>>179316, >>179317, >>179318, >>179319, >>179320, >>179321, >>179322, >>179323, >>179324, >>179325, >>179326, >>179327, >>179328, >>179329, >>179330, >>179331, >>179332, >>179333, >>179334, >>179335, >>179336, >>179337, >>179338, >>179339, >>179341, >>179342, >>179343, >>179344, >>179345, >>179346, >>179348, >>179349, >>179350, >>179351, >>179352, >>179353, >>179354, >>179355, >>179356, >>179357, >>179358, >>179359, >>179360, >>179361, >>179363, >>179364, >>179365, >>179366, >>179367, >>179368, >>179369, >>179370, >>179371, >>179372, >>179373, >>179374, >>179375, >>179376, >>179377, >>179378, >>179379, >>179380, >>179381, >>179382, >>179383, >>179384, >>179385, >>179386, >>179387, >>179388, >>179389, >>179390, >>179391, >>179392, >>179393, >>179394, >>179395, >>179396, >>179397, >>179398, >>179399, >>179400, >>179401, >>179402, >>179403, >>179404, >>179405, >>179406, >>179407, >>179408, >>179409, >>179410, >>179411, >>179412, >>179413, >>179414, >>179415, >>179416, >>179417, >>179418, >>179419, >>179420, >>179421, >>179422, >>179423, >>179424, >>179425, >>179426, >>179427, >>179428, >>179429, >>179430, >>179432, >>179433, >>179434, >>179435, >>179436, >>179437
And then in Volume 2, for reasons that you explained, the Special Counsel did not make a determination on whether there was an obstruction of justice crime committed by the President.
Is that fair?
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Robert Mueller: Yes, sir.
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Rep. John Ratcliffe: All right. Now, in explaining that special counsel did not make what you called a traditional prosecution or declination decision, the report on the bottom of page two of Volume Two reads as follows.
The evidence we obtained about the president's actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred.
Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.
The special counsel's job, nowhere does it say that you were to conclusively determine Donald Trump's innocence or that the special counsel report should determine whether or not to exonerate him.
It's not in any of the documents.
It's not in your appointment order.
It's not in the special counsel regulations.
It's not in the OLC opinions.
It's not in the justice manual.
And it's not in the principles of federal prosecution.
Nowhere do those words appear together because respectfully, respectfully, respectfully, Director, it was not the special counsel's job to conclusively determine Donald Trump's innocence or to exonerate him, because the bedrock principle of our justice system is a presumption of innocence.