Mueller appearance delayed to July 24, will testify longer in public

ajc.com

House Democrats announced Friday evening that they had reached a new deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller on his testimony about the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, delaying his appearance before a pair of House panels by one week, and adding an extra two hours to his testimony.

The new schedule will bring Mueller before the House Judiciary Committee at 8:30 am on July 24 - he will testify there for three hours.

After a lunch break, he will then appear before the House Judiciary Committee for three hours in the afternoon.

The extra time was praised by members in both parties, as frustration had built through the week, about the lack of time to question the Special Counsel.

"The new format will allow all Judiciary Republicans to question the special counsel on July 24," said Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.

“This is a win for the American public,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA). “The people will hear from Special Counsel Robert Mueller directly and for a longer period of time.”

In recent days, more and more lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee had publicly complained about the time constraints.

"I don't get a chance to question him?" said Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) on Thursday. "This is just plain wrong."

"I'm not going to get to ask my question," added Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA). "My constituents deserve to be represented at this hearing."

Now the change should allow every member in both parties a chance to ask something of Mueller.

Mueller has said he won't give any answers that go outside what he wrote in his over 400 page report.

Most lawmakers in Congress have not read the report in its entirety.

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