Sorry Cemmy:
Special prosecutor either indicts or does not indict. Not his job to exonerate.
REP. JOHN RATCLIFFE (R-TX): Time is short. I've got five minutes. Let's just leave it at you can't find it because I'll tell you why. It doesn't exist. The special counsel's job, nowhere does it say that you were to conclusively determine Donald Trump's innocence or that the special counsel report should determine whether or not to exonerate him. It's not in any of the documents. It's not in your appointment order. It's not in the special counsel regulations. It's not in the OLC opinions. It's not in the justice manual, and it's not in the Principles of Federal Prosecution.
Nowhere do those words appear together because respectfully, respectfully, director, it was not the special counsel's job to conclusively Donald Trump's innocence or to exonerate him because the bedrock principle of our justice system is a presumption of innocence. It exists for everyone. Everyone is entitled to it, including sitting presidents. And because there is a presumption of innocence, prosecutors never, ever need to conclusively determine it.
Now, director, the special counsel applied this inverted burden of proof that I can't find and you said doesn't exist anywhere in the department policies, and you used it to write a report. And the very first line of your report, the very first line of your report says that--as you read this morning, it authorizes the special counsel to provide the attorney general with a confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions reached by the special counsel. That's the very first word of your report, right?