Some take-aways from the Mueller hearings -- morning session on obstruction.

The morning session with the House Judiciary Committee focused on evidence of obstruction of justice by President Trump.    Former Justice Department official and currently political analyst for MSNBC Chuck Rosenberg had this memorable line of characterization:  "Some things are exciting, but not important.    This was important, but not exciting."

In fact, there was almost nothing really new in substance;  but some things got verbalized and may have been news to people who haven't been paying attention very carefully since Mueller's report came out.    But it was very important nevertheless just because it would have been news to many.  And there were a few important clarifications from Mueller that I'll highlight later.

Mueller had the energy level of a wet dishrag.   Some commentators who have known him in prior years say that this is not the Robert Mueller they knew even a few years ago.

I even wondered if he may have some beginning organic brain decline.   He was often halting in his speech, searching for words.   He had trouble following the quick questions from committee members who each had only five minutes and thus talked fast, giving page references in the report, then not waiting for Mueller to find the page before plunging ahead with the question, leaving him struggling to keep up and frequently having to ask for it to be repeated.

More than 100 times in the morning alone, Mueller declined to answer a question, citing the various areas he could not get into -- like internal deliberations process, anything having to do with an ongoing investigation in another department, or anything that was in the slightest bit speculative.   Just the facts in the report.

Even during the ongoing morning session, people were tweeting that Mueller's performance was "a disaster."    I perhaps wouldn't go quite that far, but it was pretty bad.   This was supposed to be the hearing that "brings the Mueller report to life."   Instead, it was boring.

Here's what noted constitutional legal scholar Lawrence Tribe tweeted about the morning session:
   "Much as I hate to say it, this morning’s hearing was a disaster. Far from breathing life into his damning report, the tired Robert Mueller sucked the life out of it. The effort to save democracy and the rule of law from this lawless president has been set back, not advanced."

On the other hand, Mueller did agree with a questioner that there was evidence that the president committed acts of obstruction of justice.   And he did initially agree that, had it not been for the Office of Legal Council opinion that a sitting president cannot be indicted, he would have indicted the president.   But then later, he walked that back a bit -- but he left the clear impression that there is sufficient evidence for indictment, saying "yes," when asked if the president could be indicted after he leaves office.

Here is perhaps the most important -- unremarked upon -- take-away.   Not a single one of the Republicans even tried to refute the truth of anything in the report.  They went after the "biased," "Trump-hating" investigators, the origin and process of the investigation, not the substance.

More in another post about the afternoon session on the Russian interference in our election.   I'll go ahead and say, though, that whatever Mueller had for lunch, he should have had for breakfast.    He was much more energetic, alert, involved, and quick-witted.

Ralph