Cummings implores ‘American people to pay attention to what’s going on’ after Mueller testimony

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Wednesday implored Americans to “pay attention to what’s going on” following former special counsel Robert Mueller’s marathon testimony before Congress. 

“I’m begging the American people to pay attention to what is going on,” Cummings said while standing alongside other House Democratic leaders during a press conference. “Because if you want to have a democracy intact for your children and your children’s children and generations yet unborn, we have got to guard against this moment. This is our watch.” 

{mosads}The comments from Cummings came just hours after Mueller testified before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee about his nearly two-year probe into Russia’s election interference and whether President Trump obstructed justice. 

Mueller’s testimony remained within the bounds of what was stated in his more than 400-page report about his sweeping investigation. The former special counsel repeatedly declined to answer questions that appeared to go beyond his report.

But Mueller did reiterate that his investigation did not exonerate the president on obstruction of justice. He also dismissed Trump’s claims that the investigation was a “witch hunt” and that Russian interference was a “hoax.”

Cummings urged listeners not to accept Trump’s conduct, or that of Attorney General William Barr or Republican lawmakers, as “normal.”

“We’re getting so used to normal to this kind of conduct by our president and by our attorney general and by our Republican colleagues, that it looks like we’re just going to accept it,” he said. “Well, we refuse to accept it.”

“It’s not about, like, the president. It’s about loving democracy. It’s about loving our country.”