Thread by @kyledcheney

NEW: Hope Hicks’ name appears 184 times in Mueller’s report, and she watched firsthand as Trump tried to constrain and undermine the Russia probe.

Today, she becomes the first witness in Dems’ effort to highlight potential obstruction by Trump. politico.com/story/2019/06/…

A MUELLER MYSTERY: Hicks appears all over the report, offering granular details about the president’s actions.

But in two specific instances — ones Hicks played a direct role in — Mueller relies on other people to describe what Hope did. 1/4

In the first, Corey Lewandowski said Trump dictated a note to Jeff Sessions urging him to limit Mueller’s investigation. Lewandowski asked Hicks to type up the handwritten note. But her version of that action doesn’t appear. 2/4

In a second instance, Mueller note Hicks called FLYNN to express the president’s warm feelings toward him. But the testimony about the call comes from Flynn, not Hicks. 3/4

Hicks’ attorney didn’t respond to requests for comment about the gaps in her testimony, which is otherwise extensive and detailed on all subjects.

The Hope Hicks welcoming committee

HOPE HICKS has arrived for her closed-door House Judiciary Committee testimony.

So far in the room:

Dems: Nadler, Neguse, McBath, Escobar, Deutch, Jayapal, Demings, Scanlon, Bass

GOP: Collins, Gaetz, Jordan, Biggs, Armstrong, McClintock

Staffer just walked in with a box full of Mueller reports in binders.

“It’s pretty ridiculous,” says Rep. @KarenBassTweets, saying the White House lawyer inside the Hope Hicks interview is objecting to lots of questions.

UPDATE: Rep. Jayapal says the Hicks interview is a “farce.” Says White House lawyer’s won’t even let her say if she told the truth to Mueller, where she sat inside the West Wing and won’t formally claim privilege despite refusing to answer questions.

UPDATE 2: NADLER says Hicks *is* answering some questions, doesn’t seem as exercised as other Democrats about stonewalling.

JAYAPAL also said lawyers objected to Hicks discussing episodes that occurred *after* she left the White House. “Basically, she can say her name,” Jayapal vented, adding that she considers Hicks responsible for choosing to follow the lawyers’ objections.

SWALWELL says the first hour of questioning just ended, he won’t characterize what happened yet “out of respect for the process ... and the witness.”

TED LIEU says “We’re watching obstruction of justice in action” and says the White House is “making crap up” to block her from testifying.

Lieu says she is providing some new information about her time on the campaign but wouldn’t say what it was yet.

Republicans now asking Qs.

CICILLINE says Hicks answered a couple questions about hush payments but the issue hasn’t been fully probed.

- She answered questions about campaign meetings in which Wikileaks was discussed.

-She expressed no regret and did not admit any of her public statements were false.

THE LATEST: Democrats are livid as Hope Hicks refuses to answer questions — even as basic as where her West Wing desk was — about her time in the White House. She’s deferring to White House lawyers. politico.com/story/2019/06/…

The president is clearly paying attention to the Hope Hicks testimony but he hasn’t formally invoked executive privilege.

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1141362325619916801?s=21

Top committee GOP member Rep. COLLINS says “there’s nothing new here.” He says Nadler asked members to keep things confidential only to have Dems discuss details with reporters.

A more subdued Ted LIEU says Hicks is answering questions about the campaign but says to wait for the transcript to learn about what she said.

And Hicks is leaving for a lunch break