"Mueller was an INDEPENDENT counsel. Meaning he did not operate under anyone's policies."
You're 20 years or so behind the times. I don't think there has been an independent counsel since Ken Starr.
Mueller was a Special Counsel, not an independent counsel. The law has changed - he's no longer independent, he is hired by and reports to the AG or Deputy AG. If he were independent, why was there the possibility that he would be fired? If he were independent, why was releasing the report Barr's decision rather than Mueller's?
As an employee of the DOJ, he was required to follow their policies, and he states that in his report. Mueller has a reputation of never going outside the chain of command - the policy is you can't indict, so he didn't indict. He laid out the evidence he found so that others - most likely Congress - could make a decision.
And now we have the curious spectacle of a President trying to suppress any further review of a report that he claims completely exonertaes him. Why? If it exonerates you, you should be welcoming that review. |