U.S. Rep. Bill Posey on Monday called the extended investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election a “travesty.”
“You had a crew of attorneys that hated the president’s guts doing the investigation,” without any opportunity for cross-examination, Posey said during a news conference Monday following a tour of the Port Canaveral area.
Yet, in the end, Posey contends, President Donald Trump “clearly … was exonerated” by Mueller’s report. “If he wasn’t, they would have filed charges.”
“The report, written by Mueller, was written like no other report ever written by the Department of Justice ever in history, whereby it made excuses for not exonerating” Trump, said Posey, R-Rockledge.
Nevertheless, Posey said he was “sad that we’ll probably have another two years in Congress, with the primary discussion being about the Mueller investigation — and people that are still so deeply distressed about the last (presidential) election, that’s all they want to focus on — changing the result.”
Posey was even reticent about the questions at the news conference from FLORIDA TODAY about the Mueller investigations, saying: “I think everybody is probably sick and tired of hearing about the Mueller investigation, but if you insist, we’ll talk about it.”
Congressman compliments port
Posey was at Port Canaveral for an hourlong boat tour of port projects, including a soon-to-be-completed federally funded Canaveral Harbor Sand Bypass Project.
Posey indicated that he liked what he saw and — noting that Monday was Earth Day — he recognized the port for its efforts to protect the environment.
“Our port is a leader, not only in economic development, but also is a pioneering leader in caring for our environment,” said Posey, who is a founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Estuary Caucus. “We have learned that our economic well-being depends upon the health of our ecology. We take care of ourself when we take care of our environment.”
As part of the current sand project, about 1.34 million cubic yards of sand have been dredged from the shoreline north of Port Canaveral. The sand is being placed along 3.5 miles of shoreline from just south of the Port Canaveral inlet to a location 0.6 miles south of Cocoa Beach Pier.
The $18 million project began in November, and will be completed by the end of this month.
Canaveral Port Authority Chairman Micah Loyd recognized Posey for being “instrumental in helping us secure” the federal money for the sand bypass project.
He said it is “a very important project to our community.”
This is the fifth such project since the program’s inception in 1995.
Col. Andrew Kelly, commander and district engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, said the program is designed to preserve the beaches south of Port Canaveral to the sand level they were before the port opened in 1953, and inlets and jetties interrupted the natural flow of sand to the south of the port.
“This project demonstrates that, when people work together, we can pursue our vital economic interests at the same time we take care of our environment,” Posey said.
Posey cited various entities involved in the sand bypass project, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, federal and state environmental agencies, the Air Force’s 45th Space Wing, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Brevard County’s Natural Resources Management Department, and the cities of Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach.
Posey also noted that Port Canaveral was the first deep-water port in Florida to create an inlet management plan.
During his boat tour aboard the Chalmette, Posey also was briefed by Port Canaveral officials about the port’s $163 million Cruise Terminal 3 and parking garage project, scheduled to open in 2020, as well as about various cargo berth projects in the works.
“Port Canaveral … is so critical to our economic situation in Brevard County,” Posey said. “It’s the economic engine that never seems to stop or even slow down.”
Posey credited Port Canaveral Chief Executive Officer John Murray and his team, as well as the elected Canaveral Port Authority board, for the port’s “extraordinary” progress in recent years.