Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller arrives to testify before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on his report on Russian election interference, on Capitol Hill, July 24, 2019 in Washington. (Photo by Alex Brandon / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read ALEX BRANDON/AFP/Getty Images)

Virtually since Donald Trump’s election, the American people have been bombarded by a barrage of incessant news coverage on the Mueller investigation. We were treated with breathless updates on Russian “collusion” from TV, newspaper, radio and internet news sources. Then the Mueller report came out, and instead of putting the topic to bed, the 400 plus page report declined to offer a definitive answer on whether Trump had committed a crime.

So, even though former special counsel Bob Mueller made it clear he didn’t want to testify before Congress and and that he “would not provide information beyond that which is already public in any appearance before Congress,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler hauled him in for what seemed like it would be a dress rehearsal for impeachment proceedings.

Instead, Mueller gave a performance so feeble and forgetful that many in the media described his testimony as “frail,” “painful,” and a “disaster.”

Within minutes of testimony, it became immediately clear why Mueller had previously said his report should speak for itself: he needed constant references complete with page and volume numbers, even when the material was within the first six pages of his report. He often seemed confused or evasive, and had memory lapses that did not appear credible, given that his team had spent two years on this investigation and the report was released only four months ago. Mueller was remarkably uninformed about what was within the report’s pages, and gave the distinct impression that he hadn’t written the report — or possibly even read it.

At times he seemed to contradict himself on crucial points. Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) asked Mueller whether “collusion” and “conspiracy” were synonymous.