RMIT expert available for comment on Robert Mueller testifying before Congress

Dr Emma Shortis (0430 358 798 or emma.shortis@rmit.edu.au)

Topics: US history, US politics, Trump administration

“Even after his almost three years in office, watchers of Donald Trump still fall into the trap of expecting a ‘smoking gun’ to end this most extraordinary of presidencies. No doubt they will be disappointed that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony before two congressional committees overnight did not prove to be that moment.

“After more than six gruelling hours of questioning, the political landscape appears to remain much the same. Trump continues shouting ‘total exoneration’, while prominent Democrats call for impeachment proceedings. It’s all too familiar.

“But, still, these hearings brought to life Mueller’s 448-page report in a way that we haven’t seen before, in a way that may have long-term consequences for Trump.

“Mueller said clearly, before the cameras, ‘My report does not exonerate President Trump’.

“There is now widespread consensus that the president could be criminally charged when he leaves office. This idea isn’t going away anytime soon—and neither are the Russians.

“In yet another indication that the road to 2020 will get rockier still, Mueller warned that Russian interference will continue. And, if Trump has anything to do with it, it will continue unchecked.

“It will be a long and bumpy ride ahead.”

Dr Emma Shortis is a Research Officer at the EU Centre in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University. She recently returned from a year in the United States, where she was a Fox-Zucker International Fellow at Yale University as part of her PhD in history. Shortis is regular media commentator on the history and current politics of the US, tailored for an Asia-Pacific audience.

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