Nadler hopes Mueller hearings won't be 'a dud'

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said on Sunday he hopes former special counsel Robert Mueller's testimony before the House won't be "a dud."

"What if the whole thing ends up being a dud?" Chris Wallace asked the New York Democrat on "Fox News Sunday."

"Well," Nadler responded, "we hope it won't end up being a dud. We're going to ask specific questions — 'look at page 344, paragraph 2, please read it. Does that describe an obstruction of justice? Did you find that the president did that?'

"The president and the attorney general have lied to the American people about what was in the Mueller report," Nadler continued. "About the fact that you just heard the president saying that it found no collusion — that was not true. That it found no obstruction — that is not true.

"They've had months of lying to the American people."

Mueller is slated to answer questions Wednesday on his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump obstructed that investigation for three hours before the House Judiciary Committee and for two hours before the House Intelligence Committee.

His appearances, originally scheduled for last week, come as the House prepares to leave on its long summer recess.

Asked by Wallace whether Americans had moved on from the Mueller investigation, Nadler pointed to the importance of transparency.

"The country has not moved on," Nadler said. "People don't read a 448-page report. I believe that once people hear what was in the Mueller report, then we'll be in a position to begin holding the president accountable and to make this less of a lawless administration."

The Mueller hearings are the latest in a string of efforts by House Democratic leadership to conduct oversight of the Trump administration — efforts that have been largely circumvented by the refusal of the White House to allow its officials to testify before the Democratic-led chamber.

"The president has also been lawless in telling all witnesses not to obey congressional subpoenas, not to testify at all," Nadler said. "That is beyond the pale of the Constitution."