In a tense exchange, Buck repeatedly hammered Mueller on why he had not concluded that the president obstructed justice. “You made the decision on Russian interference,” he said, but when it came to obstruction of justice, “you threw a bunch of stuff at a wall to see what would stick.”

“I would not agree with that characterization at all,” Mueller replied, adding he believed he could not charge Trump with obstruction, because of the Office of Legal Counsel’s determination that a sitting president could not be charged.

“Could you charge the president with a crime after he left office?” Buck asked.

“Yes,” Mueller said.

Buck appeared taken aback. “You believe you could charge the president of the United States with an obstruction of justice after he left office?”

“Yes,” Mueller said again.

The moment is already being characterized as a great soundbite—for the Democrats.

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