Senate

GOP senator compares Mueller report’s obstruction findings to ‘Pinocchio’ in ‘Shrek 3’

by Justin Wise - 04/21/19 12:31 PM ET

GOP Sen. Mike Lee (Utah) on Sunday compared special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings on obstruction of justice to Pinocchio’s character from the movie, “Shrek the Third.”

“The special counsel certainly was thorough,” Lee said on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” before arguing that some pieces of the report are “a little bit odd.”

“For example, when he talks about obstruction. I think it’s odd to say, ‘I’m not going to make a recommendation, but I’m going to sound like I’m making a recommendation. There’s not evidence that I can point to but nonetheless I couldn’t get there even if I did.’

Sen. Mike Lee on Mueller’s obstruction probe: “It’s kind of strange to spend two years on that and then speak with the sort of tone that is reminiscent of Pinocchio in the movie ‘Shrek 3’…It’s full of double negatives. It’s kind of confusing” https://t.co/v0c7sJ8kcM pic.twitter.com/qyWphp5m37

— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 21, 2019

“It’s kind of strange to spend two years on that and then speak with the sort of tone that is reminiscent of Pinocchio in the movie ‘Shrek 3,'” Lee said. “It’s full of double negatives. It’s kind of confusing.” {mosads}

It’s unclear what parallels Lee was drawing from the animated DreamWorks movie and Mueller’s final report on his investigation into Russian interference and President Trump. The character Pinocchio has a nose that grows whenever he lies and in the movie “Shrek 3” says lines such as, “I’m possibly more or less not definitely rejecting the idea that in no way with any amount of uncertainty that I undeniably do or do not know where he shouldn’t probably be,” in an effort to get around outright lying.

Mueller did not uncover evidence to conclude that collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow took place in the lead up to the 2016 election. However, the report notes that Mueller was unable to “conclusively determine” that no criminal conduct occurred in regards to obstruction of justice. It also detailed several possible instances of obstruction of justice that the special counsel probed.

“While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,” the report states.

The report, which is more than 400 pages, added that Congress has the authority to conduct an investigation into obstruction of justice.

“With respect to whether the President can be found to have obstructed justice by exercising his powers under Article II of the Constitution, we concluded that Congress has the authority to prohibit a President’s corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice,” Mueller wrote.

Trump has denounced the report, saying that some of the statements in it were “total bulls—.”

Tags Donald Trump Mike Lee Robert Mueller