PHOENIX — Three Arizona members of Congress were among the House Judiciary Committee members who questioned special counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday.
Mueller, who previously said his report on the investigation was his testimony, faced congressional hearings on his 448-page report, the result of his two-year Russia probe.
U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs asked Mueller when he personally reached the conclusion that there was not evidence of a conspiracy between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia.
Mueller said he could not give him a specific day.
The Republican lawmaker also asked Mueller if he had discussed the appointment of a special counsel with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein days before Mueller was appointed.
Mueller said he had no knowledge of a phone call with Rosenstein about an appointment and did not recall discussions about the appointment before it occurred.
“I think I’m going to ask him what America wants the answers to,” Biggs told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News a few minutes before the hearings got underway.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko said she felt that Mueller’s answers to questions from U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu of California contradicted the report.
The Republican lawmaker also asked Mueller to state whether he felt that Attorney General William Barr was inaccurate in his letter to Congress that summarized the report or in his public statements.
Mueller said the May 27 letter that he sent to Congress raising concerns over Barr’s characterization spoke for itself.
Lesko also criticized Mueller for citing news outlets nearly 200 times in the report, calling a section of it “regurgitated press stories.”
She told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday that she felt the report was not only about investigating Russian influence.
“I probably want to know, why didn’t he include other things in the report?” she said, such as questions about Russian involvement in the Steele dossier.
U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton said he was disappointed that some people have questioned Mueller’s motives throughout the probe.
He also asked Mueller to confirm that he never made a hiring decision based on someone’s political affiliation when building his team for the investigation.
“The attacks made against you and your team intensified because your report is damning, and I believe you did uncover substantial evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors,” Stanton said.
“The only remedy for this situation is for Congress to take action.”
The Associated Press and KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Nailea Leon contributed to this report.