Detective Rachel Maddow smells a DOJ rat ahead of Robert Mueller's testimony [video]

Robert Mueller is set to testify tomorrow, but Rachel Maddow smells a rat:

Now the DOJ has given Mueller this order to basically not tell Congress anything at all, especially not about the president or anybody else who wasn't charged, and it is signed by a DOJ official who was supposed to have no role in this matter at all. pic.twitter.com/9dEa12korQ

— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) July 23, 2019

Wow. Sure sounds like the DOJ’s trying to control Mueller’s testimony, doesn’t it? Can you believe they’d obstruct justice so openly?

This is total bs IMHO!

— donna marie (@jurzygl007) July 23, 2019

This some real BS. Obstruction!!!!

— Maria P. J. (@merdemerdex2) July 23, 2019

sounds like obstruction

— Hi-hat Rhythm (@hi_hat_truth) July 23, 2019

OMG when will Trump and Barr stop obstructing justice?

— Judy Ward (@luvmygrandgirls) July 23, 2019

Obstruction of justice , witness tampering. High crimes and misdemeanors

— Zachary (@bruinzack) July 23, 2019

HOW IS THIS NOT OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE???

Will Mueller be arrested for obstructing justice?

— Jack Levy (@JackJack916) July 23, 2019

The DOJ can't control Mueller or his testimony.

This is pretty clear obstruction.

— Nathaniel #VoteBlue #ImpeachDonaldTrump (@VengeanceMail) July 23, 2019

Yeah … it’s not, though. First of all:

“The letter, sent in response to Mueller’s request for guidance about his testimony…” https://t.co/tcUyNSyx9G https://t.co/eNbmY7E6YJ

— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) July 23, 2019

So Mueller asked the DOJ to weigh in. Guess this is like the time Rachel freaked out about Bill Barr singlehandedly redacting the Mueller report despite the fact that Mueller was assisting with the redactions.

In Monday’s letter, [Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley] Weinsheimer quotes from Mueller’s public statement in May where he indicated his reluctance to testify, and notes that the Department of Justice does not typically allow prosecutors to appear before Congress and discuss their cases.

“As the Attorney General has repeatedly stated, the decision to testify before Congress is yours to make in this case, but the Department agrees with your stated position that your testimony should be unnecessary under the circumstances,” Weinsheimer wrote.

Weinsheimer told Mueller that DOJ policy prevents him from commenting on the legal conclusions his office made “with respect to uncharged individuals, other than information contained within the portions of your report that already have been made public.” Weinsheimer also said Mueller should not testify about portions of the public report that have been redacted or about uncharged third parties.

That’s not nearly as threatening as Maddow makes it sound. But Maddow’s got her narrative and she’s sticking to it.

Now, for what it’s worth, according to national security lawyer Bradley P. Moss, the DOJ doesn’t have as much power over Mueller as Maddow thinks they do, anyway:

I am going to keep saying this until people listen —

As a matter of law, DOJ cannot mandate Mueller limit his testimony for anything aside from classified information. The courts have made this clear over and over regarding former employees. https://t.co/7RqiVNWpMu

— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) July 22, 2019

Now, there likely are ethical reasons why Mueller will not release unclassified information redacted from the report as implicating executive privilege. And there is a narrow grand jury information exception that has its own legal basis. But that’s it.

— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) July 22, 2019

Moreover, as CNN reports, Mueller’s opening statement “did not have to be cleared through the Department of Justice and no officials from the department, including Attorney General William Barr, have seen the document, [Mueller spokesman Jim] Popkin said.” But obstruction or something.