Rudy Giuliani tells The Associated Press he has no plans to discuss with the president a possible sit-down interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller until after the June 12th summit with North Korea.
AP:
Rudy Giuliani, the president’s new attorney, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday that any preparation with Trump for a possible interview with federal investigators would likely be delayed until after the June 12 summit in Singapore because “I wouldn’t want to take his concentration off something far, far more important.”
Giuliani, who also suggested that special counsel Robert Mueller’s team had indicated it would not attempt to indict Trump, said he had hoped to resolve the question of a possible interview by May 17, the one-year anniversary of Mueller’s appointment, but that was no longer feasible.
Giuliani says the president and his legal team have not made a decision yet as to whether Trump will comply with Mueller's request for a voluntary interview.
Giuliani said Friday that if a subpoena were issued to get Trump to appear, the president’s legal team would oppose it unless they could “reach agreement on the ground rules.” He argued that Trump could invoke executive privilege, and the team would point to Justice Department opinions in fighting a subpoena and “on both law and the facts, we would have the strongest case you could imagine.” He noted the handover of 1.2 million documents as evidence of cooperation.
Giuliani warned that it could be a “perjury trap” and suggested that “lies told by others” could land the president in legal trouble, though he said that Trump himself would not close the door entirely on an interview.
“The president would probably like the resolution,” the former New York City mayor said. “If we were convinced it would speed up the process, we may do it. If we believed they would go into it honestly and with an open mind, we would be inclined to do it. But right now, we’re not there.”
Mueller’s investigation has operated largely in secrecy, with the public getting only glimpses into its operation through witnesses who are questioned or when indictments and guilty pleas are unsealed. But Giuliani suggested that a recent conversation with Mueller’s team led him to believe that the special counsel, citing a Justice Department opinion, had ruled out the possibility of trying to indict a sitting president.
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Giuliani demurred when asked if Trump would consider it a “red line” for his children to be interviewed. Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared, Kushner, both worked on the campaign and are senior advisers at the White House, while Trump’s adult sons, Don Jr. and Eric, were also leading figures on the campaign. Giuliani said he did not expect those interviews with Mueller to take place.
“Our understanding is that he’s pretty much finished,” Giuliani said. “As far we know, we’re basically the last witness.”
The special counsel’s office has not outlined the duration of the probe.
Read more: Giuliani: Don’t expect Trump-Russia interview decision soon (AP)