The president’s lawyers on Wednesday rebuffed the special counsel’s office and asked Robert Mueller to narrow the scope of his interview if they agree to let him speak to the president.
Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said it’s his belief that the probe into Russian election meddling, which has spiraled into allegations of collusion between the Kremlin and the president’s campaign and possible obstruction of justice, should be concluded by Sept. 1
‘We’re restating what we have been saying for months: It is time for the Office of Special Counsel to conclude its inquiry without further delay,’ he told the New York Times.
Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said it’s his belief that the probe into Russian election meddling, which has spiraled into allegations of collusion between the Kremlin and the president’s campaign and possible obstruction of justice, should be concluded by Sept. 1
Trump’s legal team has been going back and forth with Mueller for months about an interview with the president. President Trump says he wants to his clear his name but his attorneys have advised against it.
The president has meanwhile referred to the probe that originated with Moscow’s meddling as a witch hunt and has repeatedly directed his attorney general to put a stop to it.
Giuliani has said time and time again that it’s time for the probe to end. He said in April when he joined the Trump legal team that his role would be ‘limited’ and he was really only there to drag the investigation across the finish line.
Four months later, with the probe showing no sign of stopping, Giuliani has become the face of the legal effort alongside Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow, appearing multiple times a week sometimes on cable and network news programs.
Giuliani has routinely created hay in the investigation, most recently with a claim that it wouldn’t be illegal to participate in collusion.

Trump’s legal team has been going back and forth with Mueller for months about an interview with the president. President Trump says he wants to his clear his name but his attorneys have advised against it
Trump did not collude with Russia to steal an election, but even if he did, ‘Collusion is not a crime,’ Giuliani at the end of July stated of ‘Fox & Friends.’
‘The hacking is the crime,’ he told CNN later. ‘The president didn’t hack.’
President Trump says he did not know about a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer that his son, campaign chairman and son-in-law participated in. The meeting was ostensibly to receive dirt on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, although all parties say no such exchange of information ever happened.
The Department of Justice is said to have told Trump on multiple occasions that he is not the target of the investigation. They would like to speak to him about improper ties that have been alleged between his campaign associates, though, and the Russians.
Trump is also under scrutiny for his firing in 2017 of former FBI Director James Comey. The White House said Comey was fired for incompetence but Trump admitted in an interview that the Russia probe was also on his mind.
If the president refuses an interview with Mueller, the United States Constitution could be put to the test. A president has never successfully been subpoenaed before.
Sekulow told ABC News on Sunday that the president’s legal team would file a motion to quash, if that happens. He said the case would ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.
‘If the Special Council makes the determination and gets the authority, and that’s a question, they have to have the authority to seek that subpoena. A subpoena for live testimony has never been tested in court as to a president of the United States,’ he said. ‘It’s hard pressed to see why they need the president’s testimony.’

President Trump says he did not know about a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer that his son, campaign chairman and son-in-law participated in
He said he had seen no evidence of illegal activity pertaining to the Trump Tower meeting with the Russian nationals who used the meeting to lobby against sanctions on adoption.
As for new charges that Trump is obstructing justice through derogatory tweets about the special counsel probe, including ones putting pressure on the Department of Justice to tell Mueller it’s time to go, Sekulow said, ‘Obstruction of justice by tweet is absurd. The president has a First Amendment right to put his opinions out there.’
Trump’s legal team had said last week that it expected to have an answer for Mueller about in an interview in the coming days in response to an offer from the special counsel’s office to reduce the number of questions pertaining to obstruction of justice.
The president’s legal team is aggressively trying to limit the interview to the topic of collusion, with all questions falling within a timeline that precedes Trump’s inauguration.
Sekulow declined to comment on reports on Wednesday that the Trump legal team had rejected the special counsel’s most recent offer. He confirmed to The Times and other outlets, though, that the president’s attorneys had submitted a response.
Giuliani would not say what was in the latest offer, but he told The Times that they were still considering another ‘avenue’ that would put the president in front of Mueller and ensure the probe starts to wrap up.
‘This should be over by Sept. 1,’ Giuliani said. ‘We have now given him an answer; he obviously he should take a few days to consider it, but we should get this resolved. If there is going to be an interview, let’s have it.’