House Judiciary Committee to hold June 10 hearing on Mueller report

[June 04, 2019]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on June 10 on Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to Donald Trump's campaign.

The committee will hear testimony from former U.S. attorneys and legal experts, including John Dean, a Trump critic and former White House counsel to President Richard Nixon who served a year in prison in connection with the Watergate scandal.

"We have learned so much even from the redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report," Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said in a statement.

"These hearings will allow us to examine the findings laid out in Mueller's report so that we can work to protect the rule of law and protect future elections through consideration of legislative and other remedies," Nadler said.

In a 448-page, redacted report released in April, Mueller documented numerous occasions in which Trump sought to quash the probe, including by firing former FBI Director James Comey. Mueller ultimately did not reach a decision as to whether Trump had obstructed justice, however.

The special counsel said last week that even if he had been willing to conclude Trump had committed a crime, he could not have indicted him because of a Justice Department policy that prohibits indicting a sitting president.

U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller makes a statement on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election at the Justice Department in Washington, U.S., May 29, 2019. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

"... Our first hearing will focus on President Trump's most overt acts of obstruction. In the coming weeks, other hearings will focus on other important aspects of the Mueller report," Nadler said.

The House Judiciary Committee has already held many hearings and sought materials and testimony related to its investigation into whether Trump tried to obstruct Mueller's probe.

Last month, Attorney General William Barr refused to appear for a scheduled committee hearing before the committee and the White House blocked former White House Counsel Don McGahn from appearing at another hearing.

(Reporting by Amanda Becker; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

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