After six weeks, participants of the Mueller Report Community Discussion Series finished the report at their meeting this past Sunday, July 21.
The group covered the end Volume Two, from the president’s legal defenses to his written responses in Appendix C. They also briefly discussed the report as a whole and how Congress should proceed, given its contents.
Defense-wise, the president’s counsel has argued that it’s within the president’s constitutional rights to close investigations and fire whomever he chooses. Bruce Menke said that the success of this defense will come down to intent.
“A police officer can make arrests, a judge can set bail, but there are improper uses of that authority,” Menke said. “And very frequently, the principal question is, ‘What was the intent of that person?’”
Last week, the group elected to add an extra meeting to discuss Mueller’s testimony, which the library will live-stream from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Having finished the report, participants speculated on what Mueller might say at the hearing.
“I think that Mueller will reiterate that the president is not above the law, and I think he also will indicate that Congress needs to begin impeachment hearings,” Elizabeth Bishop-Martin said. “He has indicated that before and I think he will probably press for that.”
As the series comes to its close, Athens Regional Library Director Valerie Bell said she was very pleased with the role the library played in facilitating the discussions.
“Knowledge is power. This is what public libraries are about, this is what we do — make sure to have the space available for the community to come in and talk and share their thoughts and their opinions,” Bell said. “It’s democracy with a little ‘d,’ just making its way right here. It’s a wonderful thing.”
The group will meet for the last time at 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 28, to discuss Mueller’s testimony. For more details, visit the library’s Facebook events page.
