Donald J. Trump’s delusion continues to take my breath away.
He said yet again in that remarkable interview with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos that special counsel Robert Mueller cleared him of colluding with Russians during the 2016 campaign and of obstructing justice.
Hold on! Mr. President, I heard Mueller’s comments. I have read his report. I’ve followed the news.
How can I say this more clearly: Mueller did not “clear” the president of any charges that he obstructed justice. Mueller said with crystal clarity that had he found no evidence of obstruction that he would have “said so.”
He didn’t. He did not absolve Trump of obstructing justice. He said he could not issue an indictment because of Department of Justice rules that say a “sitting president” cannot be indicted.
Is that an “exoneration”? No. It isn’t. It leaves the door wide open for Congress to do whatever it deems necessary to repair the damage done by Trump’s repeated efforts to obstruct the investigation into the Russian involvement in the 2016 election.
And yet …
Trump said repeatedly to Stephanopoulos that Mueller cleared him of collusion and obstruction.
This guy is making me want to scream at the top of my lungs!
But the news actually gets worse. Trump has a path toward winning the public relations battle with those of us who dispute his “exoneration” assertion. He has this enormous platform he can use to keep telling falsehoods that somehow become part of the narrative.
I continue believe the man is delusional in the extreme.
And he’s dangerous.