Trump to hold North Carolina rally on day Robert Mueller testifies before Congress

                                                                   

President Donald Trump picked a familiar setting to follow the congressional testimony of special counsel Robert Mueller.

A political rally.

Trump's campaign announced late Tuesday that the president will headline a rally in Greenville, N.C., on the evening of July 17, the same day Mueller testifies to two House committees about his findings on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Count on Trump to respond to Mueller in some fashion.

Trump has attacked Mueller at political rallies throughout the course of his investigation, and has stepped up his criticism after the announcement that the Russia special counsel would speak to Congress.

"After so much testimony & total transparency, this Witch Hunt must now end," Trump tweeted Tuesday. "No more Do Overs. No Collusion, No Obstruction. The Great Hoax is dead!"

Since the April release of a written report by Mueller, critics have cited evidence that Trump and his 2016 campaign welcomed the support of Russia, which hacked Democratic emails and pushed fake news about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. They also pointed to the report as evidence Trump sought to obstruct the Mueller investigation. Mueller's team did not conclude Trump committed a crime over obstruction, but it also did not exonerate him.

In announcing Mueller's testimony, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Americans deserve to hear from the special counsel himself.

“Americans have demanded to hear directly from the Special Counsel so they can understand what he and his team examined, uncovered, and determined about Russia’s attack on our democracy, the Trump campaign’s acceptance and use of that help, and President Trump and his associates' obstruction of the investigation into that attack," the two said in a statement.

Trump's post-Mueller hearing rally will be held in a key political state. The president carried North Carolina narrowly in putting together his Electoral College win over Clinton in 2016.

In announcing the July 17 rally in Greenville, the Trump campaign said nothing about Mueller. It instead said Trump plans to discuss the economy and national defense in a state with a heavy military population.“President Trump looks forward to returning to North Carolina and sharing the successes of the Trump presidency," said Michael Glassner, chief operating officer for the Trump campaign.