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Mueller fires up political debate in Medford By Damian Mann Mail Tribune May 29, 2019 04:50 PM A A Special counsel Robert Mueller’s brief summary Wednesday of his two-year Russian investigation ignited another round of political debate throughout the Rogue Valley. Yuri Vincent, vice chair pro tem of the Jackson County Republican Party, said the entire investigation has turned the judicial system on its head in an attempt to discredit a sitting president. “The nation and the media were led to believe this report would be the tell-tale sign of the smoking gun,” Vincent said. Joyce Chapman, a local Democrat precinct person in Shady Cove, said, speaking for herself, that she believes there is enough evidence in the Mueller investigation to begin impeachment proceedings. “In my own personal opinion, I think there are grounds to believe (Trump) obstructed justice,” she said. Mueller gave a less than 10-minute press conference Wednesday, announcing he was retiring from the Department of Justice and saying everything that needs to be said on the investigation is in his report. “If we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so,” Mueller said. “We did not however make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime.” Mueller said it was his opinion that a sitting president cannot be indicted for a federal crime. He did say that his investigation uncovered multiple efforts by Russians to alter the course of the 2016 presidential elections, particularly efforts to undermine presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. After Mueller’s statements, Democrats, particularly those in the House of Representatives, renewed their calls for impeachment. Chapman said she is concerned that the spy community knows a lot more about Trump and the Russians than has been revealed to the public so far. “I am concerned that the Russian president had an undue influence over the elections and continues to have an influence over the president,” Chapman said. While she disagrees with the policies of Trump, Chapman said she tries to keep the policies separate from Trump’s personal actions, which she thinks point to obstruction. “I have never been as afraid for our country and our Constitution as I am now,” she said. “I always thought Congress would protect our Constitution.” After Mueller’s statement, Republicans continued to say the case is over, and it’s time to move on. Vincent said the investigation only served to create more political strife and has lacked a clear purpose from the beginning, other than to advance the concerns of those opposing Trump. “I’m troubled by the process that gave us Mueller in the first place,” Vincent said. “To me, this is a political stunt.” He said there were political forces at work trying to undermine Trump when he took office, and he said those forces are still trying to prevent him from being reelected. Vincent said he didn’t see anything in Mueller’s report that points to any illegal activity with the president, particularly over the question of collusion. “This is a pretty emphatic open and closed case,” he said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm. FBI Director Robert Mueller listens as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 13, 2013, as the House Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing on the FBI. Mueller is nearing the end of his 12 years as head of the law enforcement agency that is conducting high-profile investigations of the Boston Marathon bombings, the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, and leaks of classified government information. The committee's chairman, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said when it comes to national security leaks, it's important to balance the need to protect secrecy with the need to let the news media do their job. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)