What Robert Mueller says (or does not say) under oath before two different congressional committees could help or hurt the democrats’ case for impeachment of the president.

President Trump has claimed loudly and often that the Mueller Report concludes there was “no collusion and no obstruction” In the 2016 presidential election. The democrats claim that the report shows the exact opposite. They claim that only a few people have read the 448-page report and thus are uninformed, or in some cases misinformed, because of the way Attorney General Barr handled the release of the report. They believe that if the American people see and hear Mr. Mueller explain under oath what’s in the report, including its conclusions, they will agree that the president and his campaign have committed crimes worthy of impeachment and prosecution.

So, congressional Democrats are delighted that Robert Mueller has agreed to testify before the congressional Judiciary and Intelligence Committees. That’s because the democrats believe Mueller will say, publicly (and under oath) that the investigators drew two all-important conclusions: 1 – That at least some members of the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians to help Trump get elected President, and 2 – that President Trump obstructed justice by attempting to impede the progress, or even shut down, the investigation on several different occasions. To the Democrats and to many of us who have read much, or all, of the Mueller Report – these conclusions are self-evident, but the report is not explicit on either of these important points.

Mueller made it clear that he did not want to testify before congress and agreed to testify only after he received a subpoena. He also says he is unwilling to say more than what is in the report. So, if Mueller refuses to be more explicit in his testimony about whether the president’s campaign colluded with the Russians to help Trump win the election, that could be a blow to the democrats’ case on the charge of collusion. Furthermore, if Mueller refuses to testify directly that Trump attempted to impede the investigation, that could mean more harm to their case against him for obstruction of justice. That would put the president in a much stronger position to fend off further attempts to investigate him and his campaign and would likely hurt the democrats in the 2020 presidential election.

In conclusion, if Mr. Mueller says publicly and under oath what the democrats believe he will, that testimony will likely convince much of the public that the president committed crimes and will strengthen the democrats’ case if they decide to go forward with impeachment of the president. However, if Mr. Mueller refuses to testify directly that the president’s aids colluded with the Russians or that the president attempted to impede his investigation, that will give credence to the president’s claim that the Mueller Report proves there was “no collusion or obstruction” – and that the report was, from the beginning, “a hoax and a witch hunt.” So, as the president often says, we’ll have to wait and see.