[POST UPDATED]
As Katie noted, at 11 a.m., Special Counsel Robert Mueller will deliver a statement on his investigation into Russian collusion. It will be delivered at the Justice Department. No questions will be taken. This was not a blitz; the White House knew in advance.
A person familiar with the matter tells me Special Counsel Mueller will deliver a “substantial” statement at 11 a.m. today, and the statement is NOT a response to reporting about claims in Michael Wolff’s soon-to-be released book. pic.twitter.com/FYulnotgoW
— Matt Zapotosky (@mattzap) May 29, 2019
Special Counsel Robert Mueller to make a statement on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election https://t.co/tOWQePwP26 pic.twitter.com/KSqIOhXOg1
— Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) May 29, 2019
Frankly, I’m going to make a wager that this is going to be another nothingburger. The report is public, folks. We know there was no collusion. It’s quite definitive on that front. It has the blessing of the Department of Justice as well. Sorry, liberal media, there’s nothing new that’s going to be unveiled here. We’ve seen this movie before. We’re re-watching it as we speak. There’s a lot of hubbub over something related to the 2016 and Russia, and then a wet noodle of a story at the end of it. It also usually ends with the liberal media being mocked for peddling a pure myth. The Trump-Russia collusion narrative is, after all, pure myth.
As we approach the time of Mueller’s remarks, Politico’s Tim Alberta had a rather sobering take on everyone perking up over this announcement.
All the “whoas” and exclamation points and eyeball emojis for a DOJ-sanctioned statement?
— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) May 29, 2019
If Mueller had a bomb to drop he’d go on 60 Minutes.
Whatever Mueller pronounces today, it won't change the fact that zero Americans were indicted for conspiracy with Russia, and it won't change that his Report destroyed the entire "collusion" narrative. But Dems will latch onto anything he says to further their impeachment crusade
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) May 29, 2019
Mueller still occupies the Special Counsel position (and thus remains an employee of the Justice Department) so it's possible that he just announces his work is complete and he is leaving the DOJ. Which will make it easier to get him to testify before Congress
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) May 29, 2019
“If Mueller had a bomb to drop, he’d go on 60 Minutes,” he said.
Others noted that it’s quite possible Mueller just says he’s worked on this for 18 months, gives another summary that isn’t new about the investigation, and leaves.
To show how unserious this whole circus has become, we have reporters even making little jokes about this whole announcement, saying that Mueller will probably give his take on the final season of Game of Thrones. Now, that would be highly entertaining, maybe as much as the liberal media and the Democrats peddling a straight trash myth about Russian collusion, only to have their main guy—Mueller—blow up their spot.
Robert Mueller is just going to give his take on Game of Thrones
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) May 29, 2019
(Robert Mueller steps up to podium.)
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) May 29, 2019
Mueller: After an extensive, 18-month investigation and analysis by my staff and hundreds of interviews, we have definitively concluded that Bran should not have become king. Our full report will be released shortly.”
(He leaves.)
UPDATE: Well, it was mostly unremarkable presser, except for that fact that Mueller all but gave an impeachment referral to Congress. Is it a bombshell? No. We all know Democrats want Trump gone, that impeachment has always been on the table even before the 2018 midterms, and that every so-called oversight hearing by Democrats from Nadler and company are really de facto impeachment proceedings. So, we got a new wave of Russia collusion hysteria coming.