What We Learned From Mueller’s 7 Hours on Capitol Hill – The New York Times

“I can’t answer that question,” Mr. Mueller replied. It became a frequent refrain.

He repeatedly declined Democrats’ invitations to read passages from his report, consciously depriving Democrats of potentially useful footage of him speaking aloud some of the most damaging material he uncovered.

When Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York, walked through an analysis suggesting that several episodes documented by Mr. Mueller met the criteria for obstruction of justice, the former special counsel tossed cold water his way.

“I don’t subscribe necessarily to the way you analyzed that,” Mr. Mueller said.

The Democrats’ challenge was visible in miniature when Representative Jackie Speier, a California Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, offered Mr. Mueller an open platform to tell the American people why they ought to care about his work. He essentially refused to step onto it.

“We spent substantial time ensuring the integrity of the report,” Mr. Mueller said.

“It is a signal, a flag to those of us who have responsibility to exercise that responsibility, not to let this kind of thing happen again.”

Republicans tried to sow doubts, but Mr. Mueller frustrated them too.

Republicans’ playbook with Mr. Mueller was clear: Trumpet prosecutorial conclusions beneficial to Mr. Trump while trying to sow doubt about the basic fairness of Mr. Mueller, the F.B.I. and his team. More often than not, they met a stiff arm from Mr. Mueller, but succeeded in roughing him up around the edges.

There were questions — sometimes tangled and obscure — about shadowy figures in the investigation, about the supposed bias of Mr. Mueller’s team of investigators, and about charging decisions. Representative John Ratcliffe, Republican of Texas, told Mr. Mueller that he had “inverted burden of proof” by detailing the president’s conduct without charging him with a crime.

“Respectfully, respectfully, you managed to violate every principle in the tradition,” Mr. Ratcliffe said. “I agree with the chairman this morning when he said Donald Trump is not above the law. He’s not, but he damned sure shouldn’t be below the law” either.