Mueller set to interview Trump: US media
January 8, 2018
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has approached President Donald Trump for an interview about Russian election meddling, US media reported Monday. While the president has voiced his willingness to cooperate, his lawyers have been trying to make sure any interview takes place under very specific parameters.
First reported by NBC News, other sources later confirmed to the Washington Post that Mueller is likely to question the president "very soon."
"This is moving faster than anyone realizes," according to a Post source familiar with the talks.
Frustration is reportedly growing in the White House, as no one believed Mueller's investigation would continue into 2018. Thus far three former Trump campaign staffers have been indicted, prompting former campaign chief Paul Manafort to press charges against Mueller for what Manafort sees as overstepping the frame of his mandate.
Obstruction of justice?
"Trump is comfortable participating in an interview and believes it would put to rest questions about whether his campaign coordinated with Russia," wrote the Washington Post.
To that end, Ty Cobb, the White House counsel and Trump's personal lawyer Jay Sekulow are apparently trying to get Mueller to submit his questions ahead of time, or allow the president to give his answers in written statements instead of a sit-down interview.
However, one person familiar with the talks told the Post that Mueller has no intention of creating special rules for the president, especially as he may be exploring whether or not Trump obstructed justice when he fired former FBI Director James Comey.
Comey was sacked last May, and has since said publicly that the president asked him to "drop" an investigation into ties between ex-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Russian officials. Flynn has since pled guilty to lying to the FBI.