Former special counsel will publicly detail ties between Russia, Trump and his potential efforts to obstruct justice in investigation

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Appearing before Congress on Wednesday, former special counsel Robert Mueller will for the first time publicly detail ties between Donald Trump’s campaign and Moscow and potential efforts by the president to obstruct justice in the Russia investigation.

Nadler: Mueller has evidence of Trump high crimes and misdemeanours Read more

One Democrat on the House judiciary committee told the Guardian Mueller’s testimony will prove “damning and explosive”.

The highly anticipated appearance is expected to reinvigorate heated debate among Democrats over whether Trump should be impeached.

For Democrats who took control of the House in November, Mueller’s remarks could prove a make-or-break moment as they grapple with how to hold the president accountable – and whether the public will be on their side if they move ahead with impeachment.

“We cannot emphasize enough that this will be the first opportunity for many, many Americans to actually hear what’s contained in the Mueller report,” said Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island who sits on the House judiciary committee.

“I don’t think anyone should expect there’s going to be an explosive new moment where [Mueller] is going to add something the investigation didn’t cover, but the contents of the report are damning and explosive.”

If the activity described was anyone other than the president of the United States, they would indict that individual David Cicilline

Mueller will appear before the judiciary committee and the intelligence committee in what will be his first and only public assessment of his work before lawmakers on Capitol Hill. A redacted version of his 448-page report was released in April.

The former FBI director made only a brief statement in May, reiterating his team’s consensus that Trump could not be exonerated but also could not be charged with committing a crime. Mueller signaled a reluctance to testify, stating that his report should speak for itself.

But his decision not to recommend charges against the president, choosing instead to punt the issue to a divided Congress, has left Democrats with little clarity on how to move forward.

Roughly a third of House Democrats have called for a formal impeachment inquiry. The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has cautioned against such a move, stating the ensuing fight would be “divisive” and play into Trump’s hands as he seeks re-election.

Greg Brower, a former assistant director in the FBI’s Office of Congressional Affairs, said Mueller’s testimony could be “very impactful” in shifting the political winds.

“I don’t think the American people or Congress fully understands what the evidence is,” Brower said. “It’s part of Mueller’s continuing duty to explain his findings in as compelling a way as possible that, at a minimum, is intended to inform Congress, but could also change public opinion.

“Just assuming that nobody cares and it’s not going to change any minds is an abdication of his responsibility to make sure the public understands the details of his report.

“That’s not to say it’s Mueller’s duty to advocate for a certain outcome. That would be wrong. But I think he needs to explain the facts so that the members decide what the right outcome is, based on constituent input and their own analysis of the evidence.”

Mueller’s report outlined 11 attempts by Trump or his campaign to obstruct justice after January 2017. It also concluded that the campaign was “receptive” to help from Moscow in the 2016 election and expected to benefit electorally from Russian interference.

The former special counsel’s testimony will consist of three hours of questioning from each House committee. The intelligence committee is expected to focus on whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russians while the judiciary panel will examine the president’s actions in office and whether they amounted to obstruction.

The notoriously tight-lipped and nonpartisan Mueller is unlikely to deviate from the contents of his report. But Cicilline said the special counsel had turned up “extraordinary evidence” that Trump sought to obstructed justice on numerous occasions.

“If the activity described in the Mueller report was anyone other than the president of the United States, they would indict that individual,” Cicilline said.

Of course Donald Trump is a racist – and his Wall Street enablers know it | Robert Reich Read more

Polling has found that the Mueller report did not substantially change public perceptions of the Russia investigation, although a slim majority would like to see some kind of action against the president. Just 39% believe no further action should be taken and investigations into Trump should end.

All eyes are now on Mueller, with millions of Americans due to tune in from home.

Republican members of the House committees have promised tough questioning, with supposed FBI misconduct around the Russia investigation, tweeted about by Trump on Monday, one likely subject.

Trump himself suggested he had no plans to watch the hearing.

“Maybe I’ll see a little bit of it,” he told reporters at the White House, before swiftly reversing course.

“I‘m not going to be watching Mueller because you can’t take all those bites out of the apple. We had no collusion. No obstruction. We had no nothing.”