Former special counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday is testifying before Congressional lawmakers regarding his investigation into now-debunked criminal conspiracy between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. Mueller will testify publicly at 8:30 a.m. EST before the House Judiciary Committee and at noon EST before the House Intelligence Committee.
Mueller has said that he will not stray beyond what’s already been revealed in his 448-page report. The Justice Department has instructed Mueller to stay strictly within those parameters, giving him a formal directive to point to if he faces questions he does not want to answer.
On Tuesday, Democrats on the House judiciary and intelligence panels granted his request to have his top aide in the investigation, Aaron Zebley, sit at the table with him. Zebley is not expected to be sworn in for questioning by the judiciary panel.
President Trump slammed the hearings ahead of Mueller’s testimony, writing on social media that “Democrats and others” are attempting to fabricate a crime and blame it on “a very innocent President.”
“Why didn’t Robert Mueller investigate the investigators?” the president tweeted.
So Democrats and others can illegally fabricate a crime, try pinning it on a very innocent President, and when he fights back against this illegal and treasonous attack on our Country, they call It Obstruction? Wrong! Why didn’t Robert Mueller investigate the investigators?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2019
Wednesday’s first hearing before the House Judiciary Committee will focus on whether the president illegally obstructed justice by attempting to seize control of Mueller’s investigation. Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney and General Rod Rosenstein, citing the special counsel’s findings, ruled the president did not commit obstruction of justice during the two-year-long investigation that cost taxpayers over $25 million.
The afternoon hearing before the House intelligence committee will dive into purported ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
Many House Democrats hope Mueller’s testimony will re-energize efforts to impeach the president, though some political observers believe that is unlikely to occur. Today’s hearings come one week after the House voted 332-95 to table a resolution calling for impeachment brought by Rep. Al Green. (D-TX).
**Follow all of the events on the Breitbart News Live Wire below. All times in eastern.**
8:54 AM — Robert Mueller says his report does not completely exonerate President Trump.
Nadler: “Did you actually totally exonerate the president?”
Mueller: “No.”https://t.co/Bk6IKkx97y#MuellerHearings pic.twitter.com/Zo330QSPHF
— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) July 24, 2019
8:49 AM — Robert Mueller says in his opening statement: “I am unable to address questions about the opening of the FBI’s Russia investigation, which occurred months before my appointment, or matters related to the so-called ‘Steele Dossier.’ ”
Mueller: “I am unable to address questions about the opening of the FBI’s Russia investigation, which occurred months before my appointment, or matters related to the so-called ‘Steele Dossier.’ “
— Andrew deGrandpre (@adegrandpre) July 24, 2019
8:46 AM — Robert Mueller further says in his opening statement: “I do not intend to summarize or describe the results of our work in a different way in the course of my testimony today. As I said on May 29: the report is my testimony. And I will stay within that text.”
“We did not address collusion,’” which is not a legal term,” the former special counsel said. “Rather, we focused on whether the evidence was sufficient to charge any member of the campaign with taking part in a criminal conspiracy. It was not.”
8:45 AM — Robert Mueller says in his opening statement: “I [accepted the job of special counsel] because I believed it was of paramount interest to the nation.”
Mueller: ‘I [accepted the job of special counsel] because I believed it was of paramount interest to the nation.’ #MuellerHearing pic.twitter.com/3zQNBwW6pA
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 24, 2019
8:44 AM — Robert Mueller is sworn in following opening statements from House Judiciary members Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Doug Collins (R-GA).
Robert Mueller is sworn in for his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on his report investigating Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election https://t.co/a3dA3NbRWa pic.twitter.com/lBIXBNA3hV
— Deena Zeina Zaru ??? (@Deena_Zaru) July 24, 2019
8:41 AM —
Sitting behind Mueller at the Judiciary hearing: former Mueller aides Andrew Goldstein and James Quarles and Jonathan Yarowsky, the attorney at Mueller’s former firm, who acted as his intermediary to Congress since Mueller left DOJ.
— Mike Balsamo (@MikeBalsamo1) July 24, 2019
8:40 AM — Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, says in the opening statement:
Rep. Doug Collins: “He asked his lawyer if Mr. Mueller had conflicts that disqualified Mr. Mueller from the job, but he did not shut down the investigation. The president knew he was innocent.”
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) July 24, 2019
8:39 AM — A protester is removed from the hearing room.
Protester enters hearing room and begins shouting about encryption even before Mueller hearing begins. Is forcefully removed by USCP. pic.twitter.com/LZuI71aWJY
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 24, 2019
8:36 AM — House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler’s (D-NY) praises Mueller:
“You conducted [the Russia] investigation with remarkable integrity,” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) tells Robert Mueller. “For 22 months, you never commented in public about your work, even when you were subjected to repeated & grossly unfair personal attacks.” https://t.co/EbzpQ0lnrr pic.twitter.com/ZevyieUK6k
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) July 24, 2019
8:35 AM — House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler’s (D-NY) opening statement:
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY): “Director Mueller, thank you for being here. I want to say just a few words about our themes today: Responsibility, integrity and accountability. Your career, for example, is a model of responsibility.” https://t.co/EbzpQ0lnrr pic.twitter.com/LFbRYD2SnA
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) July 24, 2019
8:28 AM — Robert Mueller arrives in the hearing room.
Mueller has taken his place in the hearing room. pic.twitter.com/HM8a6Fkh3b
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) July 24, 2019
8:28 AM — Russia collusion hoaxer Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is in the house.
Reps. Demings and Swalwell huddling. They’re the only two Dems on Judiciary who also get to grill Mueller a second time on the Intel Committee. pic.twitter.com/lLuPOPYk6O
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) July 24, 2019
8:18 AM — President Trump tweets about reports that Mueller has said he did not seek the job of FBI director under the Trump administration:
….interview, including the Vice President of the United States!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2019
8:16 AM — Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), and Jim Jordan (R-OH) Aconverse ahead of Mueller’s testimony.
Gaetz, Gohmert, and Jordan have arrived for Mueller Day pic.twitter.com/v9qXyXiwRt
— Sam Brodey (@sambrodey) July 24, 2019
8:11 AM — Former special counsel Robert Mueller has arrived on Capitol Hill.
Robert Mueller arrives on Capitol Hill. https://t.co/Bk6IKkfyg0#MuellerTime pic.twitter.com/RYKiDiT9Sq
— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) July 24, 2019
8:10 AM — Photos of the line for former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.
The end of the line to get into the Mueller hrng..all the way back to the office of GOP NC Rep Mark Meadows pic.twitter.com/XnaIpkOU6e
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 24, 2019
This is how long the line is to get into the Mueller hearing pic.twitter.com/V6oit2DUX5
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 24, 2019
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
