“The White House and President Trump’s re-election campaign plan to tune in Wednesday to watch former special counsel Robert Mueller’s congressional testimony without a coordinated plan to counter the appearance ahead of time, according to multiple officials involved in those discussions,” NBC News reports.

“The president himself is expected to monitor the hearings from the White House as Mueller answers questions about the Russia investigation, according to campaign aides, much like he has done with similar events in the past. His schedule for that day only includes a routine lunch with the vice president, and aides point to his morning ‘executive time’ as a natural window for Trump to take in snippets of the coverage.”

“But when asked directly by reporters last week if he intended to tune in, the president claimed he ‘won’t be watching.'”

The Justice Department announced that special counsel Robert Mueller will make a statement about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The event, scheduled for 11 a.m. ET, will be streamed live on the department’s website. Mueller will not take questions.

Associated Press: “The release of a redacted version of Mueller’s 448-page report last month offered a long-awaited moment of closure for many — and an utterly unsatisfying cliffhanger for plenty of others.”

“Three weeks of public parsing and analysis have left them wondering just what Mueller was trying to say and what he really thinks, particularly on the question of obstruction, where the document drew no conclusion. That uncertainty has given partisans on both sides an opening to frame Mueller’s findings to their liking and left many Americans, unlikely to read the full report, scratching their heads about what to believe and whom to trust.”

“Enough with the printed page, they say, enough with the punditry: Speak, Bob, speak!”

President Trump tweeted that special counsel Robert Mueller “should not testify on the findings of his probe into Russian election interference, suggesting it was an attempt by Democrats to renew scrutiny on the White House after the release of Mueller’s long-awaited report,” The Hill reports.

Said Trump: “After spending more than $35,000,000 over a two year period, interviewing 500 people, using 18 Trump Hating Angry Democrats & 49 FBI Agents – all culminating in a more than 400 page Report showing NO COLLUSION – why would the Democrats in Congress now need Robert Mueller to testify.”

He added: “Are they looking for a redo because they hated seeing the strong NO COLLUSION conclusion? There was no crime, except on the other side (incredibly not covered in the Report), and NO OBSTRUCTION. Bob Mueller should not testify. No redos for the Dems!”

Jonathan Chait: “It is comically obvious that Trump relied on William Barr’s summary to shape a media narrative about the Mueller report that is not reflected in its actual substance. Trump fears a ‘redo,’ i.e., Mueller having the chance to summarize his own work, rather than having his loyal attorney general do it for him.”