Trump now less likely to sit for Mueller
interview: sources
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[April 13, 2018]
By Karen Freifeld
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An interview of U.S.
President Donald Trump by special counsel Robert Mueller was less likely
after this week's FBI raids on Trump's personal lawyer, two people
familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Trump was infuriated by Federal Bureau of Investigation raids on Monday
on the New York law office and home of Michael Cohen, which followed a
referral by Mueller.
Still, the president's tendency to change his mind added to uncertainty
about whether an interview would ultimately take place.
In a tweet early on Thursday, Trump said that he backed a "cooperative"
approach to Mueller's investigation of possible collusion between Moscow
and Trump's presidential campaign.
"I have agreed with the historically cooperative, disciplined approach
that we have engaged in with Robert Mueller," Trump said on Twitter.
Further suggesting that tensions could blow over, a third source
familiar with the matter said the relationship with Mueller remained
strong and constructive and discussions were expected to recommence
soon.
Russia has denied U.S. intelligence agencies' findings that it
interfered in the 2016 campaign to try to tilt the vote in Trump's
favor. Trump has denied any collusion and has repeatedly attacked
Mueller's investigation as a politically motivated "witch hunt."
Trump's outburst after the FBI searches raised concerns among critics
and lawmakers, including some in Trump's own Republican Party, that he
might try to have Mueller removed.
The president denied a New York Times report on Tuesday that he had
sought to fire Mueller in December. "If I wanted to fire Robert Mueller
in December, as reported by the Failing New York Times, I would have
fired him," he said on Twitter early on Thursday.
White House lawyers Ty Cobb and Donald McGahn have told Trump that
firing Mueller would leave him vulnerable to charges of obstruction of
justice, two officials told Reuters on Tuesday. They said Trump must
have "good cause" to order the Justice Department official overseeing
the Russia probe, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, to oust
Mueller.
ADVICE FROM FORMER AIDE
One of the sources familiar with the matter and another person said on
Thursday that Rosenstein is on shaky ground. The second person said the
feeling among White House and Justice Department officials was that
Rosenstein was abdicating authority and not putting constraints on the
investigation.
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Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after briefing members of the
U.S. Senate on his investigation into potential collusion between
Russia and the Trump campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S.,
June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Rosenstein was at the White House on Thursday discussing the status
of congressional requests, another of the sources said.
Steve Bannon, a former senior adviser to Trump, has encouraged White
House aides to advise Trump to fire Rosenstein, the Washington Post
reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources. It also said
Bannon wanted the White House to stop cooperating with the Mueller
investigation and fire Cobb.
Cobb, the lawyer in charge of the White House response to the Russia
investigation, has stressed cooperation with Mueller. The White
House has said it has turned over tens of thousands of pages of
documents to the special counsel's team.
Trump said in one of his Twitter messages on Thursday that he had
full confidence in Cobb.
A bipartisan group of senators put forward legislation on Wednesday
to protect Mueller and his investigation, which the Senate Judiciary
Committee is expected to consider next week.
If passed, the legislation would allow the special counsel to be
fired only “for good cause” by a senior Justice Department official,
with a reason given in writing; provide recourse if the special
counsel was fired without good cause; and preserve the staffing and
materials of a pending investigation.
"Anyone advising the President - in public or over the airwaves - to
fire Bob Mueller does not have the President or the nation’s best
interest at heart. Full stop," Republican Senator Orrin Hatch wrote
on Twitter on Thursday.
(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Additional reporting by Makini Brice
and John Walcott; Writing by Tim Ahmann and Karen Freifeld; Editing
by Frances Kerry, Leslie Adler, Toni Reinhold)
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