The announcement came after the chairmen of the two panels issued a subpoena compelling Mueller's testimony.
ADVERTISEMENTWASHINGTON — Former special counsel Robert Mueller has agreed to testify in public about his two-year Russia investigation at a hearing before the House Intelligence Committee and Judiciary Committee on July 17, which comes after the chairmen of the two panels issued a subpoena compelling his testimony.
In a press release issued late Tuesday, Judiciary Committee Chairmen Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said that Mueller had agreed to testify next month.
"Pursuant to subpoenas issued by the House Judiciary and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence tonight, Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III has agreed to testify before both Committees on July 17 in open session," the chairmen said in a statement.
They added that, "Americans have demanded to hear directly from the Special Counsel so they can understand what he and his team examined, uncovered, and determined about Russia's attack on our democracy, the Trump campaign's acceptance and use of that help, and President Trump and his associates' obstruction of the investigation into that attack."
The chairmen suggested in a letter to Mueller Tuesday accompanying the subpoena that they understand that Mueller may limit what he plans to share with lawmakers, with Schiff and Nadler writing that they know "there are certain sensitivities associated with your open testimony."
"In particular, the Special Counsel's Office referred several criminal investigations to other offices at the Department of Justice, and certain matters are ongoing. Your office, moreover, admirably limited public comment while the Special Counsel's Office's work was ongoing. You have also explained that you prefer for the Special Counsel's Office's written work to speak for itself," they wrote.
Earlier this month, Nadler said he was "confident" that Mueller would eventually testify before Congress. Ever since the 448-page redacted report was released in April, lawmakers had been in talks with Mueller so that he could testify before Congress publicly. When Mueller spoke publicly for the first time about the Russia investigation in late May, he indicated that he did not want to testify before Congress. "I hope and expect that this is the only time that I will speak to you in this manner," he said then.
"There has been discussion about an appearance before Congress. Any testimony from this office will not go beyond our report. It contains our findings and analysis and the reasons for the decisions we made," he added. "The work speaks for itself. The report is my testimony."
The forthcoming testimony by Mueller comes as those backing the initiation of an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump continues to increase, with 76 Democrats in favor as well as one Republican.