Mueller Hearings Set To Rock Capitol Hill As Trump Seethes

Donald Trump was on the offensive Wednesday ahead of Robert Mueller’s testimony before two House committees. The former special counsel’s sessions with lawmakers are being billed by most networks as the most hotly-anticipated hearings in a decade, and the president isn’t pleased.

Trump is especially irritated that Aaron Zebley, Mueller’s right-hand man, will appear too. The last-minute request resulted in the Intelligence committee agreeing to let Zebley take an oath, which opens the door to him responding to lawmakers’ questions. The Judiciary committee, on the other hand, will merely allow him to give Mueller counsel.

“It was NEVER agreed that Robert Mueller could use one of his many Democrat Never Trumper lawyers to sit next to him and help him with his answers”, Trump seethed. “This was specifically NOT agreed to, and I would NEVER have agreed to it”.

Read Robert Mueller’s full opening statement to Congress

The two men go back years. Zebley was chief of staff when Mueller was FBI director, tagged along at private practice and eventually joined Mueller on the 22-month investigation into Russian election interference. He’s been called “deputy special counsel” by Mueller spokesman Jim Popkin.

“The idea of speaking to Mueller’s deputies is not necessarily new and the two panels had previously expected to talk to Mr. Zebley and another former member of the special counsel’s team, in private sessions after the public hearings, but those meetings were canceled after the Justice Department objected”, the New York Times writes, adding that the DoJ probably isn’t amused with the idea of Zebley accompanying Mueller to the hearings. Thanks to the fact that both men are private citizens, there isn’t much anybody can do.

Trump was furious when he heard the news on Tuesday. “So Robert Mueller has now asked for his long time Never Trumper lawyer to sit beside him and help with answers. What’s this all about?”, the president wondered, to nobody in particular on Twitter. “His lawyer represented the ‘basement server guy’ who got off free in the Crooked Hillary case”, he continued, before insisting that “this should NOT be allowed”. He then rolled out the “Rigged Witch Hunt!” line.

Zebley’s presence could throw off both Democrats and Republicans in their planned lines of questioning.

During his first and only public statement on the Russia probe, Mueller said any testimony he might give wouldn’t deviate from the report that bears his name. That contention will be put to the test. Among other things, Democrats are likely to ask whether Mueller would have indicted the president were it not for Justice Department regulations and also about William Barr’s actions in the weeks after the report was delivered to the DoJ.

Earlier this week, the DoJ, in response to a request from Mueller, provided guidance on what can and can’t be discussed with lawmakers. Department guidelines “precludes any comment on the facts developed and legal conclusions by the Special Counsel’s Office with respect to uncharged individuals, other than information contained within the portions of your report that have already been made public”, associate deputy attorney general Bradley Weinsheimer, told Mueller on Monday.

As you can imagine, Adam Schiff wasn’t pleased. “The DOJ letter attempts unduly to circumscribe your testimony and represents yet another attempt by the Trump administration to obstruct the authorized oversight activity and legitimate investigations of the committee”, he said to the former special counsel in a letter of his own.

For anyone who missed it, here is a short list of questions James Comey prepared in a blog post for Lawfare simply entitled “What I Would Ask Robert Mueller” (he’s since discussed this on cable news):

Volume One: Russia

Did you find that there were a series of contacts between the Trump campaign and individuals with ties to the Russian government? (p. 5)

In particular, did you find that a Trump foreign policy adviser learned that the Russians had dirt on Hillary Clinton in the form of thousands of emails? (pp. 5-6)

Did you find that the Trump foreign policy adviser said the Trump campaign had received indications from the Russian government that it could assist the campaign through the anonymous release of information damaging to candidate Clinton? (p. 6)

Did you find that senior members of the Trump campaign met with Russian representatives at Trump Tower after being told in an email that the meeting was part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump? (p. 6)

Did you find that, despite the fact that candidate Trump said he had “nothing to do with Russia,” his organization had been pursuing a major Moscow project into the middle of the election year and that candidate Trump was regularly updated on developments? (vol 1, p. 5: vol 2, p. 19)

Did the Trump campaign report any of its Russian contacts to the FBI?

Not even the indications from the Russian government that it could assist the campaign through the anonymous release of information damaging to candidate Clinton?

Volume Two: Obstruction

Did you reach a judgment as to whether the president had committed obstruction of justice crimes?

Did you find substantial evidence that the president had committed obstruction of justice crimes?

For example, did you find that the president directed the White House counsel to call the acting attorney general and tell him the special counsel must be removed? (p. 4)

Did you find that the White House counsel decided he would rather resign than carry out that order? (p. 4)

Did you find that the president later directed the White House counsel to say he had not been ordered to have the special counsel removed? (p. 6)

Did you find that the president wanted the White House counsel to write a false memo saying he had not been ordered to have the special counsel removed? (p. 6)

Did you find that the White House counsel refused to do that because it was not true? (p. 6)

Did you find that the president repeatedly asked a private citizen–his former campaign manager–to deliver a message to the attorney general to restrict the special counsel to investigating only future campaign interference? (p. 5)

Mueller’s testimony, which was delayed for a week, is seen as a make or break moment for House Democrats angling to oust Trump despite Nancy Pelosi’s reluctance to countenance impeachment proceedings.

For reference, here are the House Democrats who have expressed public support for starting impeachment investigations (from Reuters):