Andrew McCabe: Those with high hopes for Mueller's testimony were 'destined to be disappointed'

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Mueller's testimony riddled with shaky moments, incomplete answers

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Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said those thinking Robert Mueller’s testimony would “breathe life into the report” on his Russia investigation were “destined to be disappointed.”

McCabe, whom former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired in March 2018 for allegedly committing three violations of the bureau's ethics code, said Mueller’s testimony before two U.S. House panels Wednesday wasn’t surprising and he acted “exactly” like some have expected.

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“Director Mueller delivered exactly the performance that I think I and many people expected,” McCabe told CNN’s Don Lemon. “He was obviously incredibly cautious. Did everything humanly possible to not go beyond the four corners of the report.

“Think about the challenge of testifying under these circumstances after you already provided a 400-page statement on the matters that you’ll testify to,” he continued. “He was clearly trying to be very careful not to veer in any way from the phrasing and the facts and the terminology in the report.”

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“I can see how some people would have been disappointed,” McCabe added. “Folks who were hoping he would breathe life into the report and turn it into a dramatic retelling of the presidential abuse were destined to be disappointed. Mueller is at his best a 'Just the facts,' somewhat dry presenter. And I think the limits that he placed on himself in this circumstance brought him even closer to that center.”

"Folks who were hoping he would breathe life into the report and turn it into a dramatic retelling of the presidential abuse were destined to be disappointed."

— Andrew McCabe

Mueller was known to be reluctant to testify, having made clear he would largely stick to the boundaries of his original report. He reiterated Wednesday that his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee and House Intelligence Committee would be based on the text of his report on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential obstruction of the investigation.

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But some liberal pundits have voiced concerns about the optics of the testimony, with Mueller often appearing flustered and not aware of certain parts of his own report.

In addition to frequently asking lawmakers to repeat questions directed at him, at one point, he even said he wasn't familiar with Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm behind the controversial anti-Trump dossier.