Chris Wallace says Mueller hearing has been a disaster for the Democrats and Robert Mueller's reputation
'Fox News Sunday' host Chris Wallace says Mueller's uncertainty during his House testimony raises questions about the degree of control he had over the Russia investigation.
Even on the left-leaning MSNBC, some pundits portrayed former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's testimony as a letdown for Democratic interests.
Jeremy Bash, who served as an adviser during former President Obama's administration, blasted Mueller's testimony as "boring" and called him "ineffective" in defending his work. "I fear that this hearing set back efforts to hold the president accountable," Bash said after Mueller's testimony on Wednesday.
He also seemed to lament Mueller's lack of "passion" about whether or not Trump's conduct was "concerning."
Former Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., similarly blasted Mueller as "not a very good witness" and argued that Democrats "have to be disappointed" with his apparently tepid defense of his team and their work on the Russia investigation. McCaskill added that Democrats failed to bring the Russia issue to "life," noting that they framed the hearing as something more than it turned out to be.
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McCaskill also indicated that Mueller's refusal to answer many of the Judiciary Committee's questions emboldened Republicans to make more exaggerated claims about the investigation.
When MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace weighed in, she suggested that the hearing allowed both parties to use the testimony as fodder. She also pushed back on Bash's criticism of Mueller, saying that it's probably a "badge of honor" for him to be considered "boring."
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., while also appearing on MSNBC, praised Mueller as an "incredible patriot." Wallace, however, said that Mueller's testimony failed to clear up confusion about obstruction of justice following his report. She also agreed with a guest who claimed the testimony didn't change any of the facts surrounding the investigation.
While Democrats were hoping for a memorable hearing performance that might offer clear-cut testimony on crimes by the president, the result of hours of grueling testimony -- like the report itself -- was more ambiguous. Mueller at times appeared flustered, often asking lawmakers to repeat questions while referring back to the report or stating topics were outside his purview whenever questioners sought to drag him outside the bounds of his written findings.
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Mueller notably declared Wednesday that, despite Trump's assertions to the contrary, the report does not exonerate the president of obstruction of justice.
Mueller also stood by his findings that there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians during the 2016 election.
Fox News' Alex Pappas contributed to this report.