it wasn t like he wasn t seen in public much, don, so there was sort of a sphinx-like who this guy was portrayed as sort of the uber prosecutor. he s got the receipts. and certainly in the house judiciary committee a little less so in the intelligence committee, but certainly that perception didn t marry up with what you were watching. it doesn t take away from what he said exactly. i agree with that. but it was jarring when you looked just even in the early to mid-2000s, some of the testimony he had and watching the performance today, that was the sort of juxtaposition that i was people i talked to today that know mueller, worked with mueller, people at the fbi, retired now, close to him were very surprised. yeah. no one expected this today and i think that is what is in the end is going to be partially the story line here. we were expecting a much more crisp kind of yeah. not that he would give much different information.
great job. good to see. follow me on facebook and twitter and instagram at jake tapper and tweet the show at the lead, our coverage continues right now. thank you so much for watching. happening now, breaking news, defense of the deal. labor secretary alex acosta defends the secret 2008 plea deal he arranged as a u.s. attorney which made multi-millionaire jeffrey epstein an sentence for sex crimes. president trump pushed him before the cameras but could he still push him out the door. call to resign, nancy pelosi adds her powerful voice to those calling on alex acosta to resign adding that president trump should ask him to step down. now mueller, house democrats are preparing for next week s testimony by former special counsel robert mueller. but while the hearings are seen as a possible make or break moment for impeachment advocates, some democrats are already tamping down
tonight. we re just hours away from the first democratic debate of the 2020 presidential race with senator elizabeth warren coming in hot and with a target on her podium. welcome to the lead, i m jake tapper. we begin with the politics lead, quote, does it ever stop? that question coming from president trump after finding out that special counsel robert mueller is being forced by congress to testify publicly on july 17th in what may be the most anticipated testimony of the trump presidency so far. mueller will answer questions from the members of the house judiciary and intelligence committee after being slapped with a subpoena. now mueller made clear in his view his 448-page report was his official statement and the only one he wants to give but house democrats are eager to question the special counsel about the evidence he uncovered and whether he would have charged the president with obstruction of justice but for justice department precedent that a sitting president cannot be i
laura: now, congressman meadows mentioned fox s told subpoena was a friendly subpoena. now mueller would only appear t under a subpoena and would stick to the four corners of the report. but that is not what adam schiff is saying tonight. watch. i don t think the special counsel s office considers this a friendly subpoena. he was to testify but nonetheless he will respect the subpoena. so we expect all of the membersl of our committee will have an opportunity to ask him questions. laura: i mean, what is your reaction to that? why, as alan said, is it sore dangerous to subject prosecutors to this type of questioning? if the former special counsel agreement, why not any prosecutor that didn t charge somebody? why mueller? i think the answer is obvious, laura, a political and nonpolitical judgment.
mueller if he went beyond that statement. laura: now, congressman meadows mentioned fox s told subpoena was a friendly subpoena. now mueller would only appear under a subpoena and would stick to the four points of the report. but that is not what adam schiff is saying tonight. watch. i don t think the special counsel s office considers this a friendly subpoena. he was to testify but nonetheless he will respect the subpoena. so we expect all of the members of our committee will have an opportunity to ask him questions. laura: i mean, what is your reaction to that? why, as alan said is it so dangerous to subject prosecutors to this type of questioning? the former special counsel agreement, why not any prosecutor that didn t charge somebody? why mueller? i think the answer is obvious, laura, a political and