Bay Area Lawmakers Set To Question Robert Mueller This Week
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- Bay Area Representatives Zoe Lofgren, Jackie Speier and Eric Swalwell are on the committees that will hear testimony from former Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller on July 24.
The hearings begin at 11:30 a.m. (PT) with a three-hour session at the House Judiciary Committee. Lofgren and Swalwell are on that committee, which is expected to focus on whether President Trump obstructed justice or attempted to obstruct justice.
After a 30-minute break, Mueller will appear before the House Intelligence Committee at 3 p.m. Swalwell is also on the intelligence committee, as is Speier. This committee is expected to focus on the President's campaign and contacts with Russians who were trying to interfere with the US election.
Mueller has made no secret of his disinterest in testifying. Back in May, he held his singular press conference on the report.
"Now I hope and expect that this will be the only time that I speak to you on this matter. I am making that decision myself, no one has told me whether I can or should testify or speak further about this matter. There has been discussion about an appearance before Congress. Any testimony from this office would not go beyond this report….the report is my testimony," he said.
"Beyond what I have said here today and what is contained in our written work, I do not believe it is appropriate for me to speak further about the investigation or to comment on the actions of the Justice Department or Congress," he continued.
Still, he was subpoenaed to appear at the hearings. The chairmen of each committee spoke out Sunday to explain the need for Muller's appearance.
"We want the American people to hear directly from special counsel Mueller what his investigation found," said Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY).
"The president and the attorney general and others have spent the last few months systematically lying to the American people about what the investigation found. They've said they found no collusion, found no obstruction, that it exonerated a president, all three of those statements are absolute lies. It found a great deal of collusion, it found a great deal of obstruction of justice by the president, and it pointedly refused to exonerate the President," he said.
Nadler also hinted at furthering the case for impeachment. "The report presents very substantial evidence that the president is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, and we have let Mueller present those facts to the American people and then see where we go from there because the administration must be held accountable and no president can be above the law," he said.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, and said Sunday, "Most Americans, you know, in their busy lives haven't had an opportunity to read that report--and it's a pretty dry, prosecutorial work product. We want Bob Mueller to bring it to life. To talk about what's in that report."
It should be noted that a number of lawmakers have also not read the report.