Mueller's Capitol Hill testimony is a week away, and multiple lawmakers admit they still haven't read the Mueller report

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Mueller's Capitol Hill testimony is a week away, and multiple lawmakers admit they still haven't read the Mueller report

robert mueller

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Robert Mueller.

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On July 17, the former special counsel Robert Mueller will appear on Capitol Hill for blockbuster testimony before the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees - but multiple lawmakers admitted to Politico that they still haven't read his final report in full.

On April 18, the Department of Justice released a redacted version of special counsel Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 US election and whether President Donald Trump and other administration officials attempted to obstruct federal investigations, with the redacted report coming in at 448 pages long.

Citing "public fatigue," a number of members of Congress told Politico they hadn't read the report cover-to-cover. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska called it "tedious," with Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan saying it was on his "reading list," and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina wondering: "What's the point?"

Rep. Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told Politico: "You can't expect people to read lengthy documents in large numbers. They have their own lives to lead."

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By bringing Mueller for a day of testimony before Congress to discuss his report, congressional leaders like Nadler hope that the hearings - which will be televised in open session - will shine more light on Mueller's findings and educate those who haven't read the report.

Read more: Former special counsel Robert Mueller agrees to testify before Congress in July

Very few Americans read the Mueller report, either

trump mueller

Evan Vucci/AP, Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

According to an INSIDER poll conducted shortly after the report's release, 5% said they had read the report in its entirety, 24% said they'd read some of the report, 32% said they hadn't read the report but intended to, and 31% said they had not read the report and did not intend to read it.

The report was divided into two sections: Volume I, which examined the Trump campaign's contacts with Russian-linked individuals, and Volume II, which investigated possible obstruction of justice by Trump.

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While the report documented extensive contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia, Mueller did not find sufficient evidence to charge Trump or anyone associated with his campaign with conspiracy.

On the issue of obstruction, the Mueller report outlined 11 instances they examined for possible obstruction of justice but did not come to a "traditional prosecutorial decision" as to whether Trump had obstructed justice. The report said that, in many cases, Trump failed in his efforts to impede the Mueller probe and other federal investigations because his own aides chose not to follow through with his requests.

For lawmakers or anyone else who wants to understand the key findings of the Mueller report without reading a 448-page legal document, INSIDER commissioned journalist and "Black Hawk Down" author Mark Bowden to write the story of the Mueller report as a captivating narrative brought to life with illustrations by artist Chad Hurd, an illustrator for the TV show "Archer."

Read Bowden's adaption of the Mueller report here »

Read more:

We hired the author of 'Black Hawk Down' and an illustrator from 'Archer' to adapt the Mueller report so you'll actually read it

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Attorney General William Barr said Robert Mueller's congressional testimony will be a 'public spectacle'

Jimmy Carter just called Trump an illegitimate president who was elected only because of Russian interference

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