Prepare to update your television viewing calendar. On Friday, multiple sources indicated that Mueller’s testimony, which had been slated to be two back-to-back three-hour sessions of public testimony on July 17, is likely to slide to July 24.
The good news is that this does not appear to be a sign that the former special counsel is reaching out to take Attorney General William Barr’s offer to hide him from congressional subpoenas. Instead, the Mueller delay appears to be coming from concerns that the pair of relatively brief sessions would not allow for sufficient public questioning—especially when half of each session will be handed over to Republicans asking why more time wasn’t devoted to … something something Hillary.
At the moment, it appears that Mueller has offered to delay for a week and spend more time with legislators. Whether that means more time in public sessions, or more time in the closed-door sessions that were to follow remains unclear. Standby for updates.
Friday, Jul 12, 2019 · 3:28:08 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
The Washington Post is reporting that the delay was generated in part because the brief time limits for questioning (which would have made up just two hours of each sessions) paired with the five minutes awarded each member, meant that many junior members of the committees would have had no chance to direct a question to the former special counsel. This would have mean that some of Democrat’s most effective questioners would be unable to address Mueller.
A more extended session for each committee would ensure that all members had the opportunity to ask a question.