From: januarybaybee@gmail.com   
      
   And I'm really looking forward to the moment when he tells all of America that   
   he did NOT exonerate Trump from obstruction of justice.     
      
   Making Trump out a liar - once more.   
                                                   =================   
   New York Times   
      
   Robert Mueller’s Testimony Is Tomorrow. Here’s What You Need to Know.   
      
   WASHINGTON — After two years of silence and one brief public statement, the   
   special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, will finally sit for prolonged   
   questioning at two House hearings on Wednesday. Though he has expressed   
   reluctance about testifying and    
   has vowed to discuss only the contents of his 448-page investigation report,   
   his appearances are nonetheless highly anticipated. Members of Congress will   
   be trying to find ways to highlight the report’s findings or undermine them.   
      
   The Basics   
      
   When: The House Judiciary Committee hearing starts at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on   
   Wednesday and is expected to last about three hours, followed by a short break   
   and the House Intelligence Committee hearing at noon for about two hours.   
      
   Where: Capitol Hill   
      
   Who: The Democratic chairmen of the two committees, Representatives Jerrold   
   Nadler of New York and Adam B. Schiff of California, will set the tone and   
   lead the questioning for both sessions. But Republicans are preparing to try   
   to counter them, led by    
   Representatives Doug Collins of Georgia and Devin Nunes of California, with an   
   assist from Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of the most vocal critics   
   of the Russia investigation.   
      
   How to watch: The New York Times will stream Mr. Mueller’s testimony, and   
   our reporters will provide live context and analysis.   
      
   What They’ll Talk About   
      
       Obstruction. Much of the discussion at the first hearing, in the Judiciary   
   Committee, is expected to revolve around the second volume of Mr. Mueller’s   
   report, an exhaustive account of the president’s attempts to impede   
   investigators. Mr. Mueller    
   and his team did not decide whether Mr. Trump’s efforts amounted to criminal   
   obstruction of justice but also declined to exonerate him.   
      
       Collusion. The Intelligence Committee will focus on the first volume of   
   the report, which described Russia’s 2016 election interference.   
   Investigators found repeated contacts between Russian intermediaries and the   
   Trump campaign, whose advisers    
   welcomed the help and expected to benefit from it, but not sufficient evidence   
   to prove a conspiracy.   
      
       Mr. Mueller is expected to hew closely to his report, though lawmakers do   
   not intend to make his testimony that easy for him. In May, during his only   
   public appearance as special counsel, Mr. Mueller framed that document as his   
   testimony to Congress    
   and said he hoped that he would not have to testify.   
      
       The Democrats want Mr. Mueller to bring to life the most serious acts of   
   possible obstruction in the report. They believe that many Americans lack a   
   full understanding of Mr. Trump’s efforts to impede the inquiry and that Mr.   
   Mueller’s recounting    
   of it will leave an impression on voters. They may also try to push the   
   taciturn Mr. Mueller to more clearly state whether Mr. Trump could have been   
   charged with obstruction if not for Justice Department guidelines that say a   
   sitting president cannot be    
   prosecuted.   
      
       The Republicans want to focus on parts of the report they view as   
   beneficial to the president: namely Mr. Mueller’s decision not to charge   
   anyone with conspiracy. But they have a litany of other questions about the   
   investigation itself, beginning    
   with its length. Republicans disagree about how hard to go after Mr. Mueller,   
   but intend to ask about potential anti-Trump bias in the F.B.I. and among   
   prosecutors on his team, many of whom have worked for or donated to Democratic   
   causes, and some of the    
   questions could get combative.   
      
   What Success Looks Like For …   
      
   Democrats   
      
   Their chief accomplishment would be getting Mr. Mueller to say that the   
   president would have been charged with a crime if not for the Justice   
   Department guidelines. But they also hope that he gives tacit or explicit   
   endorsement of an impeachment    
   investigation by Congress. Both are unlikely. More realistically, Democrats   
   want average Americans watching at home to come away outraged by the   
   president’s behavior.   
      
   Republicans   
      
   The status quo. Republicans believe that if Mr. Mueller simply reiterates his   
   report and keeps from helping Democrats, they have succeeded. They also hope   
   to sow doubt about the fairness of Mr. Mueller’s investigation itself.   
      
   Mr. Mueller   
      
   Be boring, very boring. Mr. Mueller wants to avoid entanglement in the   
   political fray and leave with his reputation for independence unblemished.   
   Until then   
      
       Here are 19 questions we have for Mr. Mueller.   
      
       Familiarize yourself with some of the names that will almost surely be   
   tossed around.   
      
       Or dive into the full 448-page report. We made it searchable.   
      
       Mr. Trump and 18 of his associates had at least 140 contacts with Russian   
   nationals and WikiLeaks, or their intermediaries, during the 2016 campaign and   
   presidential transition.   
      
       Lastly, the president’s efforts exposed him to accusations of   
   obstruction of justice. A New York Times examination revealed the extent of a   
   sustained, secretive assault by Mr. Trump on the machinery of federal law   
   enforcement.   
      
   Adam Goldman reports on the F.B.I. from Washington and is a two-time Pulitzer   
   Prize winner. @adamgoldmanNYT   
      
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