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Robert Mueller, Caught in the TV Spotlight Robert Mueller, Caught in the TV Spotlight
(about 1 hour later)
By lunchtime on Wednesday, NBC News had a tracker going on its website: “How many times has Robert Mueller deflected, declined or deferred a question?” (The count had ticked past 100 before noon.) By lunchtime, NBC News had a tracker going on its website: “How many times has Robert Mueller deflected, declined or deferred a question?” (The count had ticked past 100 before noon.)
On CNN, the legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin called the former special counsel’s testimony “phlegmatic.” On The Drudge Report, it was “Dazed and Confused.” “A little unsure of himself,” said Paula Reid of CBS. “The years have clearly taken a toll on the Bob Mueller we used to see,” said Pete Williams of NBC.On CNN, the legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin called the former special counsel’s testimony “phlegmatic.” On The Drudge Report, it was “Dazed and Confused.” “A little unsure of himself,” said Paula Reid of CBS. “The years have clearly taken a toll on the Bob Mueller we used to see,” said Pete Williams of NBC.
And on Fox News, in words that would soon be hailed by President Trump’s Twitter feed, the political anchor Chris Wallace laid down a brutal verdict: “This has been a disaster for the Democrats, and a disaster for the reputation of Robert Mueller.” And on Fox News, in words that would later turn up on President Trump’s Twitter feed, the political anchor Chris Wallace laid down a brutal verdict: “This has been a disaster for the Democrats, and a disaster for the reputation of Robert Mueller.”
Few expected Mr. Mueller, in his widely televised testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, to match Mr. Trump’s supernova TV persona. Stolid and lawyerly, his button-down collar securely fastened, Mr. Mueller looked reluctant from the start to submit to a political spectacle. Few in the media business, which had long anticipated the potential fireworks (and potential ratings) of Mr. Mueller’s televised testimony before Congress on Wednesday, expected the veteran prosecutor to match Mr. Trump’s supernova TV persona. Stolid and lawyerly, his button-down collar securely fastened, Mr. Mueller looked reluctant from the start to submit to a cable news spectacle.
But even TV anchors were surprised by the halting, donnish presence of Mr. Mueller on their screens. Caught by a camera angled slightly upward, emphasizing his sunken eyes, Mr. Mueller demurred, deferred and generally played the reticent speaker — a far cry from the fiery pronouncements delivered by James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, during his televised testimony in 2017.
Back then, Mr. Comey, more comfortable in the media glare, delivered some memorable one-liners, including the much-quoted “Lordy, I hope there are tapes.” On Wednesday, Mr. Mueller was less accommodating. “He was extraordinarily frustrating as a witness, because he continually derailed everyone’s soapbox,” the CNN legal analyst Laura Coates said on-air.
[Read highlights from the testimony here.][Read highlights from the testimony here.]
Repeatedly, the former F.B.I. director told his questioners: “You’re going to have to repeat that for me.” There was some stammering, some throat-clearing and an occasional blank look when a lawmaker raised a commonplace reference, like the opposition-research firm Fusion GPS. Repeatedly, Mr. Mueller interrupted lawmakers to ask for a repeat of their question. There was some un-telegenic stammering, throat-clearing and an occasional seemingly blank look.
“It has to be said that he is not a very assertive witness,” Andrea Mitchell, of NBC News, said during the first break in proceedings. “He has not pushed back against very aggressive Republican questioning. And he does seem to be frail in his grasp of the report that he himself oversaw.”“It has to be said that he is not a very assertive witness,” Andrea Mitchell, of NBC News, said during the first break in proceedings. “He has not pushed back against very aggressive Republican questioning. And he does seem to be frail in his grasp of the report that he himself oversaw.”
On cable news, the analysis at times bordered on theater criticism, and few pundits suggested that the day’s questioning had undermined the facts uncovered by Mr. Mueller in his encyclopedia-size report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.On cable news, the analysis at times bordered on theater criticism, and few pundits suggested that the day’s questioning had undermined the facts uncovered by Mr. Mueller in his encyclopedia-size report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
But the event Wednesday, which pre-empted daytime programming on every national broadcast network, was made for TV. And it can be hard to separate assessments of Mr. Mueller’s performance from the criteria that Americans use to judge others’ credibility in the soap opera of our national politics. But the event on Wednesday, which pre-empted daytime programming on every national broadcast network, was by its nature made for TV. And for the pundits offering play-by-play commentary, it could be hard to separate assessments of Mr. Mueller’s performance from the criteria that Americans use to judge other players’ credibility in the soap opera of national politics.
“Democrats wanted this hearing to be the movie version of the Mueller report,” said Major Garrett of CBS News. “Did Robert Mueller, the special counsel, act as the matinee idol, or the central galvanizing figure of that drama? No, he did not. Even when asked to read things from his own report, he refused.”“Democrats wanted this hearing to be the movie version of the Mueller report,” said Major Garrett of CBS News. “Did Robert Mueller, the special counsel, act as the matinee idol, or the central galvanizing figure of that drama? No, he did not. Even when asked to read things from his own report, he refused.”
Some attributed Mr. Mueller’s monosyllabism to a boxer’s feints: He was unwilling to grant either Democrats or Republicans a knockout moment that would condemn or exonerate Mr. Trump. The former special counsel had long made clear he would not discuss his investigation beyond “the four corners” of his report. Some commentators attributed Mr. Mueller’s monosyllabism to a boxer’s feints: He was unwilling to grant either Democrats or Republicans a knockout moment that would condemn or exonerate Mr. Trump. The former special counsel had long made clear he would not discuss his investigation beyond “the four corners” of his report.
“Mueller has never cared a whit about public appearances or how he came off in the media, because he has always subscribed to the D.O.J. rule that you speak through your words and actions in court,” Matthew Miller, a former chief spokesman for the Justice Department under President Obama, wrote in an email on Wednesday. “Mueller has never cared a whit about public appearances or how he came off in the media, because he has always subscribed to the D.O.J. rule that you speak through your words and actions in court,” Matthew Miller, a former chief spokesman for the Justice Department under President Barack Obama, wrote in an email on Wednesday.
But Mr. Miller, a sharp critic of Mr. Trump, said that Mr. Mueller’s approach was “inadequate.”But Mr. Miller, a sharp critic of Mr. Trump, said that Mr. Mueller’s approach was “inadequate.”
“It would have been better for him to come to Congress ready to answer questions about the president’s conduct and how it should be interpreted, rather than punting over and over again,” he said.“It would have been better for him to come to Congress ready to answer questions about the president’s conduct and how it should be interpreted, rather than punting over and over again,” he said.
Over the course of his 20-month-long investigation, Mr. Mueller not only declined to speak, he barely appeared in public. It was a deliberate strategy, minimizing critics’ ability to politicize his work and maximizing the aura that came to be attached to his name. Over the course of his 20-month-long investigation, Mr. Mueller not only declined to speak to reporters, he barely appeared in public. It was a deliberate strategy, minimizing critics’ ability to politicize his work and maximizing the aura that came to be attached to his name.
Hidden away in his undisclosed location, Mr. Mueller became the product of others’ projections: a silent, noble savior to some, a conspiracy-monger to others.Hidden away in his undisclosed location, Mr. Mueller became the product of others’ projections: a silent, noble savior to some, a conspiracy-monger to others.
On Wednesday, on the small screen, came the big reveal: Mr. Mueller was merely human, after all.On Wednesday, on the small screen, came the big reveal: Mr. Mueller was merely human, after all.