Robert Mueller Breaks His Silence

<p>Robert Mueller, the special counsel, discussed his investigation of Russian election interference for the first time on Wednesday. He did not absolve President Trump of obstruction of justice, saying: “If we had enough confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.” Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, who has been covering the special counsel investigation for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>The news conference presented an extraordinary spectacle of a top law enforcement official<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/us/politics/mueller-special-counsel.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> publicly stating that the president’s conduct warranted a criminal investigation</a>, even though it was impossible to indict him for any crimes.</li><li>Here’s<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/us/politics/mueller-transcript.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> the full transcript of Mr. Mueller’s statement</a>. </li></ul>