Rudy Giuliani tells CBS News Special Counsel Robert Mueller has said no to having the president answer his interview questions in writing.
The president's legal team has signaled that this would be their preferred format for a possible interview, since it helps protect Mr. Trump from the possibility of lying or misleading investigators, which is a criminal offense.
Giuliani told CBS News it will take up to three weeks for him to get fully up to speed on the facts of the investigation and be prepared to engage in formal negotiations with the special counsel about the terms of a possible interview with Mr. Trump.
Giuliani told Reid that he and the president's legal team continue to be in communication with the special counsel, but that he wants to have a better sense of the facts before engaging in formal negotiations about a possible interview.
Giuliani said Mr. Trump's team also wants some issues to be off-limits, although he wouldn't elaborate on which ones, and they want a time limit for the interview.
In addition, Giuliani also told Reid he'd want to know whether the interview would become public, and whether they would have the chance to issue a rebuttal to anything alleged by the special counsel.
Giuliani's "three weeks to get up to speed" timeline does not comport with the May 17th timeline reported by The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
No decision has been made on whether to permit the president to sit for an interview, but a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly on it told The Associated Press that the legal team hopes to resolve that question by May 17, the one-year anniversary of Mueller's appointment. Giuliani earlier told The Wall Street Journal that the team hopes to decide by that date.
Giuliani says if the two sides can come to an agreement, he would want to wait until after the North Korea summit to start preparing the president.
If negotiations are not successful and Mr. Trump is subpoenaed, he will fight it, Giuliani said. The case would likely end up at the Supreme Court.
Giuliani is not suggesting that Mr. Trump would ignore a subpoena, but rather that they will use it as another opportunity to negotiate an interview on their terms. If that does not work, they will challenge it in court.
Mueller rejects Trump request to answer questions in writing (CBS News)
Trump signals cooperative approach with Mueller is fading (AP)