Quigley, Krishnamoorthi draw answers out of Mueller about Trump's praising WikiLeaks, his aides' Russia ties

Two local Democrats drew some significant revelations from former special counsel Robert Mueller who on Tuesday testified before Congress about whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice.

In back-to-back hearings, lawmakers grilled Mueller about his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election that Trump won. In a lengthy report, Mueller concluded there wasn't evidence to show the Trump campaign conspired to meddle in the election, but he did not clear the president of trying to intervene in the investigation of potential collusion.

Democratic Reps. Mike Quigley of Chicago and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg participated in the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing. Quigley asked Mueller about Trump tweets praising WikiLeaks, such as "'I love WikiLeaks.'"

"How do you react to that?" Quigley asked

"Problematic is an understatement," Mueller said, "in terms of giving ... some boost to what is and should be illegal activity."

After, Quigley told the Daily Herald, "I was surprised" by the admission. "I guess we did something right."

Krishnamoorthi got a "yes" when he asked Mueller if individuals who lied about interacting with foreign powers could be blackmailed. He cited Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who was convicted of lying about conversations with Russians, and wondered about a potential national security risk.

"I cannot get into that mainly because many elements of the FBI are looking at that," Mueller said.

"Currently?" Krishnamoorthi questioned.

"Currently," Mueller said.

The exchange, picked up by cable news, "was an unexpected moment," Krishnamoorthi later told the Daily Herald. "That was news to me."

Although the report includes information about attempts to build a Trump tower in Moscow, it "does not address or detail the president's financial ties or dealings with Russia, correct?" Krishnamoorthi asked.

"Correct," Mueller said.

"Similarly, since it's outside your purview, it does not address questions whether (Russian) oligarchs engaged in money laundering through any of the president's businesses?" he said.

"Correct," Mueller said

For Krishnamoorthi, "the big take-away is Mueller's report did not reach any counterintelligence conclusions. Because of that, there's a lot of work to be done," he said after the hearing.

He's also musing why Mueller didn't answer his question about obtaining Trump's tax returns. "He could have answered definitively … . That means something is going on," Krishnamoorthi speculated.

Quigley said the hearing "educated millions" because "only 3% of the American people read the report. The rest was misrepresented by the attorney general."

The bottom line, Quigley said, is "in 2016, Russia attacked our election process, the Trump campaign knew about it, welcomed it, and failed to alert the FBI."

The president said the report exonerated him, and Attorney General William Barr said it showed no conspiracy with Russia.

"I completely read the entire Mueller report, and do you know what I concluded?" Trump said in a tweet. "There is no there - there. We completely wasted everybody's time and taxpayers' money."

Quigley questioned Mueller about Donald Trump Jr.'s communications with WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign regarding Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, saying, "Is this behavior at the very least disturbing?"

"Disturbing and … also subject to investigation," Mueller said.

Toward the end of the hearing, Krishnamoorthi wondered, "Are you concerned (America) is not doing enough to prevent future election interference?"

"Much more needs to be done to protect against this intrusion, not only by the Russians but by others as well," Mueller said.

Krishnamoorthi said he was impressed by Mueller's stamina. "I forgot how old he was (75) and that he'd been sitting five hours before I had the good fortune" to ask him questions.

"He answered the questions with alacrity. After the hearing, I joked with him I should have asked if he liked pumpkin spiced lattes, and he laughed," Krishnamoorthi said, referring to the former FBI director's rumored penchant for the Starbucks autumn special.

As to a possible impeachment inquiry some Democrats want, "I need to sit with it and look at results," Krishnamoorthi said, "and talk to my constituents."

Quigley questioned Mueller, who did not answer, about his concern that if a sitting president cannot be indicted under current Department of Justice policy, what happens if the statute of limitations on obstruction of justice runs out should Trump be elected to a second term?

"That policy needs to change," Quigley said later. "Until it does, Congress has one remedy and one remedy only - we must open an impeachment inquiry."