Special Counsel Mueller wants to privately testify: Rep. Nadler

[View in browser]( [Image](  MAY 23, 2019 Special counsel Robert Mueller has [expressed interest in giving private testimony to Congress]( about his two-year investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election. Mueller has told House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler that he is willing to make a public opening statement, but leave his testimony behind closed doors, [Nadler said on "The Rachel Maddow Show" Thursday night](. Rep. Nadler has made repeated efforts for Mueller to speak in front of Congress. If Mueller did proceed with private testimony on his report, the public would get a transcript, Nadler said. "We think it's important for the American people to hear from him and to hear his answers to questions about the report," Nadler said. "He envisions himself correctly as a man of great rectitude and apolitical and he doesn't want to participate in anything that he might regard as a political spectacle," Nadler said about Mueller not wanting to testify in public. But he added, "I'm speculating really." Watch more of Rachel Maddow's interview with Nadler [here](. [Image]( On Thursday morning, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives went up to a podium and [plead to the family of the president to stage an intervention](. “This time, another temper tantrum, again. I pray for the president of the United States,” Pelosi said at her weekly press conference. “I wish that his family or his administration or his staff would have an intervention for the good of the country.” When asked by MSNBC’s Kelly O’Donnell, Pelosi admitted that she is concerned both for the president’s well-being, and the “well-being of the United States of America.” Pelosi, in an earlier closed-door session, told Democratic colleagues that the "villainous" President Trump "[wants to be impeached"](” so that he can be vindicated by the Senate, according to two Democratic aides told NBC News that .  On impeachment, Pelosi is standing firm. While admitting that "the president's behavior, as far as his obstruction of justice, the things that he is doing, it's in plain sight, it cannot be denied," she continued to stress a focus on process.  "I do think that impeachment is a very divisive place to go in our country," she said. "Get the facts to the American people in our investigation... it may take us to a place that is unavoidable in terms of impeachment, but we’re not at that place." ICYMI: Videos from MSNBC Today [Image]( [Rep. Nadler: Mueller wants to testify in private]( Rep. Jerry Nadler talks with Rachel Maddow about the terms being discussed for Robert Mueller to testify to Congress and the broader scope of hearings about the Trump-Russia investigation. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Image](  [Trump is first president to indict press for espionage]( Ari Melber breaks down how the Justice Department’s new indictment of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange directly challenges press freedom and the First Amendment. (The Beat) [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Image](  [The bank at the center of Trump’s finances may soon be turning over its records]( NYT reporter David Enrich and former Assistant Director of the FBI Frank Figliuzzi talk about President Trump’s long and sometimes troubled relationship with Deutsche Bank, and what it means for Trump’s finances now that the bank has been subpoenaed. (Deadline: WH) [Facebook]( [Twitter]( More Videos - [Trump demands intel officials cooperate as Barr investigates the investigators (11th Hour)]( - [Pete Buttigieg calls out Trump on avoiding Vietnam draft (Deadline: WH)]( - [Bank CEO charged over plan to trade Manafort loans for Trump admin job (Velshi & Ruhle)]( - [Why ignoring Democrats and the courts won't work for President Trump (MSNBC Live)]( - [Could TN's free college plan be a model for the rest of the country? (Velshi & Ruhle)]( - [Trump rolls out $16B in aid for farmers impacted by trade war (MSNBC Live)]( - [Trump says ‘we’ll see’ on troops surge to Middle East amid tensions with Iran (Hardball)]( - [Why fentanyl-related deaths are on the rise (Velshi & Ruhle)]( - [One More Thing: Harriet Tubman twenty dollar bill delayed (MSNBC Live)]( [Latest from NBC News]( Quote of the Day [“He wants to testify in private.”Â](  — House Judiciary Cmte. Chair Jerry Nadler updates Rachel Maddow on the status of Special Counsel Mueller testifying before Congress ([Watch]() Analysis and Opinion [OPINION](: Democrats shouldn't focus on impeaching Trump. They need to focus on beating him in 2020. The polls show that voters are ready to change presidents, but only at the ballot box. by [Ashley Pratte](, THINK contributor.  [FEATURE](: Assange indictment: Free press advocates see peril for journalism. Leakers and publishers who publish leaks aren't the same, say advocates across the political spectrum. "This is really what free speech and free press advocates have been worrying about," Jaffer said in an interview on MSNBC's "All In With Chris Hayes." [by Alex Johnson.]( Watch to Watch Friday A few 2020 hopefuls will be joining MSNBC Friday. Rep. Tim Ryan will be on Morning Joe; Andrew Yang will join Stephanie Ruhle at 9 a.m ET and Rep. John Delaney will also be interviewed on-air at 10 a.m. ET. 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