Mueller’s team shoots down idea of written interview with Trump

Source: Politico | May 8, 2018 | Darren Samuelsohn

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has rejected the idea that President Donald Trump be allowed to answer questions in writing, according to a source familiar with the process, who also cautioned that it “doesn’t mean the last chapter’s been written on that.”

Mueller, who is overseeing the sprawling investigation into whether Trump campaign aides colluded with Russians to influence the 2016 election and into whether Trump obstructed justice, has been in talks with the president’s lawyers for months about the format of a potential interview.

In a conversation with POLITICO on Monday afternoon, Rudy Giuliani, who recently joined Trump’s outside group of lawyers, said Mueller’s team and Trump’s lawyers were still far apart on the negotiations for an interview. “We both have issues we want to resolve,” the former New York mayor said.

Among the Trump legal team’s demands: a chance to review the Justice Department internal records relating to the scope of Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“We haven’t been given it. We’ve never seen it,” Giuliani said.

The Justice Department memo is already the source of controversy, and Trump last week suggested that he might intervene to get the classified records delivered to Congress. “At some point I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to the Presidency and get involved!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Giuliani joined Trump’s legal team last month vowing to bring the Russia probe to a speedy end as it relates to the president. On Monday, Giuliani said there were still “a few weeks to go in making sure we know all the facts” before the president and his lawyers would be ready to make a final decision on whether they’d sit for an interview.

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CBS News reported earlier on Tuesday that Giuliani said Mueller had rejected proposals for a written interview.

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As for the interview, Trump is still hoping for a negotiated settlement with Mueller that leads to a face-to-face meeting, Giuliani said.

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