Editorial

Mueller Pulls A Comey — Then Runs Away

REUTERS/Larry Downing/File Photo

Derek Hunter Contributor
Font Size:

On today’s show, we get into the spectacle that was the “press conference” held by former special counsel Robert Mueller yesterday that wasn’t a press conference at all and more of a testimony without any questions.

Plus, the media accuses Trump of demanding the USS John McCain be hidden from view, and Democratic Party establishment raises the bar to qualify for future debates in order to protect itself.

Listen to the show:

The Daily Caller’s Chuck Ross was in town, so we got his reaction to the Mueller press conference that wasn’t a press conference at all. Press conferences involve taking questions and providing answers. Mueller did none of that. He read a statement reiterating points from his report then said he did not want to speak of the investigation again and left the podium.

Once again, like former FBI director James Comey did, Mueller accused the president of obstructing justice by stopped short of charging him – accusation by allegation and inference, not evidence. Mueller implied he didn’t charge the president because Department of Justice rules didn’t allow him to.

But nothing — no rule or regulation — prevented Mueller from reporting that he would have charged Trump with anything were he able to. Mueller chose not to be direct, chose to play it coy, and chose to feed the Democratic Party’s narrative. Also, like his report, he failed to provide evidence.

Mueller turned the presumption of innocence on its head. He made sure to say the Russians charged in the election interference probe were due the presumption of innocence, then implied the president was guilty without charging him, either officially or verbally, with anything.

Will Democrats still insist he testify now that they have what they wanted from him politically? Or will they abandon their calls for public testimony because they don’t want Republicans to have the chance to ask him questions? We get into all of it and explain our conclusions.

It was another example of Donald Trump’s narcissism, journalists declared.

The president didn’t even want to see the USS John McCain with the rest of the Navy ships during his trip to Japan. Just the sight of his name was triggering to the president, the story went. The Wall Street Journal had a picture of the ship’s name covered with a tarp and a story to back up the claim. The White House denied it, the president denied it, the Navy has denied it.

The picture, it turns out, was from the day before the president’s arrival and the ship and its name were on full display the whole time. But the narrative was fed, which seems to be all that matters in journalism anymore. We explain.

The Democratic Party is doubling the qualifications to get on the debate stage for future debates. The nearly two dozen candidates qualifying for the first debate are too much for party leaders, so they’re changing the standards. They want to protect the front-runners from the upstarts and keep some of the crazier, less-seasoned candidates from the public view. In 2016, the party moved to protect Hillary Clinton from challenge, are they doing the same for Joe Biden? We get into it.

Help spread the word about The Daily Daily Caller Podcast. Please take a minute to rate and review on iTunes, share on social media and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode:

SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY DAILY CALLER PODCAST ON ITUNES

SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY CALLER ON SOUNDCLOUD

SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY DAILY CALLER PODCAST ON STITCHER

The Daily Daily Caller Podcast is a daily look and mocking of the news from a conservative perspective. Hosted by Derek Hunter, it is available in audio form Monday-Thursday and will have a video option on Fridays.

Derek Hunter is a columnist and contributing editor for The Daily Caller and author of “Outrage, INC: How the Liberal Mob Ruined Science, Journalism, and Hollywood” from HarperCollins, available nowPick Up a copy, or several copies, here. Send compliments and complaints to derek@dailycaller.com or follow him on Twitter at @derekahunter.