WASHINGTON — Robert Mueller isn’t just a belt-and-suspenders type prosecutor when it comes to following all the rules.
“He’s belt-and-suspenders and an extra pair of underwear in case his pants fall down,” says Paul Rosenzweig, who was senior counsel to the Ken Starr investigation of Bill Clinton back in the ‘90s.
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Mueller’s famously buttoned-up approach may have served him well in his storied career as a prosecutor, but it doesn’t necessarily make for great TV.
Plenty of other prosecutors would have played it more aggressively, Rosenzweig said. In fact, the potential obstruction of justice case against Trump laid out in the Mueller report is stronger than the one Starr used to get Clinton impeached, Rosenzweig said. (Clinton was later acquitted by the Senate.)
Read: Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Mueller’s 5-Hour Testimony
But nobody should have expected Mueller to stand up before Congress and say as much, Rosenzweig said — because that’s not who Mueller is, and also because Mueller had a different set of marching orders than Starr, who was required to inform Congress about any impeachable offenses.
“Robert Mueller wouldn’t give you ice with water unless you asked,” Rosenzweig said.
VICE News watched Mueller’s performance with Rosenzweig, who offered up his reflections on what it’s like to bring a report documenting a president’s indiscretions to Capitol Hill.
Cover: Former special counsel Robert Mueller, is sworn in before he testifies before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on his report on Russian election interference, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, July 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
