- An MSNBC reporter chased Robert Mueller down outside his Easter service Sunday to ask him a few questions.
- Mueller declined to comment and struggled to get in the car as he was peppered with questions.
- Online, some people are saying the incident took the press’ scrutiny of Mueller too far.
- Read more stories like this on BusinessInsider.com.
Despite the completion of the Trump-Russia report, special counsel Robert Mueller is still very much a DC celebrity.
A clip of MSNBC reporter Mike Viqueira hounding Mueller with questions outside of the special counsel’s Easter service quickly spread online Sunday, with some criticizing the reporter for going “too far.”
The clip shows Viqueira approaching Mueller from behind as he tries to open his minivan door, with his wife getting in the car on the other side.
Mueller tries to brush off Viqueira, immediately saying “no comment” in response to Viqueria’s request to ask a few questions, the first being whether or not Mueller would testify before Congress. On Thursday, House Judiciary Committee chair Jerry Nadler requested Mueller do just that by May 23.
The confrontation became more uncomfortable as it became clear that Mueller was struggling to open his car door, with him and his wife seemingly exchanging keys around the back of the car before she entered the passenger side and opened Mr. Mueller's door from inside the car.
WATCH: MSNBC reporter Mike Viqueira confronts Robert Mueller outside of his church on Easter Sunday. pic.twitter.com/85WTDSa4nr
— Axios (@axios) April 21, 2019
During the fumble, Viqueira pressed on with questions, asking a visibly frustrated Mueller "if he were anybody but the president would Mr. Trump be indicted, sir?"
"Sir, why didn't you make a recommendation to Congress one way or the other?" he continued, referencing Mueller's neutrality on whether or not President Trump obstructed justice.
Viqueira squeezed in one last question as Mueller nearly slammed the door on his microphone, asking, "did the attorney general accurately characterize your positions on conspiracy and obstruction?" Top Democrats have said Attorney General William Barr distorted the Mueller report in his summary released weeks earlier.
The exchange illustrates how eager the press is to get answers to questions left open following the release of the report, but commenters online say Viqueira's grilling of Mueller may have been a step too far.
Writer Amee Vanderpool commented on Twitter, "Just let the guy go to church on Easter Sunday for the love of Christ."
Playboy's Washington Correspondent Alex Thomas echoed the sentiment, saying "maybe we didn't need to send the paparazzi after Robert Mueller on Easter."
