President Donald Trump has criticized House Democrats for wanting special counsel Robert Mueller to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, saying Mueller’s more than 400-page report has already made a clear finding that there was no collusion between the Trump administration and Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential elections.
“I don’t know why the Radical Left Democrats want Bob Mueller to testify when he just issued a 40 Million Dollar Report that states, loud & clear & for all to hear, No Collusion and No Obstruction (how do you Obstruct a NO crime?) Dems are just looking for trouble and a Do-Over!” Trump said.
I don’t know why the Radical Left Democrats want Bob Mueller to testify when he just issued a 40 Million Dollar Report that states, loud & clear & for all to hear, No Collusion and No Obstruction (how do you Obstruct a NO crime?) Dems are just looking for trouble and a Do-Over!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 24, 2019
This comes after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) on May 23 said Mueller is willing to testify in front of Congress, but behind closed doors.
House Democrats have been demanding Mueller and other key witnesses testify in front of Congress after the special counsel’s report concluded there was no evidence that the Trump administration colluded with Russia.
The Democrat-led judiciary committee has struggled to get Mueller to come in to testify on his report after negotiations with the special counsel’s team for the past several weeks. According to sources, Mueller has been hesitant to set a firm date for the hearing because he was seeking instructions on what he can share publicly beyond his redacted report that was released last month, reported Politico.
During his appearance on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” Nadler reiterated that he thinks “it’s important for the American people to hear from him.”
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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) (C) presides over a mark-up hearing where members may vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for not providing an unredacted copy of special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s report in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill May 08, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“We want him to come in and testify. We want others to come in and testify. There are a lot of people who should come in and testify, who the administration is saying they will not permit to testify. A blanket stonewalling of Congress and of the American people,” Nadler said.
“Mueller … I think I can say at this point, he wants to testify in private,” he added.
When asked why, Nadler said, “I don’t know why. He’s willing to make an opening statement but he wants to testify in private. We’re saying we think it’s important for the American people to hear from him and to hear his answers to questions about the report.”
Nadler added that “We’d see a transcript.”
When pressed further, the committee chairman went on to surmise that Mueller “envisions himself as a man of great rectitude, apolitical” and “he doesn’t want to participate in anything that he might regard as a political spectacle, especially if the Republicans on the committee start asking him about the beginning of the investigation. I’m speculating, really.”
Trump has previously accused the Democrats of launching a variety of probes into him, his businesses, and family members in an attempt to impede his administration’s work. The Democrats began their investigations into the president after gaining control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections, increasing the number of probes after the results of the long-awaited Mueller report ran counter to their expectations.
The Democrats have attempted to obtain Trump’s financial records, tax returns, and a fully unredacted version of the Mueller report. The number of inquiries led by House Democrats has since grown to 10.
Meanwhile, the president on May 23 authorized Attorney General William Barr to declassify information or intelligence related to surveillance activities surrounding the campaigns during the 2016 Presidential elections.
“Today, at the request and recommendation of the Attorney General of the United States, President Donald J. Trump directed the intelligence community to quickly and fully cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation into surveillance activities….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 24, 2019
He said, “Today’s action will help ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred, and the actions that were taken, during the last Presidential election and will restore confidence in our public institutions.”
