The agreement to delay the hearings in exchange for extended testimony is not finalized, the sources said, and lawmakers are still negotiating.
Mueller has been scheduled to appear on July 17 before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, in back-to-back sessions where 22 members from each committee would get to question the special counsel.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler’s spokesman Daniel Schwarz said: “At this moment we still plan to have our hearing on the 17th, and we will let you know if that changes.”
On Friday morning, the Judiciary Committee took an abnormal, brief recess from a hearing about lessons from the Mueller report so members could be informed about the discussions.
One more reason for the potential delay of special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony is to give House Democrats more time to negotiate to bring in Mueller’s deputies — Aaron Zebley and James Quarles — for a closed session that’s supposed to follow the special counsel’s public testimony, according to one source familiar with the matter.
This week, Attorney General William Barr suggested the deputies should not appear, and the DOJ has resisted having them testify before Congress. It’s unclear whether the deputies, now private citizens, will appear. But Democrats have been angry that they may be reneging on their agreement to testify.
Mueller’s testimony is seen as essential among Democrats who are advocating for the House to begin an impeachment inquiry into the President, especially because the Trump officials who are cited in the Mueller report have so far either refused to testify or answer most questions posed by the Judiciary Committee, under direction from the White House.
But many Democrats were also concerned that the limited time period of roughly two hours before each committee wouldn’t be enough time for Mueller’s testimony to have an impact. And those on the Judiciary Committee who weren’t in line to get questions were up in arms they might not get their shot to question Mueller with millions tuning in.
Rank-and-file Judiciary members were publicly and privately pressing the committee to seek a longer hearing with Mueller.
“Absolutely,” California Rep. Ted Lieu said Thursday when asked if he would be concerned if he’s not allowed to ask questions.
“I’ll be disappointed, but I’m hopeful,” Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Judiciary Committee member, said Thursday. “I feel it’s part of my duty to be part of this oversight.”
This story has been updated with additional developments Friday.