Mueller to appear twice today before Congress.
WASHINGTON — Robert Mueller’s longtime righthand aide will appear beside him at the witness table during Wednesday’s hearing with the House Judiciary Committee to assist as needed as the former special counsel answers questions about his investigation, people familiar with the hearing said.
The Judiciary Committee signed off on the unusual arrangement after Mueller made a last-minute request that the aide, Aaron Zebley, be sworn in as a witness alongside him. If Democrats had agreed, lawmakers could have questioned Zebley directly, potentially upending carefully laid plans by Democrats and Republicans over how to use their scant time with Mueller.
Instead, as a counsel to Mueller, Zebley will not be under oath or theoretically allowed to answer lawmakers’ queries. But he can confer privately with Mueller, 74, if the former special counsel needs assistance or guidance about how to respond.
It is not uncommon for government witnesses to bring aides along to congressional hearings for that purpose, though in almost all cases the aides sit behind, rather than next to, the witness. Mueller is being asked to account for two years worth of investigative details uncovered by a large team of investigators and to do so while avoiding the disclosure of nonpublic information.
It was unclear if Mueller had made a similar request to the House Intelligence Committee, the panel holding the second of two highly anticipated hearings Wednesday at which Mueller is scheduled to testify.
Jim Popkin, a spokesman for Mueller, said Tuesday that Zebley “will accompany special counsel Mueller to the Wednesday hearings, as was discussed with the committees more than a week ago.”
The congressional officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not specify whether Mueller or his team explained the request.
Zebley has worked closely with Mueller for years. He worked alongside Mueller during his 22-month investigation, served as his chief of staff when Mueller was FBI director and followed him into private practice at the WilmerHale law firm. He filled a similar role on the special counsel’s team, coordinating the team and serving as a go-between with the Justice Department.
Popkin identified Zebley as the investigation’s “deputy special counsel” and said he “had day-to-day oversight of the investigations conducted by the office.”
Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said the last-minute addition of a witness could violate House rules.
“If Democrats believe it is the special counsel’s responsibility to testify to his report, they have no ground for outsourcing that duty at the expense of our committee’s integrity,” he said.