The special counsel Robert Mueller has agreed to testify before Congress next month.

Mueller agreed to testify before the House judiciary committee and House permanent select committee on intelligence in an open session on 17 July, the chairmen of the committees announced on Tuesday, in what is likely to be the most highly anticipated congressional hearing in years.

“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 House judiciary committee chairman, Jerrold Nadler, and House intelligence committee chairman, Adam Schiff, said in a joint statement.

“We look forward to hearing his testimony, as do all Americans,” they added.

Mueller’s 448-page report was released in redacted form in April. The report concluded there was not enough evidence to establish a conspiracy between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia, but Mueller also said he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. The report described 11 instances in which Donald Trump or his campaign engaged in potential obstruction of justice and suggested Congress might prosecute these acts as crimes.

Schiff told reporters shortly after the announcement that Mueller was reluctant to testify but agreed to honor the subpoenas. He said there would be two hearings “back to back”, one for each committee, and they would also meet with him in closed session afterward.

The committees have been in negotiations with Mueller for more than two months about his testimony. But he has been hesitant to testify and speak about the investigation beyond a public statement he issued last month.