Former special counsel Robert Mueller's long-awaited testimony to two House committees wasn't as forceful or as direct as it could have been, but it completely annihilated one false claim often touted by President Trump and others: the assertion that Mueller's exhaustive report had vindicated Trump and cleared him of wrongdoing in his campaign's dealings with Russian operatives.
In testimony to the Judiciary Committee, Mueller flatly denied exonerating Trump and said the president could potentially face charges over his actions after leaving office.
The former FBI director also said Russian interference in the 2016 election that Trump calls trivial was among the "most serious" threats to American democracy he had ever seen.
The snap judgment of many pundits was Mueller's limited responses to leading questions provided no momentum to pro-impeachment forces despite dozens of House Democrats' hopes.
Perhaps Wednesday will be mostly remembered on that basis. But it's worth noting as well that the most pro-Trump of House Republicans asking questions Wednesday also didn't achieve what they wanted: discrediting Mueller and his damning report.
The president can tweet or say Mueller "never had the right to exonerate" all he wants. The truth is his campaign welcomed Russia's help against Hillary Clinton. That is, was and will always be shameful.
