Round 2: Mueller Testifies to House Intel Panel

Former special counsel Robert Mueller condemned President Donald Trump's praise for WikiLeaks during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Testifying before the House intelligence committee, Mueller says calling it "problematic is an understatement."

During that campaign, WikiLeaks released troves of hacked emails from the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

U.S. intelligence agencies and Mueller's investigation determined Russian government entities were responsible for the hack and furnished the embarrassing correspondence to WikiLeaks in order to support Trump's bid for the presidency.

Mueller's statements came after he told the panel his Russia probe was "not a witch hunt" he began a second round of testimony before congressional committees.

The former FBI director, who spent 22 months investigating what he concluded was Russian interference in a "sweeping and systematic fashion" in the 2016 U.S. election to help Trump and the president's conduct, appeared for more than 3-1/2 hours before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.

Mueller then appeared before the House Intelligence Committee for more questioning. Democrats control the House, while Trump's fellow Republicans control the Senate.

Early in the second hearing, the top Republican on the House intelligence committee says a hearing with former special counsel Robert Mueller is "political theater" and a "Hail Mary" attempt by Democrats to convince Americans that President Donald Trump conspired with Russia to win election.

California Rep. Devin Nunes said there were "red flags" as the Justice Department started investigating Russian contacts with Trump's campaign in 2016. Republicans have argued that the department conspired against Trump as that probe began.

Mueller, who later took over the investigation, said in his 448-page report released in April that there was no evidence that Trump's campaign conspired with Russia. But it detailed many contacts between the two.

The interrogation of Mueller, a reluctant witness who appeared only after being subpoenaed, afforded an opportunity for Americans, who may not have pored over the lengthy and sometimes dense report, to hear his conclusions in a highly charged hearing scheduled by Democrats, with Trump running for re-election in 2020.

White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told reporters the morning hearing was "an epic embarrassment for the Democrats." During the hearing, Trump posted tweets from others that said Mueller was cowering and that the inquiry was a hoax.