Rep. Jerrold Nadler
Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerPelosi names 9 impeachment managers Republicans gauge support for Trump impeachment Clyburn blasts DeVos and Chao for 'running away' from 25th Amendment fight MORE (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that he doesn't understand why special counsel Robert Mueller
Robert (Bob) MuellerWhy a special counsel is guaranteed if Biden chooses Yates, Cuomo or Jones as AG Barr taps attorney investigating Russia probe origins as special counsel CNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump MORE didn't charge Donald Trump Jr.
Don TrumpCompany appeals rejection of controversial Pebble Mine Singer Taylor Dayne responds to criticism after Mar-a-Lago performance: 'I try to stay non-political' More voters say pardons for Trump's family would be inappropriate: poll MORE and others involved in the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with criminal conspiracy.
Nadler, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," noted that Mueller said he didn't bring charges against those in the meeting because he couldn't prove they willfully intended to commit a crime.
"Well, you don’t have to prove that," Nadler continued. "All you have to prove for conspiracy is that they entered into a meeting of the minds to do something wrong and had one overt act. They entered into a meeting of the minds to attend a meeting to get stolen material on Hillary. They went to the meeting. That’s conspiracy right there."
WATCH: Should Mueller have charged anyone for meeting with Russians in Trump Tower? #MTP #IfItsSunday@repjerrynadler: "I do not understand why he didn't charge Don Jr. and others in that famous meeting" pic.twitter.com/trwIhndOBS
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 21, 2019
The 2016 meeting also reportedly involved Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner
Jared Corey KushnerJilani: China 'sending clear message' to Biden officials with sanctions that opposition could lead to 'future pay cut' Would Trump have gotten away with a self-pardon? History will never know Trump grants clemency to more than 100 people, including Bannon MORE, and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort
Paul John ManafortWould Trump have gotten away with a self-pardon? History will never know Trump's pardons harshly criticized by legal experts Presidential pardons need to go MORE. The associates, according to Mueller's report, agreed to the meeting with a lawyer linked to Russia who had promised dirt on Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBiden must wait weekend for State Department pick Texas Supreme Court rejects Alex Jones request to toss lawsuits from Sandy Hook parents Paris Agreement: Biden's chance to restore international standing MORE.
Mueller wrote in his report, which was released last week, that he considered bringing charges because campaigns can't accept help from a foreign government or foreign nationals.
"On the facts here, the government would unlikely be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the June 9 meeting participants had general knowledge that their conduct was unlawful. The investigation has not developed evidence that the participants in the meeting were familiar with the foreign-contribution ban or the application of federal law to the relevant factual context," Mueller added.
According to Mueller's 400-plus-page report, the special counsel’s office “did not obtain admissible evidence” that could demonstrate legal standards that campaign officials knew that the action was illegal.
“The investigation has not developed evidence that the participants in the meeting were familiar with the foreign-contribution ban” or the federal law applying to the meeting and “does not have strong evidence of surreptitious behavior or efforts at concealment at the time of the June 9 meeting,” the report states.
"Don did nothing wrong in taking the meeting — which is why after 2 years of investigations, not a single person involved was charged with a crime by Mueller," a source close to Trump Jr. told The Hill. "It's unfortunate that instead of doing his actual job, Rep. Nadler seems hell bent on continuing to spend his time smearing and harassing a private citizen for purely partisan political reasons."
Mueller concluded in his findings that investigators found "no documentary evidence" that President Trump
Donald TrumpMore than two-thirds of Americans approve of Biden's coronavirus response: poll Sarah Huckabee Sanders to run for governor Mexico's president tests positive for COVID-19 MORE had been made aware of the June 2016 meeting.
--Jonathan Easley contributed to this report, which was updated on April 22 at 10:17 a.m.
