The possibility of President Trump sitting for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller moved one step closer toward becoming a reality this week, after his lawyer Rudy Giuliani said a decision would be made by Aug. 12 and that the president had been pushing for a sit-down.
Giuliani revealed the self-imposed deadline for a decision as soon as Trump’s legal team reportedly received word from Mueller that he would be open to reducing the number of questions related to obstruction of justice charges, in addition to allowing the president to respond to some queries in written form. Attorneys for the president have long criticized the scope of Mueller’s investigation, arguing that Trump should not be asked questions about his financial history or anything unrelated to Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign.
“We’re in the process of responding to their proposal,” Giuliani told reporters this week, noting that negotiations over a presidential interview remain ongoing.
He added: “[Trump] has always been interested in testifying. It’s us, meaning the team of lawyers, including me, that have the most reservations about that.”
Such concerns stem, in part, from the president’s tendency to speak freely in a way that could lead to missteps and contradictions, or otherwise place him in further legal jeopardy. Giuliani has previously said innocuous questions on topics like the lead-up to a June 9 Trump Tower meeting between the president’s eldest son and a Russian lawyer, or the timing of FBI Director James Comey’s firing, must be left off the table in any conversation between Mueller and Trump.
Should the president choose to speak with federal investigators, a source close to the White House said the interview would likely take place before the end of the month. Here are three key topics Mueller would likely ask of Trump in such a setting:
Michael Flynn
Two of the president’s attorneys claimed in a letter to Mueller’s team earlier this year that Trump could not have intended to disrupt a criminal investigation into former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn because he and his aides did not know Flynn was still being probed by the FBI when he allegedly told Comey to go easy on him.
“The White House Counsel and Chief of Staff, as well as others surrounding the President, had every reason to believe at that time that the FBI was not investigating Lt. Gen. Flynn, especially in light of the fact that Lt. Gen. Flynn was allowed to keep his active security clearance,” lawyers John Down, who no longer works for Trump, and Jay Sekulow wrote in a letter to Mueller on Jan. 29.
If Trump did know Flynn was still being investigated by the FBI, a topic Mueller nearly guaranteed to ask the president about should he grant an interview, questions about the president’s motivation and intent for allegedly urging Comey to clear his national security adviser of wrongdoing would almost surely follow.
Trump Tower meeting
Who knew what about this meeting and when has become a major focus of the media in recent days, and is said to be an area Mueller’s team is also investigating. Additionally, whether the president was involved in covering up the details of the meeting, and whether he personally encouraged senior campaign officials to sit down with the Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, are questions Mueller would likely ask in an interview.
The Trump Tower meeting first came under scrutiny after emails between the president’s son Don Jr. and an acquaintance named Rob Goldstone showed he was informed before accepting the meeting that its purpose was to provide “documents and information that would incriminate Hillary [Clinton] and her dealings with Russia.” Trump Jr. was joined by former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner for the June 9 meeting at Trump Tower, which he has since told a congressional panel his father did not know about until after the meeting occurred.
But that claim was contradicted by the president’s longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen last week. Cohen has reportedly told friends and his own legal team he was present when then-candidate Trump was informed beforehand about the meeting with Veselnitskaya.
Obstruction of justice
Trump fumed last week after learning from news reports that federal investigators have been looking at his tweets as part of their investigation. And after ABC News reported Wednesday that Mueller is prepared to grill Trump on obstruction of justice if he sits for an interview, the president took to Twitter to claim Attorney General Jeff Sessions “should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further.”
The tweetstorm showed just how frustrated the president has become with accusations that his campaign colluded with Russian officials during the 2016 election, and that he now faces questions over whether his public criticism of the Russia probe, in addition to other actions he’s taken, amount to obstruction of justice.
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, described the president’s tweet on Wednesday as “an attempt to obstruct justice hiding in plain sight.” Others, including some Republicans, describe the tweet as ill-advised.
Other tweets that could be potentially problematic for Trump include a message he posted last December about his decision to fire Flynn, which his legal team claimed was not actually written or posted by the president himself.
I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017
Trump’s claim in a tweet this April that some of his actions that have been perceived by political opponents as potential obstruction actually show that he “fight[s] back.” The tweet came days after the New York Times reported that FBI agents had raided a Manhattan office and hotel room belonging to Michael Cohen.
….doing things that nobody thought possible, despite the never ending and corrupt Russia Investigation, which takes tremendous time and focus. No Collusion or Obstruction (other than I fight back), so now they do the Unthinkable, and RAID a lawyers office for information! BAD!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
And the many attacks Trump has launched against Mueller and his team over the course of their yearlong investigation.
Much of the bad blood with Russia is caused by the Fake & Corrupt Russia Investigation, headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama. Mueller is most conflicted of all (except Rosenstein who signed FISA & Comey letter). No Collusion, so they go crazy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2018
Is Robert Mueller ever going to release his conflicts of interest with respect to President Trump, including the fact that we had a very nasty & contentious business relationship, I turned him down to head the FBI (one day before appointment as S.C.) & Comey is his close friend..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2018
Trump runs the risk of being subpoenaed if he ultimately declines to be interviewed voluntarily by Mueller, though he has told advisers he’s eager to clear himself and provide his account to the special counsel. However, one condition previously outlined by the president’s legal team could prolong the process beyond the 10-day mark.
Giuliani told the Times last month that Trump wants Mueller to provide his team with evidence that suggests he committed a crime before he agrees to answer written or verbal questions from the special counsel.
