MSNBC’s Brian Williams interrupted the network’s coverage of Attorney General William Barr’s hearing to “fact check” Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham on collusion.
After Graham stated that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report demonstrated that no collusion occurred between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia, Williams interrupted the broadcast of the hearing to dispute Graham’s claim. (RELATED: Rod Rosenstein Defends Handling Of Mueller Report)
“We’re reluctant to do this, we rarely do,” Williams said about interrupting the broadcast of the hearing. “The chairman of the Judiciary Committee just said that Mueller found there was no collusion. That is not correct.”
Senate Judiciary Cmte. Chairman Graham says Special Counsel Mueller found “no collusion, no coordination, no conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.”
Watch @NicolleDWallace and Brian Williams fact check this claim: https://t.co/2AzwyfP45i pic.twitter.com/q7SiyB3n1L
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 1, 2019
In his final report, Mueller was unable to establish that any collusion occurred between the Trump campaign and Russia, but demurred on whether or not the president attempted to obstruct the investigation. (RELATED: The Kremlin Breaks Silence On Mueller Report)
The report stated there was “not sufficient” evidence “to charge any Trump campaign official as an unregistered agent of the Russian government or other Russian principal.”
On the issue of obstruction, Mueller did not reach a conclusion one way or another.
“[I]f we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment,” Mueller’s team wrote.
Barr is testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, a day after a letter to the attorney general from Mueller — which expressed frustration with Barr’s initial summary of his report — was made public.
“There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation. This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations,” Mueller wrote.
