House Intelligence chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) explained on Sunday the importance of have special counsel Robert Mueller testify publicly this week.
CBS “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan asked Schiff what he hoped to learn from the testimony given that Mueller’s stated he won’t go beyond what’s already been said in his blockbuster report.
According to Schiff, it’s less about learning new information and more about making sure Americans know exactly what’s in the report without President Donald Trump and his administration’s distortions.
“Since most Americans in their busy lives haven’t had the opportunity to read that report, and it’s a pretty dry prosecutorial work product, we want Bob Mueller to bring it to life,” Schiff said. “To talk about what’s in that the report.”
“It’s a pretty damning set of facts that involve a presidential campaign in a close race welcoming help from a hostile foreign power,” he continued.
The California Democrat asserted that Trump keeps trying to “deceive” Americans about the facts of the report, which is why Democrats want Mueller to lay out the facts clearly.
“Who better to bring them to life then the man who did the investigation himself?” Schiff said. “We want the people to hear it directly from him.”
Mueller is scheduled to testify in front of both the House Intelligence and House Judiciary committees on Wednesday.
Watch Schiff below:
Schiff: Purpose of Mueller testimony is to bring his report "to life" for the public pic.twitter.com/s1QvTKobE3
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) July 21, 2019
Hoping for the golden ‘sound bite’.
I’m terrified what we’ll get is, “I refer you to page sixty-seven, sub paragraph four for the answer”.
I agree Filmknight.
I suspect that at 70 Mueller can’t get a new social life thus his reluctance to testify.
This group is his peers.
His wife & Barr’s are buddies.
He was a member of Trump club in Dulles, VA.
When you can afford Trump club you are a powerful rich elite. Not a big circle. To join that type club you like the social life & self-select into it. He has children who socialize in those circles.
Mueller is old & wealthy he doesn’t want to deal with political fallout.
Where will he socialize if the GOP socially shun him & his wife & kids…even if he has moral fortitude it’s not worth social cost to his kids & grandkids.
So, I agree…we are likely to hear citations
“ page number, third paragraph, sentence ffive”
The report is the smoking gun. We don’t need any new revelations. Schiff is politically smart to downplay expectations for bombshells b/c the key is to have Americans understand what is already in the report. It’s damning AF.
Additionally, Mueller could present a big value add by simply restating certain conclusions in plain English as opposed to legalese. I suspect the GOPers on the committee will end up unwittingly walking Mueller into making such statements because they are dumb.
As for Mueller, this report is your life’s work. Defend it. Defend the conclusions. Explain them to the American people. That’s his duty.
They can then ask him to read it. Also I think that, in spite of Mueller’s reluctance to get involved in the “politics” of this matter, he’s become incredibly disgusted with the way Republicans are behaving. He probably won’t be able to hide his disgust for very long on Wednesday.
Not to mention the vast majority of Republicans who, to their everlasting shame, still haven’t read the Report that, you know, only outlines grave crimes committed against the American people and our national security.