Graham Calls for Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller to Testify Before Senate Judiciary Committee

What’s the story?

• Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to testify before Congress about his investigation after Mueller wrote an op-ed criticizing President Donald Trump for commuting the sentence of Roger Stone, who was convicted of obstructing Congress, making false statements, and witness tampering in connection with Mueller’s probe.
• In response to the op-ed, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released a succinct statement which read in its totality:

“Apparently Mr. Mueller is willing - and also capable - of defending the Mueller investigation through an oped in the Washington Post. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have previously requested Mr. Mueller appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify about his investigation. That request will be granted.”

• Mueller’s op-ed echoed many of the points made in his team’s report and in his previous testimony before Congress, including that:

“The special counsel’s office identified two principal operations directed at our election: hacking and dumping Clinton campaign emails, and an online social media campaign to disparage the Democratic candidate. We also identified numerous links between the Russian government and Trump campaign personnel ― Stone among them. We did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government in its activities. The investigation did, however, establish that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome. It also established that the campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.”

• With regard to Stone, Mueller’s op-ed concluded:

“Congress also investigated and sought information from Stone. A jury later determined he lied repeatedly to members of Congress. He lied about the identity of his intermediary to WikiLeaks. He lied about the existence of written communications with his intermediary. He lied by denying he had communicated with the Trump campaign about the timing of WikiLeaks’ releases. He in fact updated senior campaign officials repeatedly about WikiLeaks. And he tampered with a witness, imploring him to stonewall Congress.”

• It’s unclear when the Senate Judiciary Committee will schedule a hearing to receive Mueller’s testimony, but whenever it occurs it will likely include a focus on Stone, the Steele dossier, the FBI’s surveillance & investigation of Michael Flynn, and more.

RELATED READING

• Appeals Court Panel Upholds Justice Dept. Request for Dismissal of Michael Flynn Case (6/24/20)
• Declassified Transcripts of General Flynn’s Calls With Russian Ambassador Kislyak Released (5/30/20)
• FBI Used Steele Dossier to Justify Surveillance of Trump Campaign Aide Carter Page Despite Warnings it Included Russian Disinformation (5/11/20)
• Justice Dept. to Drop Charges Against Michael Flynn, Citing ‘Unjustified’ FBI Interview - Do You Agree? (5/7/20)
• Highlights From Robert Mueller's House Testimony (7/24/19)
• Read & Comment on the Mueller Report (4/18/19)



— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Graham: Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons | Mueller: Pete Souza - Obama White House / Public Domain)