After a disappointed Washington Post published three stories Friday that crucified Robert Mueller for his Capitol Hill appearance—”A hangdog Mona Lisa”. . .”his hands shook”. . .” stumbling over his words”. . .”dazed and confused”. . .”the creeping effects of age”—the Post came back Sunday with another page one story, “Whispers of concern on Mueller’s sharpness,” full of quotes from people “who spoke on the condition of anonymity.”
The whispers started in 2018, though where they originated remains unclear: Robert S. Mueller III, the taciturn Marine veteran leading an investigation of the president of the United States, might not be as sharp as he once was. . . .
That person and others interviewed for this report spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the special counsel’s work or about internal negotiations between Congress and Mueller’s team. . . .
There were possible warning signs, some Democrats say privately. For a time, Mueller’s team pushed for the hearings to take place behind closed doors, and they advocated aggressively to limit each of the hearings to two hours. Members also were perplexed that panel staffers wanted them to shape questions so they could be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” That, though, was viewed as a time-preserving mechanism, and to accommodate Mueller’s wishes to not be seen as a political prop, one congressional official said. . . .
True to his word, the former special counsel resisted saying anything that might be used as a political weapon, refusing to even read sections of his report aloud. But he also notably stumbled on several occasions, fueling criticism — and speculation — about his sharpness. . . .
Some Democrats recognized after the first hearing that Mueller was not as sharp as they would have liked. During a break, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who sits on both committees, warned lawmakers on the second panel to slow down, shorten their questions and speak louder so Mueller could follow better, according to a person in the room. . . .
“We didn’t invite Robert De Niro to testify. We invited Robert Mueller, and he is a straight shooter who stuck to the report,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), referring to the actor who has played Mueller in comedy sketches on “Saturday Night Live.”
Other Democratic lawmakers, however, aren’t so sure. One who questioned Mueller, speaking on the condition of anonymity to express a candid view, expressed regret, worrying that he and his colleagues had hauled Mueller in for selfish reasons and tarnished his name by exposing his deficiencies.
“It was a painful reminder that age catches up to all of us,” another House Democrat said. “Here you have this Vietnam hero and this post-September 11 FBI director. You could tell he was having a hard time hearing and it was like, ‘Ugh! This is not how I want him to be remembered.’ ”
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