President Trump said Wednesday that he is “looking forward” to being interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is overseeing the Russia probe.
“I am looking forward to it, actually,” Trump told reporters who were meeting with a senior administration official at the White House, when asked about the prospect of submitting for an interview with the special counsel.
The president said he would be willing to speak with Mueller under oath, although he highlighted the fact that FBI agents did not place Hillary Clinton under oath when they interviewed her in 2016 at the conclusion of their probe into her alleged mishandling of classified information.
“I would do it under oath,” he said.
Trump suggested his legal team has told him the interview with Mueller will take place within a month.
“I guess they’re talking about two or three weeks,” he said, adding that he would “love to do it.”
Mueller questioned Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week as part of his investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russians during the presidential race in order to influence public opinion. Trump has said he has no concerns about what Sessions may have told investigators, and has repeatedly denied that anything resembling collusion took place on his campaign.
The president also denied asking Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe about who he voted for in the election, as has been reported. McCabe’s involvement in the Clinton email investigation despite his wife’s acceptance of campaign donations from a close Clinton ally has long drawn the suspicion of Trump’s supporters.
“I don’t think I did,” Trump said when asked about whether he questioned McCabe’s political leaning.
“I don’t know what’s the big deal with that,” he added. “I don’t remember asking him the question … I think it’s also a very unimportant question.”
Trump has criticized McCabe in the past, going so far as to speculate in December that McCabe is “racing the clock” by attempting to remain in his position until he can retire with full government benefits.
The president also highlighted the thousands of missing text messages between two former members of Mueller’s team who have been accused of harboring anti-Trump bias. The FBI told Congress this week that agents could not recover texts the two FBI employees sent between Dec. 2016 and May 2017, a key window of time in the development of the bureau’s Russia investigation.
“You look at certain texts where they talk about insurance policies or insurance, where they say the kinds of things they’re saying,” Trump said. “You ought to be concerned.”
