Guy Reschenthaler: Mueller show’s over; it’s time to move on

For nearly three years, the American people were told that President Trump colluded with the Russians in the 2016 election. They were also told that former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation would prove this, with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., going so far as to say there was “plenty of evidence of collusion.” Yet, when Mueller published his report and found there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, congressional Democrats doubled down.

Since taking back the House, my Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee have held two empty-chair hearings, authorized more than a dozen subpoenas and sent more than 80 document requests in their effort to target Trump. Now, after six hours of testimony from Mueller, the findings of his investigation and the takeaways from the hearing could not be clearer: There was no obstruction, no collusion.

Mueller’s testimony to Congress was limited to the “four corners” of his nearly 450-page report. He refused to answer over 200 questions from lawmakers, including questions about the most troublesome aspects of this process such as the murky origins of the investigation and the potential abuses of surveillance laws.

Perhaps most concerning was the complete disregard for the bedrock principles of our judicial system, such as presumption of innocence and right to privacy, throughout this process. As I pointed out during my questioning of Mueller, Democratic Attorney General Janet Reno took great exception to publicly airing the target of an investigation’s dirty laundry. I agree that the drafting and the publication of some of the information in the report without an indictment flies in the face of the American justice system.

Such disregard for American principles should trouble anyone who supports an open and free democracy. President Theodore Roosevelt said, “No man is above the law, and no man is below it,” yet congressional Democrats have chosen to ignore these ideals in favor of continuing their political witch hunt.

In fact, despite Mueller’s report exonerating the president, more than half of House Democrats support moving forward with impeachment proceedings.

It’s time that my colleagues across the aisle join with the vast majority of Americans and move on. The American people deserve more.

Guy Reschenthaler represents Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District encompassing Fayette, Green and Washington counties and portions of Westmoreland County.