Karl Rove says it's a 'mistake' for Democrats to pursue obstruction concerns in Mueller report

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Karl Rove: White House needs to recognize Democrats will continue to hammer Trump on obstruction

Fox News political contributor Karl Rove predicted Thursday that some Democratic politicians would make a "mistake" by using special counsel Robert Mueller's report to continue attacking President Donald Trump and pursuing investigations into his conduct.

His comments came just before House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., held a press conference at which he leaned on the report's concerns regarding 10 items related to potential obstruction of justice. Rove told Fox News host Dana Perino on "The Daily Briefing" that those items gave Democrats "fodder" to "continue to hammer the president."

The report itself did not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice, but both Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined the report lacked sufficient evidence to level formal charges.

Rove also predicted that while some Democrats would try to highlight the obstruction concerns before the 2020 presidential elections, other, "wise" politicians would focus on other issues.

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"I wouldn't be surprised in the next week or two — yeah, you're going to have the hot dogs and the lunatics and the wannabe's like [Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.,] say 'by God, impeach,'" Rove said.

He added that politicians like 2020 candidate and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., would back away from "trashing Trump" and recognize it as a losing strategy. Rove said that based on the report, "we're likely to see little impact on the president's numbers and his opposition's numbers."

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Democrats, Rove warned, could go "over-the-top" and act like congressional Republicans who pushed for former President Bill Clinton's impeachment in 1998.

"[Democrats] could do exactly what Republicans did in 1998 and that is cause a lot of the American people to say, 'you know what, too much, you're over-the-top, you're out of control.'"