WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Robert Mueller will have a long official statement for the record when he testifies Wednesday before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees — his entire 448-page report.
A spokesman for Mueller, Jim Popkin, said Monday that Mueller will have a brief opening statement and then offer the entire report of the special counsel investigation as his full statement for the hearing record.
Popkin said Mueller intends to abide by the commitment he made in his only public statement about the report.
During brief remarks at the Justice Department on May 29, Mueller said if asked to appear before Congress: "Any testimony from this office would not go beyond our report. It contains our findings and analysis, and the reasons for the decisions we made," he said.
"We chose those words carefully, and the work speaks for itself. The report is my testimony. I would not provide information beyond that which is already public in any appearance before Congress," Mueller said.
A letter from the Justice Department on Monday agreed with Mueller's approach, specifically instructing him not to provide testimony concerning the redacted portions of the public version of the report.
The letter clarified that "any testimony must remain within the boundaries of your public report because matters within the scope of your investigation were covered by executive privilege."
After receiving congressional subpoenas, Mueller agreed to testify for three hours before the House Judiciary panel, take a short break, then appear for two more hours before the members of the House Intelligence Committee.
