Robert Mueller, the former special counsel, said Wednesday in his opening statement at the House Judiciary Committee that the “facts and the law” drove his investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election.

“Based on Justice Department policy and principles of fairness, we decided we would not make a determination as to whether the President committed a crime. That was our decision then and it remains our decision today,” Mueller said in his opening statement.

He added: “It is unusual for a prosecutor to testify about a criminal investigation, and given my role as a prosecutor, there are reasons why my testimony will necessarily be limited.”

Mueller, previewing testimony he described as “limited,” said he would not summarize the results of his two-year investigation in a different way Wednesday.

“As I said on May 29: the report is my testimony. And I will stay within that text,” Mueller said.

He said he would not comment on the actions of U.S. Attorney General William Barr and the actions of Congress.

Mueller's appearance Wednesday at two House committees—first at Judiciary and then at Intelligence—is widely expected to grip Washington, if not parts of the country. In the run-up to the appearances, there was extensive coverage about whether and how Mueller might veer from the boundaries of his report to offer insight and analysis on what his team discovered.

Mueller is appearing reluctantly, having said in May that his report is his testimony and that he would not speak about any matter that wasn't addressed in his report. Democrats have been urged to press Mueller on whether—despite his silence—he thinks Trump tried to obstruct the two-year investigation.

Wilmer Hale partner Jonathan Yarowsky reportedly helped prepare Mueller for his Capitol Hill appearances, which come more than a month after the special counsel released a 448-page report showing instances where the president, in the view of former prosecutors, tried to obstruct the ongoing investigation. Yarowsky was seated behind Mueller at the start of the judiciary committee proceedings.

Mueller is appearing with Aaron Zebley, who formerly worked with Mueller at the FBI as his chief of staff and who later became a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. Zebley was among several lawyers at Wilmer Hale, where Mueller had been a partner, to join the special counsel's team in 2017.

Mueller hasn't announced his post-Justice Department plans, but several of his former prosecutors have snagged posts at major U.S. law firms. Jeannie Rhee, a former Wilmer Hale partner, recently announced she was taking a partnership at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Another prosecutor, Zainab Ahmad, has joined the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

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Mueller's prepared statement is posted below:

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