Former special counsel Robert Mueller is giving the House Judiciary Committee an extra week to prepare for his upcoming testimony.
Mueller will now testify on July 24 instead of July 17. The delay comes after lawmakers expressed concerns they would not have enough time to ask him about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice by President Trump.
There are 41 lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee, and members were worried the original time allotted will not allow everyone, including freshman representatives, to be involved in the questioning. Under the current rules, only the most senior Democrats and Republicans on the committee would be able to ask questions, and even then, they'd only get 5 minutes each.
Mueller's also giving lawmakers more time to question him. He's agreed to sit for three hours, an hour longer than previously planned.
Here's a quick refresher: The DOJ released a redacted version of Mueller's 448-page report in April. His report explicitly avoided making a call on whether President Trump had obstructed justice. In May, Mueller held a press conference and warned that if he were asked to testify, he wouldn't say anything beyond what's already in his report.
President Trump dismissed the report and Mueller's upcoming testimony on Friday.
"There's nothing he can say," President Trump said. "He's written a report. The report said no collusion. And it said, effectively, no obstruction, because there's no obstruction."
