Trump tweets that Mueller shouldn’t testify to Congress
WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump declared Sunday that special counsel Robert Mueller should not testify to Congress, sharply escalating his fight with House Democrats over the aftermath of Mueller’s report.
“Bob Mueller should not testify,” Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon.
Brushing aside congressional Democrats’ contention that many aspects of the 448-page report need public clarifying — and are highly damning to Trump — he added: “No redos for the Dems!”
House Democrats have said they have a tentative deal for Mueller to testify May 15, and Atty. Gen. William Barr previously told Congress that he had no objection to Mueller testifying.
It was unclear whether Trump would try now to block an appearance by Mueller, who remains a Justice Department employee, or was merely making a rhetorical point.
There was quick Democratic pushback; Rep. Adam Schiff of Burbank, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, wrote on Twitter that Mueller, together with former White House counsel Donald McGahn, “will testify.”
Whatever the outcome, Trump’s statement marked a further ratcheting up of tensions.
House Democrats have been pressing demands for a fuller version of the special counsel’s releasedbut-redacted report and warned Friday that Barr risked a contempt citation if he fails to provide it by today.
There are fears on both side of the aisle that the confrontation over Mueller’s report — which has morphed into a struggle over the scope of congressional oversight powers — could have lasting adverse consequences.
Democrats say they are worried about a president claiming virtually unchecked powers; Republicans say they are trying to preserve executive prerogative and personal privacy.
Congressional Republicans, meantime, sought to tamp down new controversy over the president’s omission, in a conversation last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin, of any warning to Moscow against interfering in the 2020 presidential election.
It was the two leaders’ first conversation since Mueller detailed sweeping and systematic Russian attempts to encroach on the 2016 campaign.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who made a round of appearances on Sunday’s news-talk shows, did not directly respond to questions about why Trump did not warn Putin about interference, something the president has long shied away from doing.
“We have worked diligently to protect American — America’s — election system, something I wish the previous administration had done more effectively,” Pompeo said on ABC’s “This Week.”
He cited “pretty good success in 2018” in safeguarding the midterm election campaign and asserted that “we continue to be very focused on that.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell, DDublin, who is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said the administration could not be relied upon to protect the United States from further electoral interference by foreign adversaries like Russia.
Barr should be removed for mischaracterizing Mueller’s findings and aiding in the GOP effort to cast doubt on the investigation’s legitimacy, he said.
“I’m recommending that we impeach Atty. Gen. Barr so that we can get the information we need to protect our country,” Swalwell said Sunday on “Face the Nation.”