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Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are currently negotiating with special advocate Robert Mueller so he can eventually testify in front of their panel, said Friday a source close to the discussions at Fox News.
The source said that although the committee democrats had not yet set a date for a hearing, they had made progress and hoped Mueller would agree to appear.
NADLER ASKS MUELLER TO SUBMIT TESTIMONY BEFORE THE CHAMBER COMMITTEE "AS SOON AS POSSIBLE"
A spokesman for Mueller said that he had no information and declined to comment. A spokesman for the Democrats committees did not immediately respond to Fox News's request for comment.
The apparent negotiations are shrouded in secrecy, but could point to another imminent critical point in the battle between congressional Democrats and the Trump Justice Department over Mueller's final report on his investigation into Russia's interference. in the 2016 election.
The investigator has not found evidence of Russia 's collusion with Trump' s associates, but has also not reached a conclusion on the other element of the treason. investigation, whether President Trump was obstructing justice. The entire debate around the investigation has since moved on this topic, with Democrats accusing Attorney General Bill Barr of trying to protect the President by not including damaging details on this point in his initial summary. report and quickly determining that there was no obstruction. continue.
In recent days, Democrats have renewed their calls following a leaked letter from Mueller showing that he was expressing his concerns to Mr. Barr about the summary of the report following its release. Some Democrats have even claimed that this contradicts Barr's testimony in April. For his part, Barr boycotted a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee Thursday on the terms of the session, although he testified a few hours earlier from the Senate side. He also denied requests for publication of the unredacted Mueller report, although he offered access to a less redacted version to some lawmakers.
Jerrold Nadler, DN.Y., President of the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives, in a letter to Barr on Friday, threatened to initiate contempt proceedings and "pursue the lawsuit" if the Attorney General and the Department of Justice pursued their "baseless refusal to comply with a validly rendered" summons "decision for the full Mueller report.
In the midst of this bitter struggle, Democrats see Mueller as a potential key to unlocking new details about the process, even though Trump and his allies say it's time to move on.
It is unclear whether Mueller, who is notoriously very discreet, will eventually show up – and on the Senate side, the Judicial Committee Chair, Lindsey Graham, RS.C, showed little interest in convening Mueller to a hearing, reporters"It's over."
Last month, before Barr's full report, Nadler wrote a letter to Mueller asking him to appear before the committee "as soon as possible" and "no later than May 23, 2019".
"It is clear that Congress and the American people must hear special advocate Robert Mueller in person to better understand his findings," Nadler said on April 18. "We now ask Mueller to appear in front of @HouseJudiciary as soon as possible."
"I'm looking forward to working with you on a mutually acceptable date," Nadler wrote to Mueller last month.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Also called for Mueller to appear before Congress.
"We believe that the only way to restore public confidence in the handling of the Special Advisor's investigation is for Special Advisor Mueller himself to testify publicly in the House and Senate as soon as possible," he said. they wrote last month.
PELOSI SAYS TO BARR "LIED TO CONGRESS" AND TO A CRIME, LIKE THE DOJ BLASTS "RECKLESS" COMMENTS
While congressional Democrats have long sought Mueller's testimony, a new letter from Barr's special council has recently surfaced.
The Washington Post reported for the first time this week that Mueller had contacted Barr in a letter and a phone call of March 27 to express his concerns about the summary of his initial report. Mueller urged Barr to publish the summaries written by the Special Council Office.
However, according to the Ministry of the Post Office and the Ministry of Justice, Mueller made it clear that he did not think Barr's summary was inaccurate. Instead, Mueller told Barr that the media coverage of the letter had "misinterpreted" the results of the investigation into the obstruction of justice.
In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, Barr described Mueller's words "sober," and said the situation was "incredibly strange," since the report has already been made public.
Meanwhile, Pelosi accused Barr this week of lying to Congress and reportedly told colleagues at an in camera meeting that he had committed a crime.
"He lied to Congress. And if someone else did that, it would be considered a crime, "she told reporters. "Nobody is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not the Attorney General.
Pelosi's public comments come after Politico said she told Representative Charlie Crist, D-Fla., At a private caucus meeting on Thursday: "We've seen [Barr] commit a crime when he has answered your question.
She was referring to a hearing on April 9, where Crist had asked if Barr knew what had motivated the reports that the prosecutors of the special advocacy team were frustrated with his initial summary. Barr said that he did not do it.
On Thursday, Pelosi was asked if Barr was to go to jail for the alleged crime.
"There is a process involved here and as I said, again, the committee will have to determine how we will proceed," said Pelosi.
A few minutes later, the Justice Ministry criticized Pelosi for his assertions.
"President Pelosi's groundless attack on the Attorney General is irresponsible, irresponsible and false," Kerri Kupec, spokesperson for the Justice Ministry, told Fox News.
Mike Emanuel of Fox News contributed to this story.
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