House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler isn’t optimistic that his tentative deadline of May 23 for Special Counsel Robert Mueller to testify before the committee will be met.
According to Politico, Nadler and a senior Democratic committee aide said Friday night that no Mueller hearing is planned for the next week.
“I would assume not,” Nadler said when asked whether Mueller would publicly testify before the upcoming Memorial Day recess that begins next Friday.
However, a Judiciary staffer offered a caveat.
“Mueller could always call us and say, ‘The heck with it, I want to come in Wednesday,’ and we would make time,” the Judiciary staffer said. “But at the moment, no Mueller planned for next week.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday night that the White House’s decision to assert executive privilege over special counsel Robert Mueller’s report have stalled negotiations about Mueller’s possible testimony. The assertion blocked the House Judiciary Committee’s subpoenas demanding the underlying evidence and the unredacted version of the Mueller report.
Attorney General William Barr insisted Thursday morning to the WSJ that it was “up to Bob” whether he wants to testify.
