The chairman of the Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee says he is “confident” special counsel Robert Mueller will soon testify publicly in front of Congress, but the panel will issue a subpoena if necessary.
Rep. Jerry Nadler told reporters Wednesday he believed it was Mueller’s “duty to the American people” to testify openly rather than behind closed doors.
“Let’s just say that I’m confident he’ll come in soon,” added the New York Democrat.
Nadler was asked whether his committee might need to subpoena Mueller to force him to appear, and Nadler responded bluntly: “We will if we have to.”
“I think the American people need that,” Nadler told reporters. “I think frankly it’s his duty to the American people.”
Mueller a week ago delivered his first public remarks since the special counsel investigation launched in May 2017, and he made it clear that he didn’t want to testify.
“I hope and expect this to be the only time that I will speak about this matter,” Mueller said. “There has been discussion about an appearance before Congress. Any testimony from this office would not go beyond our report.
Mueller pointed out that his report “contains our findings and analysis” as well as “the reasons for the decisions we made.”
Desire to have Mueller testify publicly in front of Congress is bipartisan.
Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said last week that whether or not Mueller testifies is “up to Jerry Nadler” but made it clear that “I got questions for him.”
“I think the one question most Americans want to know, when did you first learn there was no collusion?” Jordan asked.
“And if you learned this early on, why did you wait almost two years before you told the country there was no conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the election?” Jordan continued. “After all, that was your central focus, your central task of this entire special counsel investigation.”
