Mueller Asks for Aide to Appear as Witness During Hearings – The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Robert S. Mueller III’s longtime right-hand aide will appear beside him at the witness table during Wednesday’s hearing with the House Judiciary Committee to assist as needed as the former special counsel answers questions about his investigation, a committee official familiar with the hearing said.

The Judiciary Committee signed off on the unusual arrangement after Mr. Mueller made a last-minute request that the aide, Aaron Zebley, be sworn in as a witness alongside him. If Democrats had agreed, lawmakers could have questioned Mr. Zebley directly, potentially upending carefully laid plans by Democrats and Republicans over how to use their scant time with Mr. Mueller.

Instead, as a counsel to Mr. Mueller, Mr. Zebley will not be under oath or theoretically allowed to answer lawmakers’ queries. But he can confer privately with Mr. Mueller, 74, if the former special counsel needs assistance or guidance about how to respond.

It is not uncommon for government witnesses to bring aides along to congressional hearings for that purpose, though in almost all cases the aides sit behind, rather than next to, the witness. Mr. Mueller is being asked to account for two-years worth of investigative details uncovered by a large team of investigators and to do so while avoiding the disclosure of nonpublic information.