Former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz wrote a Wednesday op-ed in The Hill lambasting special counsel Robert Mueller for comments he made during a press conference earlier in the day.
“If we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so,” Mueller said during his first press conference since submitting the report to Attorney General William Barr. “We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime. The introduction to the volume two of our report explains that decision.” (RELATED: Mueller Says His Report Is His ‘Testimony’)
Dershowitz took exception with this statement in his piece, “Dershowitz: Shame on Robert Mueller for exceeding his role.”
He began by saying that what Mueller said Wednesday “is worse than the statement made by then FBI Director James Comey regarding Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign,” regarding the recklessness with which she handled classified material.
“He went beyond the conclusion of his report and gave a political gift to Democrats in Congress who are seeking to institute impeachment proceedings against President Trump,” Dershowitz wrote. “By implying that President Trump might have committed obstruction of justice, Mueller effectively invited Democrats to institute impeachment proceedings. Obstruction of justice is a ‘high crime and misdemeanor’ which, under the Constitution, authorizes impeachment and removal of the president.”
FBI Director Robert Mueller is sworn in to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing on “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),” on Capitol Hill in Washington September 17, 2008. REUTERS/Molly Riley
Dershowitz went on to explain that he previously defended Mueller and viewed him as non-partisan, but he has “now changed my mind.”
He wrote, “By putting his thumb, indeed his elbow, on the scale of justice in favor of impeachment based on obstruction of justice, Mueller has revealed his partisan bias. He also has distorted the critical role of a prosecutor in our justice system.”
As the former professor claimed, a number of Democrats, including Democratic New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, have announced their intention to follow the pathway Mueller set for them.
Speaker Pelosi said Wednesday, “Many constituents want to impeach the president. But we want do do what is right and what gets results what gets results.”