Former special counsel Robert Mueller agrees to testify before Congress in July

The former special counsel Robert Mueller agreed to publicly testify before two House committees “in open session” on July 17, according to a joint statement from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.

Nadler and Schiff said in the statement that they “look forward to hearing his testimony, as do all Americans.”

“Americans have demanded to hear directly from the Special Counsel so they can understand what he and his team examined, uncovered, and determined about Russia’s attack on our democracy, the Trump campaign’s acceptance and use of that help, and President Trump and his associates’ obstruction of the investigation into that attack,” the statement reads.

Schiff said the two hearings will be back-to-back, starting with the House Judiciary Committee hearing.

Mueller’s decision to testify comes after House lawmakers issued subpoenas to the former special counsel: “One way or another, we expect him to testify,” Schiff said earlier on Tuesday.

Read more: Nixon’s ex-White House counsel John Dean laid out 6 striking parallels between the Mueller report and the Watergate investigation

Mueller held a press conference last month following his investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election and the question of whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice. Mueller’s investigation did not find enough evidence to charge members of Trump’s 2016 campaign with conspiracy and declined to issue “traditional prosecutorial judgement” on the question of obstruction of justice.

“If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state,” the report stated. “However, we are unable to reach that judgment. The evidence we obtained about the president’s actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred.”

Trump hailed the report’s findings as a political victory despite its inconclusive results: “Mueller comes out — there’s no collusion and essentially a ruling that no obstruction,” Trump said during an ABC News interview earlier in June. “And they keep going with it. You know what? People are angry about it.”

Mueller explained last month that his 448-page report, much of which is redacted, is considered his testimony and that efforts to have him testify before Congress would not yield new information.

“The report is my testimony,” Mueller said in late May, adding that, “no one has told me whether I can or should testify or speak further about this matter.”

Mueller’s public testimony may spark concern in the White House, where the president and his staffers have long excoriated Democrats for calling for more subpoenas and testimonies in relation to the Russia investigation. Outgoing White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said last month that the White House considered “this case closed.”

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