Fireworks, Maybe, but Will Mueller Hearing Be a Turning Point? – The New York Times

Asked how much attention voters would pay, Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, predicted “little to none,” adding: “I think the American people have moved on. I think the issue’s dead as four o’clock. I think people have already drawn their own conclusions.”

While playing down expectations, Democrats were still hoping for a splash. Judiciary Committee Democrats conducted a mock hearing on Tuesday, with Norman L. Eisen, one of their lawyers, playing Mr. Mueller and another aide playing Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio. Party leaders separately coached their members on how to talk about Mr. Mueller’s testimony to make sure they can capitalize on any momentum he provides.

Aides to Speaker Nancy Pelosi circulated a six-page briefing packet, titled, “Exposing the Truth,” charging the Trump administration with “unparalleled abuses of power and corruption while hiding the truth from the American public.” It urged Democrats to talk not just about Mr. Mueller’s findings but also legislative actions the Democrat-controlled House has taken to harden the 2020 elections against foreign interference.

But it also smacked of a field test of something more ambitious, a 2020 campaign message meant to sow doubts about Mr. Trump’s loyalties and actions. And if Washington veterans were jaded about the hearings, Democrats were gambling that it would take only one or two viral video clips to engage the public.

A completely unscientific survey of out-of-town diners in a House cafeteria on Tuesday suggested the potential. Most were in Washington to lobby lawmakers, meaning they keep a closer eye on events in the Capitol than many Americans.

Kia Birkenbuel, 60, a disability rights advocate from Montana, said she had read Mr. Mueller’s report and was more concerned with its findings about Russian interference than its evidence that the president may have obstructed justice. “I’m excited to hear what he has to say,” she said, “even if he has to keep within the boundaries of the report.”

At another table, Gabby Saunders, 22, an advocate for wildlife conservation from Utah, said she had read most of the report — and what she had not read, she listened to on audio. She called the coming testimony “the pinnacle of what we’ve been waiting for,” adding: “I’m from Utah. This is my second time being on the Hill. If I could see that live, it would be extraordinary.”