Mueller said Trump could be charged with a crime, including obstruction of justice, after he leaves office

Leah Millis/Reuters

Robert Mueller

• In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, the former special counsel Robert Mueller repeated his conclusion from his report that President Donald Trump could be charged with a crime, including obstruction of justice, after leaving office. 
• On the issue of obstruction, Mueller's report outlined 11 instances of possible obstruction of justice, but did not "come to a traditional prosecutorial decision" as to whether Trump obstructed justice.
• Mueller said that he could not indict Trump because of prevailing guidance from the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel that prohibits indicting a sitting president.
• Trump is also an un-indicted co-conspirator to federal campaign finance violations that his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to in August 2018.
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In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, the former special counsel Robert Mueller repeated his conclusion from his report that President Donald Trump could be charged with a crime after leaving office. 

Mueller confirmed to Republican Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado that Trump could be charged with a crime, including obstruction of justice, after he left the office of the presidency.

On April 18, the Department of Justice released a redacted version of special counsel Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 US election and whether President Donald Trump and other administration officials attempted to obstruct federal investigations.

On Wednesday, Mueller is testifying before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees on his findings. 

Read more: LIVE: Mueller testifies on Capitol Hill at blockbuster hearing

On the issue of obstruction, Mueller's report outlined 11 instances of possible obstruction of justice, but did not "come to a traditional prosecutorial decision" as to whether Trump obstructed justice, saying the report "did not exonerate" Trump of any crime. 

"If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state," the report said. "Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment."

Mueller said both in a May 29 public statement and in his testimony that he could not indict Trump because of prevailing guidance from the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel that prohibits indicting a sitting president.

Because Mueller could not indict Trump, he could also not accuse him of obstruction without giving Trump a chance to defend himself in court. 

The Mueller report said that, in many cases, Trump failed in his efforts to impede the Mueller probe and other federal investigations because his own aides chose not to follow through with his requests.

The 11 instances of possible obstruction of justice included his firing of FBI Director James Comey in May 2017, his attempts to fire the special counsel who was appointed after Comey's dismissal, and signaling that he would be opening to pardoning Michael Flynn and Michael Cohen.

Trump is also an un-indicted co-conspirator to federal campaign finance violations that his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to in August 2018.

Read more: Democrats hope Mueller's highly-anticipated testimony will help them bring his report to life - but their biggest obstacle could be Mueller himself

Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal charges in the Southern District of New York including charges of tax fraud, bank fraud, and violating federal campaign finance law by making a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels - far over the legal limit of $2,700 - to buy her silence on an alleged affair she had with Trump.

According to Lawfare, the statute of limitations for most federal crimes is five years, but courts will allow for certain cases to be prosecuted after the statute of limitations has expired under the "equitable tolling" principle.