A month after the former FBI director said he did not intend to appear before legislators, it was announced he would be a witness to two committees of the House of Representatives – the judiciary committee, and the intelligence committee. He is scheduled to appear on July 17.

When he delivered a rare public statement last month, his first in connection with the investigation into Moscow’s alleged interference and possible contacts between Russia and members of Mr Trump’s campaign, the 74-year-old said he would rather his work speak for itself.

“The report is my testimony,” Mr Mueller said in a statement at the Justice Department. “I would not provide information beyond that which is already public in any appearance before Congress.”

His decision was a major blow to Democrats who had hoped to press Mr Mueller, both on his probe and his conclusion. In his 448-page report, special counsel said while found no evidence of collusion, he was not able to exonerate the president on the question of possible obstruction of justice.

Mueller investigation: The key figures Show all 12 1 /12 Mueller investigation: The key figures Mueller investigation: The key figures Robert Mueller is the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, and potential obstruction of justice by the president. Mr Mueller has a pristine reputation in Washington, where he was previously in charge of the FBI. Throughout his investigation, he and his team have been notoriously tight lipped about what they know and where their investigation has led. REUTERS Mueller investigation: The key figures Former FBI director James Comey was the catalyst that led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Mr Comey was fired by the president after Mr Trump reportedly asked him to drop his own Russia investigation. Mr Trump has long maintained that the investigation is a "witch hunt". AFP/Getty Images Mueller investigation: The key figures Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein had authority over the special counsel investigation for much of the two years it has been active. Mr Rosenstein found himself with that responsibility after then-attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself from that oversight. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Attorney general Jeff Sessions's decision to recuse himself from oversight of the special counsel investigation may have cost him his job in the end. Mr Sessions resigned last year, after weathering a contentious relationship with Donald Trump who vocally criticised his attorney general for taking a step back. Mr Sessions recused himself from the oversight citing longstanding Justice Department rules to not be involved in investigations overseeing campaigns that officials were apart of. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Attorney General William Barr is currently responsible for oversight of the special counsel investigation. Mr Barr's office will be the first to receive the Mueller report when it is finished. His office will then determine what portion or version of that report should be delivered to Congress, and also made public. EPA Mueller investigation: The key figures Michal Cohn is the president's former personal lawyer, who has been helping the special counsel investigation as a part of a plea deal over financial crimes, and campaign finance crimes, he has pleaded guilty to. Among those crimes, Cohen admitted to facilitating $130,000 in hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Cohen has said he did so at the direction of Mr Trump. Cohen has also admitted that he maintained contacts with Russian officials about a potential Trump real estate project in Moscow for months longer than Mr Trump and others admitted. The talks continued well into 2016 during the campaign, he has said. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Stormy Daniels has alleged that she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006, soon after Melania Trump gave birth to Baron Trump. The accusation is of particular importance as a result of the $130,000 hush money payment she received to keep quiet about the affair during the 2016 campaign. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Paul Manafort was Donald Trump's former campaign chairman. Manafort was charged alongside Rick Gates for a slew of financial crimes, and was convicted on several counts in a Virginia court. He then pleaded guilty to separate charges filed in a Washington court. Manafort has been sentenced to just 7.5 years in prison for his crimes — in spite of recommendations from the special counsel's office for a much harsher sentence. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures George Papadopoulos was one of the first individuals associated with the Trump campaign to be charged by the Mueller probe. He ultimately received a 14 day prison sentence for lying to investigators about contacts he had with Russian officials. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Roger Stone is a well known political fixer and operative, who has made a name for himself for some dirty tactics. He has been charged by the Mueller probe earlier this year, and he has been said to have had prior knowledge that WikiLeaks planned on publishing stolen emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016. Getty Images Mueller investigation: The key figures Rick Gates was charged alongside former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for a range of crimes. Gates, who worked alongside Manafort for a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party. The two were charged with conspiracy and financial crimes. Gates pleaded guilty. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was one of the first casualties of the Russia scandal, and was forced out of his position in the White House weeks after Donald Trump took office. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to "willfully" making fraudulent statements about contacts he had with Russian officials including former Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Flynn then lied to Vice President Mike Pence about that contact. REUTERS

Expanding on another point he made in the report when he spoke last month, Mr Mueller said department of justice guidelines had made it impossible for him to consider indicting a sitting president.

Rather, he suggested it was the job of politicians to pick up the probe, leading many to believe the special counsel was suggesting Democrats should pursue an impeachment inquiry.

“The constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing,” Mr Mueller said.

Trump disputes top aide's damning Mueller testimony

Attorney general William Barr took the decision not to charge the president.

It emerged on Tuesday that Democrats had never give up on their hope to have Mr Mueller appear before them. The president has told the White House not to cooperate with requests for information or testimonies.

But congressmen Jerry Nadler and Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairs of the judiciary committee and intelligence committee respectively, said in a joint statement that Mr Mueller had agreed to testify after the two committees issued subpoenas.

“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,” they said in a statement.

Doug Collins, the top Republican on the judiciary Committee, said in a statement: “I hope the special counsel’s testimony marks an end to the political gamesmanship that judiciary Democrats have pursued at great cost to taxpayers.”

Speaking on MSNBC, Mr Schiff said: “We never felt it was sufficient to rely simply on a written report or a 10-minute statement without the ability to follow up with questions.”

There was no immediate word whether Mr Trump or the White House would attempt to prevent Mr Mueller testifying.