James Comey: If pressed, Mueller would say there's evidence to charge Trump

Former FBI Director James Comey said on Tuesday that he believes special counsel Robert Mueller, if pressed, would argue that there is sufficient evidence to charge President Trump on "at least some" of the allegations of obstruction outlined in his report.

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"If this were a case about someone other than the president, they would have already been indicted on at least several of these obstruction incidents, maybe all of them, I don't know."

"Director Mueller I think, if pressed, would reach a decision at least on some of them that there is sufficient evidence to charge the president. But again, he's a principled person trying to be fair, and said, 'I shouldn't be doing that given that the man can't vindicate himself.' I'd be shocked if he imagined that Bill Barr would take the thing and say 'Oh thanks Bob, no case here, we're closing it.' I'd be shocked."

Why it matters: Mueller will be testifying before the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees on Wednesday in one of the most highly anticipated hearings of the Trump presidency. Whether Trump would have been indicted if he were not a sitting president is sure to be a central theme of the hearing for House Democrats, but — as Comey pointed out — Mueller is unlikely to answer such a direct question, especially since it's outside the scope of his report.

Go deeper: What to expect out of Robert Mueller's day on the Hill