Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham warned Democrats they should “think twice” about inviting former special counsel Robert Mueller to testify again about his nearly two-year Russia investigation.
Mueller’s mental acuity, which came into question last year following halting testimony about his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice by President Trump, became a topic of discussion during a Thursday debate on granting Graham subpoena power in his Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member from California, said there are “many outstanding questions that remain unanswered” and insisted Mueller was the “best suited” to answer them.
Graham showered praise on Mueller but cautioned against calling the former FBI director in to testify.
“Mr. Mueller is a great patriot who served this country for a long period of time. I’m not averse to having somebody from the Mueller team come and tell the committee what they did and how they did it. As a matter of fact, I think that’s a really good idea. I’m not so sure Mr. Mueller would be the best person now, but maybe Mr. Weissmann,” he said, referring to Andrew Weissmann, a former Justice Department and FBI official who was a top prosecutor on Mueller’s team.
“I agree with you,” he added. “I think we need to understand how the Mueller team worked. And I am very open to getting somebody from the Mueller team over here over the course of our inquiry.”
Feinstein then offered a defense of Mueller’s mental ability.
“I think Mr. Mueller is a man of extensive brain cells and can well recall the situation,” she said. “I think this side would very much like to have him here.”
Later on in the meeting, Graham signaled he would consent to their demand but with a word of caution.
“As to Mr. Mueller: If you want to call him, I will,” Graham said, followed by a long pause. “I would just ask you to think twice about that. If you can find somebody else involved in the Mueller investigation that would serve your purposes, I am very open-minded to calling that person.”
Mueller wrapped up his two-year investigation last spring. His team was unable to find a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, but it did lay out 10 instances of possible obstruction of justice that Democrats seized on as a road map to impeachment. The investigation did, however, lead to convictions and guilty pleas from Trump associates over charges unrelated to Russia collusion.
Trump and many of his allies have long derided the investigation as a “witch hunt,” and there are now efforts underway by the Justice Department and Republicans in Congress to seek out any misconduct by the investigators.
Mueller’s mental sharpness was scrutinized in July when he testified to Congress about the Russia investigation and appeared not to know key facts about the investigation. He was previously considered to be sharp and competent. People “very close” to Mueller, now 75, claimed they believed “something happened” to the former FBI director over the course of the two-year Russia investigation, Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig said in January,
One prominent Democrat, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, said in a recent podcast that he was surprised by Mueller’s shaky testimony before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees. The California Democrat agreed when asked whether he was “shocked” during a Daily Beast podcast last month.
“I have known Bob Mueller for a long time. I have tremendous respect for him. I think he is just an amazing human being and public servant,” Schiff said. “He was not the man that I knew just in terms of his strength of presence, and so it was quite surprising.”
Republican political consultant Rick Wilson, one of the hosts of the New Abnormal podcast, offered his take on why “a lot” of people felt the same way.
“I do think a lot of folks had projected on Mueller a level of aggression that was not present in that testimony — in that hearing,” he said.
