Former special counsel Robert Mueller strongly defended his investigation team's prosecutors and his reasons for hiring them, denying that they were chosen for their political affiliations after complaints about their ties with 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
"We strove to hire those individuals that could do the job," Mueller said, after Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-North Dakota, said during questioning at the House Judiciary Committee hearing that much of the staff was hired despite conflicts of interest, reports NBC News.
"I've been in this business for almost 25 years, and in those 25 years, I have not had occasion once to ask somebody about their political affiliation," said Mueller "It is not done. What I care about is the capability of the individual to do the job and do the job quickly and seriously and with integrity."
Armstrong told him that it's "simply not enough" that he vouches for his team, but "about knowing on the day you accepted this role, you had to be aware, no matter what this report concluded, half of the country was going to be skeptical of your team's findings."
President Donald Trump has referred often to the special counsel's team as "angry Democrats," following reports that some had donated to Democratic candidates and had backed Clinton.
Senior team member Andrew Weissmann, who attended Clinton's election night party in 2016, played "some role" in hiring team members, Mueller acknowledged. However, he said he does not remember when he learned Weissmann attended the party.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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