Watch: Jerrold Nadler Grills Robert Mueller on Donald Trump Evading 'Vital' Interview For More Than a Year

At the start of former special counsel Robert Mueller's three-hour testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, chairman Jerrold Nadler fired seven consecutive questions around President Donald Trump's refusal to sit for an interview that was "vital" for the investigation.

The poignant back-and-forth between Nadler and Mueller is a stark example of what House Democrats sought to achieve in getting a reluctant Mueller to testify—at the very least, make Trump look like he had not "fully cooperated" with the Russia investigation, despite claims from Attorney General William Barr to the contrary in the past.

Here is a video and transcript of the exchange:

NADLER: Under Department of Justice policy, the president could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice crimes after he leaves office, is this correct?

MUELLER: True.

NADLER: Thank you. Did any senior White House official refuse a request to be interviewed by you and your team?

MUELLER: I don't believe so. Well let me take that back. I would have to look at that but I'm not certain that that was the case.

NADLER: Did the president refuse a request to be interviewed by you and your team?

MUELLER: Yes. Yes.

NADLER: And is it true that you tried for more than a year to secure an interview with the president?

MUELLER: Yes.

NADLER: And is it true that you and your team advised the president's lawyer that "an interview with the president is vital to our investigation"?

MUELLER: Yes. Yes.

NADLER: And is it is true that you also "stated that it is in the interest of the presidency and the public for an interview to take place"?

MUELLER: Yes.

NADLER: But the president still refused to sit for an interview by you or your team?

MUELLER: True. True

NADLER: And did you also ask him to provide written answers to questions on the 10 possible episodes of obstruction of justice crimes involving him?

MUELLER: Yes.

NADLER: Did he provide any answers to a single question about whether he engaged in obstruction of justice crimes?

MUELLER: I would have to check on that. I'm not sure.

NADLER: Director Mueller, we are grateful that you are here to explain your investigation and findings. Having reviewed you work, I believe that anyone else who would have engaged in the conduct described in your report would been criminally prosecuted. Your work is vitally important to this committee and the American people because no one is above the law.

Just over half an hour before the Judiciary Committee hearing began, Trump reiterated his stance all along on Twitter.

"NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION!" the president tweeted.