Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigative team has given the White House a list of topics they plan to cover when they grill Donald Trump.
It’s unclear whether the president will be compelled to answer questions in person or in writing.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he was looking forward to it, and would be willing to submit to an examination ‘under oath.’
‘You know, again, it’’ – I have to say – subject to my lawyers and all of that. But I would love to do it,’ he said.
Ty Cobb, one of the two Trump lawyers handling most of the Mueller inquiries, quickly mopped up after the president – telling reporters that Trump hadn’t just agreed to appear before a federal grand jury.
The list suggests Mueller is focused on ‘obstruction of justice’ allegations related to the firings of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and former FBI Director James Comey – and is less concerned about the allegations of election-year collusion with Russia that launched his probe.
Donald Trump (left) is expected to sit down and talk to Special Counsel Robert Mueller (right) as part of the ongoing Russia investigation and Mueller has given the president’s lawyers a list of topics to prepare for
Trump’s campaign has handed over 1.4 million pages of document to satisfy Mueller’s demands, and the White House has added 20,000 pages more; Trump is pictured Thursday at a dinner with CEOs during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland
Trump lawyer Ty Cobb quickly told reporters Wednesday that when Trump said he would testify ‘under oath,’ he wasn’t promising to appear before a federal grand jury
A source familiar with the exchange told CNN that the collection of possible themes include whether or not Trump asked Comey to drop his investigation of Flynn after he had lied to the FBI and the vice president about his contacts with Russia’s then-ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.
Mueller also wants to know how Trump reacted to Comey’s May 2017 testimony before Congress. Comey reportedly angered Trump by saying he hoped there were recordings of their conversations.
Secondarily, special counsel prosecutors are interested in who Trump reached out to in the U.S. intelligence community to collect information about the Justice Department’s review of evidence related to the Russia question.
Trump has said there was ‘no collusion’ between his campaign and Moscow, rebutting Democrats’ unproven suggestions that his team worked with the Kremlin to tilt the 2016 presidential election in his favor.
‘I think the accusation against the president is that he had help winning the election, and that’s simply untrue,’ White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday.
Asked if Trump’s constant denials covered only his own actions or those of everyone in his campaign organization, Sanders was less definitive.
‘I think he’s stating for himself, and to anything that he would be a part of, or know about, or have sanctioned,’ she said. ‘But that would be something that, again, I think he’s very clearly laid out he and his campaign had nothing to do with.’
Another Trump attorney, John Dowd, told The Daily Beast on Thursday that he, not the president, will make the final decision on whether Mueller gets a shot at his client.
And he hasn’t yet mad up his mind, Dowd insisted.
At least 20 current and former White House officials, plus 17 campaign officials, have taken their turns on Mueller’s hot seat so far, according to Fox News.
Fox obtained a summary document from Dowd’s office revealing that the White House has given investigators 20,000 pages of documents, and the Trump organization has handed over 1.4 million.
The White House’s portion of that included 1,601 documents totaling 5,079 pages about Flynn and Russia, and another 1,245 documents – 7,799 pages – on Comey.
The parade of testimony has included former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, former Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Communications Director Hope Hicks and former chief strategist Steve Bannon.
CNN reports that Mueller is mostly interested to talk to Trump in light of his 2017 firings of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn (right) and former FBI Director James Comey (left)
The special counsel probe ratcheted up a notch with Mueller’s hours-long interview of Attorney General Jeff Sessions (pictured), the first sitting cabinet member to be grilled
The special counsel’s office has also interviewed senior members of the intelligence community including Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, CIA Director Mike Pompeo and NSA Director Mike Rogers.
The Justice Department confirmed Tuesday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions also spoke to investigators.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday about Sessions’ testimony, Trump said, ‘I’m not at all concerned.’
The president also said he and the nation’s top law enforcement officer didn’t talk about the probe when they met Monday at the White House.
‘No. I didn’t. But I’m not at all concerned,’ Trump said.