PUBLISHED TO
Despite numerous delays in negotiation, and last-minute changes that
bumped the date back by a week, former special counsel Robert Mueller is
slated to testify before Congress on Wednesday morning. But what he
will answer is in even greater doubt after a Monday night letter from the DOJ instructed him to severely restrict his testimony.
As usual in congressional hearings, Mueller will make an opening statement. This will be followed by question periods doled out to Democratic and Republican members in five-minute segments. It can be expected that Democrats will spend their five minutes asking Mueller to recall the most telling information learned in compiling the report, and to air his opinion on how Attorney General William Barr’s three-page “summary” distorted those findings. Republicans can be expected to spend their time asking Mueller about Peter Strzok’s love letters, why he didn’t look into Hillary Clinton’s email server, and more or less anything except Donald Trump’s obvious attempts to obstruct justice.
And while Democrats will have to struggle with the interruptions of Republicans out to derail the hearing at every turn, there’s another big roadblock—because the Department of Justice letter to Mueller is nothing short of a threat. That letter notes, “As the Attorney General has repeatedly stated, the decision to testify before Congress is yours to make in this case,” but it also makes it clear that this sweet generosity on the part of Barr has decided limits. Though the attorney general has repeatedly said he would not stop Mueller from testifying, he has also made it clear that he doesn’t want the special counsel to talk, and has gone so far as to offer to help Mueller fight a congressional subpoena if he decides not to appear. Since Mueller didn’t take Barr up on that offer, the attorney general is now applying heavy pressure in the Monday letter, saying that the DOJ “agrees with your stated position that your testimony should be unnecessary under the circumstances” and that “the Department generally does not permit prosecutors such as you to appear and testify before Congress regarding their investigative and prosecutorial activity.”
The DOJ instructs Mueller not to say anything about the redacted portions of the report, citing case law. The letter makes sure to include the statement, “In addition, it is the Department’s longstanding policy not to discuss the conduct of uncharged third-parties.” Finally, the letter warns Mueller against saying anything else related to the report, because everything is related to the report. According to the DOJ, Mueller may not talk about “investigative steps or decisions made during your investigation” or anything that is “potentially open.”
It’s not an order for Mueller not to appear, but it’s close. It’s a last-moment effort to jerk the former special counsel’s chain, and based on how he has responded before … it might work.
Mueller made it clear that he would prefer not to testify, and that his testimony will be limited to information already included in the (still redacted) report. However, with Barr making it impossible to obtain information related to the report and casting a blanket of “privilege” over it and associated documents, Mueller’s testimony is critical. And with only a tiny number of Americans having actually read the report, Mueller’s public appearance may be the last best chance to get across to the public the hundreds of connections between Trump’s campaign and Russia and the concerted effort by Trump to cover up those connections.
Democrats might also be expected to ask Mueller about how he came by his rigid interpretation of Department of Justice guidelines concerning potential indictment of Trump, since many legal experts have disagreed with that position both before and after the report was issued. And Democrats might want to get a good definition of the limits set on Mueller’s activity by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, whose instructions to the special counsel have still not been revealed.
The letter from the DOJ would seem to suggest that all these matters—how Mueller interpreted the guidelines, how the limits of the special counsel’s office were set, what Mueller thought of Barr’s efforts to distort his work by failing to publish the summaries created for that purpose—are privileged.
That could make Wednesday’s testimony even more frustrating that it’s already expected to be.
Mueller will first appear before the House Judiciary Committee in a session slated to begin at 8:30 AM ET. At noon, he will answer questions for the House Intelligence Committee.
As usual in congressional hearings, Mueller will make an opening statement. This will be followed by question periods doled out to Democratic and Republican members in five-minute segments. It can be expected that Democrats will spend their five minutes asking Mueller to recall the most telling information learned in compiling the report, and to air his opinion on how Attorney General William Barr’s three-page “summary” distorted those findings. Republicans can be expected to spend their time asking Mueller about Peter Strzok’s love letters, why he didn’t look into Hillary Clinton’s email server, and more or less anything except Donald Trump’s obvious attempts to obstruct justice.
And while Democrats will have to struggle with the interruptions of Republicans out to derail the hearing at every turn, there’s another big roadblock—because the Department of Justice letter to Mueller is nothing short of a threat. That letter notes, “As the Attorney General has repeatedly stated, the decision to testify before Congress is yours to make in this case,” but it also makes it clear that this sweet generosity on the part of Barr has decided limits. Though the attorney general has repeatedly said he would not stop Mueller from testifying, he has also made it clear that he doesn’t want the special counsel to talk, and has gone so far as to offer to help Mueller fight a congressional subpoena if he decides not to appear. Since Mueller didn’t take Barr up on that offer, the attorney general is now applying heavy pressure in the Monday letter, saying that the DOJ “agrees with your stated position that your testimony should be unnecessary under the circumstances” and that “the Department generally does not permit prosecutors such as you to appear and testify before Congress regarding their investigative and prosecutorial activity.”
The DOJ instructs Mueller not to say anything about the redacted portions of the report, citing case law. The letter makes sure to include the statement, “In addition, it is the Department’s longstanding policy not to discuss the conduct of uncharged third-parties.” Finally, the letter warns Mueller against saying anything else related to the report, because everything is related to the report. According to the DOJ, Mueller may not talk about “investigative steps or decisions made during your investigation” or anything that is “potentially open.”
It’s not an order for Mueller not to appear, but it’s close. It’s a last-moment effort to jerk the former special counsel’s chain, and based on how he has responded before … it might work.
Mueller made it clear that he would prefer not to testify, and that his testimony will be limited to information already included in the (still redacted) report. However, with Barr making it impossible to obtain information related to the report and casting a blanket of “privilege” over it and associated documents, Mueller’s testimony is critical. And with only a tiny number of Americans having actually read the report, Mueller’s public appearance may be the last best chance to get across to the public the hundreds of connections between Trump’s campaign and Russia and the concerted effort by Trump to cover up those connections.
Democrats might also be expected to ask Mueller about how he came by his rigid interpretation of Department of Justice guidelines concerning potential indictment of Trump, since many legal experts have disagreed with that position both before and after the report was issued. And Democrats might want to get a good definition of the limits set on Mueller’s activity by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, whose instructions to the special counsel have still not been revealed.
The letter from the DOJ would seem to suggest that all these matters—how Mueller interpreted the guidelines, how the limits of the special counsel’s office were set, what Mueller thought of Barr’s efforts to distort his work by failing to publish the summaries created for that purpose—are privileged.
That could make Wednesday’s testimony even more frustrating that it’s already expected to be.
Mueller will first appear before the House Judiciary Committee in a session slated to begin at 8:30 AM ET. At noon, he will answer questions for the House Intelligence Committee.
No comments:
Post a Comment