Special counsel Robert Mueller will accept written answers from President Donald Trump on questions about whether his campaign colluded with Russia to beat his Democratic opponent, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The report is based on a letter Mueller and his investigators gave to Trump’s legal team Friday. But the special counsel did not ask for written responses about whether Trump obstructed the inquiry, according to the report, which cites anonymous sources.
Sources said the tone prompted Trump allies to believe that any interview will be more limited in scope than the president’s legal team initially believed. Investigators noted that they were limiting the answers to collusion because they recognize executive privilege complicates the investigation.
“We continue to maintain an ongoing dialogue with the office of the special counsel,” Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulow told reporters. The president’s lawyers have tried to fight against accepting a formal interview, saying Mueller can use the more than 1 million documents the legal team provided investigators to determine if Trump conspired with Russia. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]President Trump said Tuesday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is heading up “an illegal investigation” rife with conflicts of interest, including for Mueller himself.
“I view it as an illegal investigation. It should have never been started. It should have never been allowed to start. You know, I’m not a target of this investigation, just in case you don’t realize.”
That’s also what former FBI Director James Comey told Trump multiple times in early 2017, before the president fired him, prompting Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint Mueller as special counsel.
The president ticked off the “many reasons” he considers the investigation illegal.
“Number one, there was no crime,” Trump said. “Number two, everybody was conflicted, including Mueller.” – READ MORE