Nadler not worried that GOP could press Mueller for details on Russia probe: 'Let them waste their time'

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Rep. Jerry Nadler previews former special counsel Robert Mueller's upcoming congressional testimony

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler discusses what new info Democrats hope to hear from Robert Mueller.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., is looking forward to Wednesday’s testimony from Robert Mueller, and is not concerned that the whole thing may blow up in his face once Republicans are allowed to ask questions of the former special counsel.

Nadler and his fellow Democrats intend to ask Mueller about his investigation’s findings, specifically regarding whether or not President Trump obstructed justice in the context of the Russia investigation, but Mueller has already said that he said everything that needs to be said about this in his report. Republicans plan on asking him about what is not in the report, which is information regarding potential misconduct related to the origin of the probe.

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“If they want to debate or discuss this irrelevancy, let them waste their time,” Nadler said on “Fox News Sunday,” insisting that everything Republicans are worried about has already been investigated and “found to be baseless.”

Host Chris Wallace pushed back on that assertion, noting that the Justice Department Inspector General’s report on the Trump investigation and potential abuse of the FISA system to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page has yet to be released.

Nadler referred to previous Inspector General’s findings related to the Hillary Clinton investigation, which he said was half of what Republicans are concerned with. Those findings included details about messages sent between former special agent Peter Strzok and attorney Lisa Page, which featured strong language against Trump and favoring Clinton. The report found that Strzok showed that his political opinions could have influenced his work, but that there was ultimately no improper impact on the Clinton investigation.

Nadler also insisted, “There was nothing wrong with the FISA application,” but that remains to be seen, as that report has yet to come out.

Wallace asked Nadler if his efforts to get more information out of Mueller could be fruitless, given Muelller’s public statement that the report was his testimony and he had nothing more to add.

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“We hope not,” Nadler said. He described a strategy of pointing Mueller to parts of his report, then asking him if they describe obstruction of justice. Nadler said he believes the report contains “very substantial evidence that the president is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors,” which is the standard for impeachment, and that "if anyone else had been accused of what the report finds the president had done, they would have been indicted."

It remains to be seen if Mueller would go along with Democrats' planned line of questioning.

“It should be interesting,” Nadler said.