Congressman Ben Cline (R-VA) coaxed the first major pushback from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller during his testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning. Cline questioned Mueller on the political motivations of his team by citing specific events they attended and donations they made. “Andrew Weissman is one of your top attorneys?” Cline asked Mueller. “... He attended Hillary Clinton’s election night party. Did you know that?” Mueller responded that he did not know when he became aware of that information.

Cline went on to point out that several other members of Mueller’s team donated to Democratic campaigns before joining the investigation. Mueller eventually appeared to find his footing, asking Cline if he could speak broadly on his “hiring practices.” “We strove to hire those individuals that could do the job,” Mueller said. “I’ve been in this business for almost 25 years, and in those 25 years, I have not had occasion once to ask somebody about their political affiliation. It is not done. What I care about is the capability of the individual to do the job and do the job quickly and seriously and with integrity.”