Former Virginia Deputy Attorney General Stephen Cobb said Tuesday that calling special counsel Robert Mueller to testify before the House Judiciary Committee wouldn’t be “fruitful.”
Cobb, who also previously served as a senior advisor under the Obama administration, argued that Mueller has already outlined everything he’s had to say in his report, and already made it clear that he is not interested in answering questions from lawmakers about his investigation or its conclusions.
“I think Mueller is a consummate professional and I think he said everything that he did have to say in his report,” Cobb told Hill.TV. “When he gave his press conference he made very clear that he did not intend to speak on this again and if he did speak on it again, those comments would not extend beyond the four corners of his report.”
“Ultimately, calling Mueller before the Judiciary Committee would not be fruitful,” he added.
Cobb’s comments come after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) announced Monday that his panel has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice to obtain key underlying evidence from the Mueller report.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers will now have access to the documents. The agreement marked a major breakthrough in negotiations between the Judiciary Committee and the Trump administration over access to Mueller’s documents.
But a day later, the full House passed a resolution that would authorize Nadler to go to court to enforce congressional subpoenas for Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn.
The 229-191 vote on Tuesday broke down along partisan lines, and comes amid a growing push among some Democrats to open an impeachment inquiry.
President Trump has repeatedly downplayed the Mueller report and impeachment, saying it had found “no collusion, no obstruction,” even though the special counsel did not clear the president of obstruction of justice.
—Tess Bonn
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