House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller at today’s hearing:

SCHIFF: “Trump and his campaign welcomed and encouraged Russian interference?”

MUELLER: “Yes.”

SCHIFF: “And then Trump and his campaign lied about it to cover it up?”

MUELLER: “Yes.”

Former special counsel Robert Mueller clarified at the start of the afternoon hearing that in answering a question from Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) in the morning, he was not saying he didn’t charge President Trump with obstruction of justice because of the OLC opinion barring indictment of a sitting president.

Instead, he was saying it precluded him from making a decision on whether Trump should be charged.

Former special counsel Robert Mueller will then testify before the House Intelligence Committee sometime after 12:30 p.m. ET.

The second hearing will focus on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections.

Leave your reactions in the comments.

Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller at the House Judiciary Committee hearing:

BUCK: “Could you charge the president with a crime after he left office?”

MUELLER: “Yes”

BUCK: “You could charge the President of the United States with obstruction of justice after he left office?”

MUELLER: “Yes”

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller at a House Judiciary Committee hearing:

LIEU: “The reason, again, that you did not indict Donald Trump is because of OLC opinion that you cannot indict a sitting president, correct?”

MUELLER: “That is correct.”

“This is delicate to say, but Mueller, whom I deeply respect, has not publicly testified before Congress in at least six years. And he does not appear as sharp as he was then.”

— David Axelrod, on Twitter.

“The president was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed.”

— Former special counsel Robert Mueller, quoted by the Washington Post.

Former special counsel Robert Mueller will testify before the House Judiciary Committee at 8:30 a.m. ET. The three-hour session is expected to focus on whether President Trump obstructed justice by interfering in Mueller’s investigation.

Mueller will then testify before the House Intelligence Committee beginning around 12 p.m. ET. The second session is expected to focus on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections.

Leave your reactions in the comments.

President Trump lashed out again this morning in frustration over former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony before Congress.

Said Trump: “So Democrats and others can illegally fabricate a crime, try pinning it on a very innocent President, and when he fights back against this illegal and treasonous attack on our Country, they call It Obstruction? Wrong! Why didn’t Robert Mueller investigate the investigators?”

He then suggested that he had a say in the format of the hearings: “It was NEVER agreed that Robert Mueller could use one of his many Democrat Never Trumper lawyers to sit next to him and help him with his answers. This was specifically NOT agreed to, and I would NEVER have agreed to it. The Greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history, by far!”

New York Times: “No topic will hang over Wednesday’s hearings quite like impeachment. Mr. Mueller’s testimony may be a make-or-break moment for the wish of some liberals to try to oust Mr. Trump from office.”

“About 90 House Democrats already support opening an impeachment inquiry based on Mr. Mueller’s findings, as well as the president’s role in a hush money payment scheme during the 2016 campaign and other matters. Compelling testimony by Mr. Mueller could renew momentum behind the effort.”

“But the more important measure of whether impeachment moves forward may show up in polling and at town halls around the country when lawmakers return home next week for their August recess.”

Washington Post: “Democrats who demanded Mueller come to Capitol Hill to testify about President Trump and the 2016 election are worried the former special counsel’s appearance won’t provide the kindling they’re looking for to ignite public outrage over the president’s behavior.”

“Worse, some of them are concerned this morning’s marathon hearings before two House committees featuring a reluctant witness will be a ‘snooze fest.'”

Said one House aide: “Everyone will watch it and nothing will happen.”

Playbook: “Republican leaders have long been wary of how their party talks about the probe into the president, aware that some in the GOP tend to burrow deep into tangential issues that the public simply is not tracking. We’ve had countless conversations about the Mueller probe with senior members of the Judiciary and Intelligence committees over the past few years. Inevitably, the conversations naturally end up miles from where they began.”

“Why wasn’t Bill Clinton charged with a crime for talking to Loretta Lynch on the tarmac at the Phoenix airport, Republicans ask? Here’s a newsflash: Peter Strzok is not a household name. And Republicans oftentimes mistake the Sean Hannity-watching audience for the broader American public.”

Playbook: “Up until Tuesday, we all thought that Mueller would be alone at the witness table, binder at the ready, testifying about the probe against the president that he helped lead. Behind the scenes, lawmakers in both parties wondered if Mueller would be conversant enough with the sprawling probe to be a useful witness.”

“Now, Aaron Zebley — Mueller’s longtime chief of staff — will be alongside him. He’ll be a sworn-in witness in front of Intel, and a counsel in front of Judiciary. During the Judiciary hearing, Mueller can confer with him, presumably allowing the former FBI director to refresh his memory on confusing details of the investigation. And during Intel, Zebley can answer questions.”

“This has two practical and political effects: It could slow down the proceedings, giving each member of Congress fewer questions. And it could blow up some Republicans’ strategy of startling Mueller. The addition of Zebley is not the huge game changer President Trump and Republicans want you to believe it is, but it’s certainly a fresh dynamic.”

Politico: Mueller scrambles hearing by tapping top deputy as counsel.