White House principal deputy secretary Raj Shah said Sunday he would not draw “red lines” on behalf of President Trump regarding special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, including if he began looking into Trump’s alleged extramarital affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels.
“I’m not here to declare any red lines,” Shah told ABC when asked whether Mueller probing Trump’s alleged relationship with Daniels would be a bridge too far for the president.
“There’s no intention whatsoever to fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel, right now. We’ve been fully cooperative. We respect their process. We’re hoping it will come to a conclusion in the near future,” Shah continued.
Shah added he did not know whether Trump had approved a $130,000 payment Michael Cohen, his personal lawyer, made to Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 election, nor whether he had reimbursed Cohen for the transaction.
“This is a private legal matter for which the president’s attorney has spoken about, and actually there’s some orders in court regarding that matter. I [would] refer you to Michael Cohen about the specifics regarding that,” he said.
Daniels filed a lawsuit against Trump last week, arguing a supposed nondisclosure agreement between them was invalid because, while Cohen had signed it, the president had not.
Shah also did not confirm a New York Times report that alleged Trump asked White House counsel Don McGahn to release a statement refuting a previous article published by the newspaper claiming McGahn told Mueller’s team Trump had requested that he terminate Mueller.
“What I’m saying is that matters pertaining to the special counsel are being dealt with with the special counsel. We’re not litigating them in the press,” Shah said.
