For over a year President Trump has told anyone who would listen that he wants to sit down directly with special counsel Robert Mueller to discuss the Russia investigation.
It’s hard to know how many people actually believed him.
Tonight we learned that Trump will not answer federal investigators’ questions, in writing or in person, about whether he tried to block the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“That’s a no-go. That is not going to happen. There will be no questions at all on obstruction.”
Rudy Giuliani’s statement was the most definitive rejection yet of Mueller’s efforts to interview the president about any efforts to obstruct the investigation into possible coordination between his campaign and Russians. It signals the Trump’s lawyers are committed to protecting the president from answering questions about actions the president took in office.
If the legal team holds its stance, it could force Mueller to try to subpoena the president, likely triggering a standoff that would lead to the Supreme Court.
Mueller’s office has previously sought to interview Trump about the obstruction issue, including his firing last year of former FBI Director James Comey and his public attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Trump’s legal team has argued that the president has the power to hire and fire appointees and the special counsel does not have the authority to ask him to explain those decisions. Giuliani said today the team was steadfast in that position.