Just two days before his much anticipated appearance before two congressional committees, the Department of Justice has sent Robert Mueller a letter warning him to be careful about what he says in public.
“Any testimony must remain within the boundaries of your public report because matters within the scope of your investigation were covered by executive privilege, including information protected by law enforcement, deliberative process, attorney work product, and presidential communications privileges,” wrote Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer.
Mueller was reminded by Weinsheimer that DOJ policy prevents him from commenting on the legal conclusions his office made “with respect to uncharged individuals, other than information contained within the portions of your report that already have been made public.” Weinsheimer also said Mueller should not testify about portions of the public report that have been redacted or about uncharged third parties.
It’s unlikely Mueller will go outside the four corners of his report in any event, with or without the DOJ’s last minute admonition. He specifically said he would do so in his brief press conference in May.
Democrats on the House committees are hoping Mueller will be more forthcoming than he has stated he would be. But the straight-laced Mueller, who is only testifying because he was subpoenaed to do so, will most likely disappoint those Democrats holding out hope he will go rogue.
About the only suspense on Wednesday will be which Trump congressional lapdog will make the biggest fool of himself trying to discredit the former Eagle Scout and ex-Marine.
The bottom line is even if Mueller only reads from his 448-page report, the damage to Donald Trump could be significant as the American public will hear, many for the first time, the true, unvarnished-by-Barr version of his investigative findings.
Photo | nbcnews.com
