Mueller will delay testimony for one week

WASHINGTON Former special counsel Robert Mueller and two House panels struck a deal Friday to reschedule his congressional testimony for July 24 and agreed to give lawmakers more time to question him about his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump.

Mr. Mueller had been scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees on Wednesday in a much-anticipated public appearance —since he gave a short statement following the conclusion of his nearly two-year investigation. The former FBI director is perhaps the one person lawmakers and the nation have been wanting to hear from most.

Instead, Mr. Mueller will testify beginning 8:30 a.m. July 24, the two committees announced Friday, for an “extended period of time.”

“This will allow the American public to gain further insight into the Special Counsel’s investigation and the evidence uncovered regarding Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and President Trump’s possible obstruction of justice and abuse of power,” said Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, DCalif.

Mr. Mueller will testify for three hours before the Judiciary panel and then give testimony to the Intelligence Committee.

House Democrats on the Judiciary Committee had pressed their leaders for more time to question the former special counsel. Under the previous agreement, Mr. Mueller would appear for two hours each before the Judiciary and Intelligence committees.

Because of five-minute questioning rules, only the most senior dozen or so Democrats and Republicans on the Judiciary Committee would get to ask questions, upsetting more junior members.

Those members asked the committee this week to try to get Mr. Mueller to commit to more time.

“Whenever the hearing takes place, it’s important that every single member of the House Democratic Caucus who serves on the Judiciary Committee participates in the Mueller hearing,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Caucus and a member of the committee, told reporters.

The Mueller report said investigators found insufficient evidence to show a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 election and reached no conclusion about whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice. Mr. Mueller’s team wrote that it was bound by Justice Department policy that forbids the indictment of a sitting president from deciding or alleging — even privately — that Mr. Trump had committed a crime.

Mr. Mueller spoke to the public briefly in May, saying that he could neither clear nor accuse Mr. Trump of obstructing justice, leaving room for Congress to make that call and fueling impeachment demands among some Democrats. The remarks were his first public comments on the case since he concluded his investigation.