(Associated Press)
MARY CLARE JALONICK, ERIC TUCKER and LISA MASCARO June 26, 2019
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says he expects special counsel Robert Mueller to have “a profound impact” when he testifies before Congress on July 17, even though Mueller has said he won’t provide any new information.
Mueller’s unusual back-to-back testimony in front of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees is likely to be the most highly anticipated congressional hearing in years, particularly given Mueller’s resolute silence throughout his two-year investigation into Russian contacts with President Donald Trump’s campaign. Democrats negotiated for more than two months to obtain the testimony, hoping to re-focus public attention on the special counsel’s 448-page report that they believe most Americans have not read.
“I think that given the nature of what he has to say, given the nature of what was in the report, he will be a very compelling witness,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler told reporters Wednesday.
Throughout his investigation, Mueller never responded to angry, public attacks from Trump, nor did he ever personally join his prosecutors in court or make announcements of criminal charges from the team. His sole public statement came from the Justice Department podium last month as he announced his departure, when he sought to explain his decision not to indict Trump or to accuse him of criminal conduct. He put lawmakers on notice that he was not eager to testify and did not ever intend to say more than what he put in the report.
“We chose those words carefully, and the work speaks for itself,” Mueller said May 29. “I would not provide information beyond what is already public in any appearance before Congress.”
Those remarks did little to settle the demands for his testimony. The two committees continued negotiations that had already been going on for weeks, saying they still wanted to hear from Mueller no matter how reluctant he was. The two committees announced Tuesday that he’d finally agreed to come under subpoena, and that they had issued the subpoenas that day.
“When you accept the role of special counsel in one of the most significant investigations in modern history, you’re going to have to expect that you’re going to be asked to come and testify before Congress,” said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.
The committee chairmen said there will be two hearings “back to back,” one for each committee, and they will also meet with Mueller’s staff in closed session afterward. The Judiciary panel will go first, then Intelligence.
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