take to Twitter to point out that Trump wasn’t fully exonerated by the Mueller report.
Robert Mueller made it clear: No exoneration.
— Jay Inslee (@JayInslee) May 29, 2019
