Trump Says He ‘Never Would Have Agreed’ to Mueller Bringing Aide

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump criticized Democrats and former Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday, slamming the former FBI director being allowed to appear with an aide when he testifies before Congress on Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

“It was NEVER agreed that Robert Mueller could use one of his many Democrat Never Trumper lawyers to sit next to him and help him with his answers,” Trump tweeted Wednesday. “This was specifically NOT agreed to, and I would NEVER have agreed to it.”

Mueller is set to testify Wednesday for five hours before the House Judiciary and Intelligence panels. His former chief of staff when he was FBI director, Aaron Zebley, will sit next to him and act as his counsel during the hearings.

House Republicans complained about the last-minute change to the hearing lineup, criticizing reports that Democrats wanted Zebley to be sworn in alongside Mueller as a witness. A House official stressed that Zebley will be serving as Mueller’s counsel.

Trump often railed against Mueller’s investigators but there is no evidence Zebley is a “Never Trumper.” Some members of Mueller’s team contributed to Democratic candidates, but Zebley has no history of making political donations, according to a Washington Post review of records.

Zebley, who also served as Mueller’s top deputy in the Russia probe, is now a private citizen and Trump has no say in whether he appears or not.

Trump sent out at least seven tweets Wednesday morning about Mueller and his testimony and continued to slam the investigation and blame it on political rivals.

“So Democrats and others can illegally fabricate a crime, try pinning it on a very innocent President, and when he fights back against this illegal and treasonous attack on our Country, they call It Obstruction? Wrong!” Trump said on Twitter.

Responding to a request from Mueller for the department’s guidance on his appearance at two hearings, the Justice Department said in a letter that Mueller shouldn’t discuss ongoing cases or uncharged individuals and that some details of his work may be covered by executive privilege.

To contact the reporter on this story: Terrence Dopp in Washington at tdopp@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kasia Klimasinska at kklimasinska@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman, Larry Liebert

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