Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call(WASHINGTON) — Special counsel Robert Mueller will make a public statement Wednesday morning amid demands by congressional Democrats that he testify in public, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
The DOJ announcement said Mueller would speak at 11 a.m. at the Justice Department on the “investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election.”
Mueller has remained almost completely silent through the course of his investigation, through the release of his final report on April 18.
The White House was given a heads up that Mueller would be making a statement, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. However, the sources said the White House has not been given any sense as to what he would say.
Mueller’s statement comes amid speculation about whether he will agree to publicly testify before Congress about the results of his investigation, and the handling of his findings on potential obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump.
Trump said Friday that he sees no need for Mueller to testify, calling it “ridiculous,” but has said he would leave the decision up to Attorney General William Barr. Barr has told Congress he has no objection to Mueller testifying.
Sources close to Mueller have told ABC News that he is apprehensive about being made into a political football by members of either party, and that his team has proposed a public statement to the House Judiciary Committee followed by private questioning. It’s unclear whether such a proposal would be accepted by the committee.
Barr, who has faced criticism for his handling of Mueller’s report and public statements appearing to defend President Trump, is currently on official travel in Alaska. A Justice Department official did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on whether Barr was aware of Mueller’s intention to make a statement while he was away from Washington.
While Barr has repeatedly said he has no problem with Mueller testifying publicly about his findings, Trump in recent days has accused Democrats of wanting a “re-do” of his investigation and using his testimony to fuel calls for Trump’s impeachment.
I don’t know why the Radical Left Democrats want Bob Mueller to testify when he just issued a 40 Million Dollar Report that states, loud & clear & for all to hear, No Collusion and No Obstruction (how do you Obstruct a NO crime?) Dems are just looking for trouble and a Do-Over!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 24, 2019
Muller has been eager to avoid the politics swirling around his investigation into the Trump campaign and Russia’s 2016 influence efforts and doesn’t want to testify publicly on Capitol Hill about his findings, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said last week. Thursday.
“He doesn’t want to be public in what some people will regard as a political spectacle, I think,” Nadler said in an interview with MSNBC, confirming reports from ABC News and other outlets about House Democrats pushing back on DOJ’s offer for limited Mueller testimony.
“He’s willing to make an opening statement, but he wants to testify in private,” he said. “We think it’s important for the American people to hear from him and to hear his answers to questions about the report.”
Mueller’s 448-page final report detailed the special counsel’s 22-month long investigation into allegations that the president’s campaign had colluded with Russia. The report said that “the investigation did not establish that the Trump Campaign coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities. Mueller declined to make a traditional prosecutorial decision on whether the president had obstructed justice.
By the conclusion of the investigation, Mueller had indicted 34 people and three Russian businesses, levied charges against six Trump associates and elicited seven guilty pleas.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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