Special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE, in his first public comments on his two-year investigation surrounding President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE and his campaign, said Wednesday that his office did not charge Trump with a crime because it “was not an option” under Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations.

Mueller, in a dramatic appearance at DOJ headquarters, said it would have been impossible to bring Trump to court and that his final report clearly spelled out that investigators did not conclude that the president was innocent of a crime.

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“After that investigation, if we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said that,” Mueller said during his eight-minute address.

Mueller’s statement, which he said he hopes and expects be his last public remarks on the report, is likely to amp up pressure on Democrats in Congress to impeach Trump.

While he didn’t mention impeachment directly, Mueller said the Constitution requires a "process other than the criminal justice system" to take disciplinary action against a sitting president.

Some Democrats in Congress are pushing for Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiHoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at Supreme Court McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE (D-Calif.) to start an impeachment inquiry against Trump, after Mueller laid out evidence of possible obstruction of justice by the president in his report.

But Pelosi and other top House Democrats have shied away from starting such proceedings, pointing to recent victories in court over Trump in their ongoing investigations as reason that impeachment isn’t necessary at this time.

Reading carefully from his prepared statement, Mueller said Wednesday that the DOJ guidance, in the form of an opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel, "explicitly permits the investigation of a sitting president because it’s important to preserve evidence when memories are fresh and documents are available."

And he noted that the opinion would have prohibited him from filing a charge under seal that could be made public once Trump left office.

Mueller, who declined to take questions from reporters, did not clarify whether his office would have charged Trump with a crime if the DOJ guidance had not been in place.

But he said that "it would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge."

Half of Mueller's 448-page long report released last month laid out a case that Trump may have sought to obstruct Mueller's probe, but the special counsel's office declined to bring forward such a charge.

Attorney General William Barr Bill BarrHarris faces pivotal moment with Supreme Court battle Hillicon Valley: DOJ proposes tech liability shield reform to Congress | Treasury sanctions individuals, groups tied to Russian malign influence activities | House Republican introduces bill to set standards for self-driving cars McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE later said that he and then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Rod RosensteinDOJ kept investigators from completing probe of Trump ties to Russia: report Five takeaways from final Senate Intel Russia report FBI officials hid copies of Russia probe documents fearing Trump interference: book MORE reviewed the evidence, and found that it was insufficient to charge Trump with a crime.

Trump and his allies have pointed to Mueller not bringing forward an obstruction charge as evidence of the president’s innocence, even as Mueller has made clear that his report did not exonerate Trump.

The president highlighted that point in a tweet sent shortly after Mueller’s remarks.

“There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our country, a person is innocent,” Trump tweeted. “The case is closed!”

But other Democrats aren’t buying that argument.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerDemocrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Schumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE (D-N.Y.) said in a statement after Mueller’s remarks that while the Mueller couldn’t bring charges against Trump under DOJ policy, “the Special Counsel has clearly demonstrated that President Trump is lying about the Special Counsel’s findings, lying about the testimony of key witnesses in the Special Counsel’s report, and is lying in saying that the Special Counsel found no obstruction and no collusion.”

“Given that Special Counsel Mueller was unable to pursue criminal charges against the President, it falls to Congress to respond to the crimes, lies and other wrongdoing of President Trump – and we will do so. No one, not even the President of the United States, is above the law,” Nadler said.

It is unclear if Nadler will subpoena Mueller to testify before his panel.

This report was last updated at 1:47 p.m.

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