During an interview last month with President Trump’s lawyers regarding the Russia investigation, Special Counsel Robert Mueller raised the possibility of interviewing Trump, ABC News reports.
ABC News also reported that this was not the first time that special counsel had brought up the possibility with Trump’s legal team.
According to NBC News, Trump’s legal team has been discussing possible options — such as written responses in the form of a questionnaire — for the president to make a statement to the special counsel in-lieu of a formal sit-down interview.
However, those who have served in the Justice Department doubt that Mueller, who served as FBI Director for 12 years, would decide not to formally interview the president, NBC News reports.
“Prosecutors want to see and hear folks in person,” said Chuck Rosenberg, former U.S. attorney and Chief of Staff to FBI Director James Comey.
“They want to probe and follow up. Body language and tone are important. And they want answers directly from witnesses, not from their lawyers. The odds of prosecutors agreeing to written responses are somewhere between infinitesimally small and zero,” Rosenberg said.
There has yet to be any formal request for an interview, but according to NBC News, an interview, or written response, could occur in a matter of weeks.
Just this past weekend at Camp David, Trump told reporters, “Just so you understand, there’s been no collusion, there’s been no crime, and in theory everybody tells me I’m not under investigation. Maybe Hillary (Clinton) is, I don’t know, but I’m not. But we have been very open. We could have done it two ways. We could have been very closed, and it would have taken years. But you know, sort of like when you’ve done nothing wrong, let’s be open and get it over with.”
“Because, honestly, it’s very, very bad for our country,” the president said. “It’s making our country look foolish. And this is a country that I don’t want looking foolish. And it’s not going to look foolish as long as I’m here,” Trump added, NBC News reports.
According to ABC News, a source has said that Trump’s legal team has been cooperative with Mueller’s investigation, often asking if there was anything that they could provide the special counsel with in order to expedite the process.
Mueller’s office has declined to state if there will be an interview, ABC News reports.
Trump’s lawyer, John Dowd, said in a statement to NBC News, “The White House does not comment on communications with the OSC (Office of Special Counsel) out of respect for the OSC and its process. The White House is continuing its full cooperation with the OSC in order to facilitate the earliest possible resolution.”