BREAKING: Mueller Gives Public Statement on Russia Probe - WATCH LIVE
Special counsel comments on his two-year investigation into President Trump
© press
Special counsel Robert Mueller will make a public statement at 11 a.m. Wednesday on the Russia investigation, the Department of Justice announced.
"Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III will make a statement on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election," the department said.
"This will be a statement only, no question and answer period to follow."
A senior White House official said that the White House was notified on Tuesday night that Mueller might make a statement, so the administration was not caught off-guard.
Mueller has not made any comment on the investigation since he was named special counsel in May 2017.
House Democrats are seeking to have him testify before Congress in the coming weeks.
Last week, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said Mueller was willing to testify but only in private.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
Mueller's planned remarks come after a new book reportedly asserted that Mueller drew up a three-count obstruction of justice indictment against President Donald Trump before deciding to abandon it.
A spokesman for the special counsel's office denied any indictment had been drafted.
NBC News' Ken Dilanian reported that Mueller is not expected to discuss that allegation during his statement.
In March, Mueller submitted to Attorney General William Barr his 400-plus page report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, whether the Trump campaign or Trump associates conspired with Russia in those efforts and if Trump sought to obstruct justice.
© press
Days later, Barr released a four-page summary of Mueller's report.
Barr's summary exonerated Trump in the weeks that followed before, in mid-April, Barr released a lightly redacted version of Mueller's report.
In his report, Mueller extensively detailed Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 election but cleared Trump of any wrongdoing.
Mueller wrote that the evidence he reviewed was not enough to establish a Trump-Russia conspiracy.
"This report does not conclude that the President committed a crime," Mueller wrote.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
