by Chuck Ross
Special counsel Robert Mueller has set a “tentative” date of May 15 to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, Democratic Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline told “Fox News Sunday.”
Democrats have ramped up calls for Mueller to testify to Congress in the wake of Attorney General William Barr’s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 1 about his interactions with the special counsel’s office regarding the release of the Russia report.
Mueller, a former FBI director, was unable to establish that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election. He declined to make a decision on whether President Donald Trump should be charged with obstructing the investigation. That left the decision up to Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who decided against pursuing an obstruction case.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, offered Mueller a chance Thursday to testify before that panel if he feels the need to correct any statements made by Barr.
Mueller sent Barr a letter on March 27 raising concerns about a four-page memo that Barr sent Congress summarizing the main conclusions of the special counsel’s probe. Mueller claimed that Barr’s letter lacked “context” and had led to misinterpretations in the press.
Barr said that he spoke with Mueller by phone on March 28 and that Mueller said he did not believe Barr’s congressional letter had any inaccuracies. Instead, according to Barr, Mueller expressed concerns about how the press was reporting on the letter.
Barr said he has no qualms with Mueller testifying before Congress.
A spokesman for Mueller did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.
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Chuck Ross is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation. Follow Chuck on Twitter.
