President Trump seems to really not want Special Counsel Robert Mueller to testify before Congress, and he's reportedly fixated on how much news coverage the hearing would receive.
Following Attorney General William Barr's congressional testimony last week, Trump "stewed for days" about the media coverage that Mueller would get if he testified, especially considering he believes the special counsel has been "unfairly lionized" by the press over the past two years, The Associated Press reports.
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Trump tweeted over the weekend that Mueller "should not testify," a reversal from his previous statements that he would be fine with Mueller testifying. It was unclear whether this meant Trump would try to exert executive privilege to block Mueller's testimony, although Politico reports Trump's tweet could be "more bluster than a live-wire legal showdown," citing informal advisers who say Trump was "not signaling anything."
The New York Times' Maggie Haberman says Trump "wasn't simply popping off" on Twitter, though, because he'd privately "expressed desire to keep Mueller from testifying in days before the tweets."
Barr, for what it's worth, has not changed his view that Mueller should be allowed to testify in light of Trump's tweet, ABC News reports. This testimony could come in just over a week, as Democrats have agreed with Mueller on a tentative date of May 15.
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