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Trump immediately denied the content of the report. Asked by
reporters in the Oval Office if he asked acting Attorney General
Matthew Whitaker to change the leadership of the investigation,
Trump responded: "No, never," and said the report was false.
The Times reported that Trump asked Whitaker to have Geoffrey
Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York
and an ally of the president, take over the investigation into
the payments made to women who threatened to go public with
accounts of sexual affairs they said they had with Trump.
Whitaker denied the president's request, the Times reported,
noting that Berman had been recused from the investigation. The
inquiry is being headed by Robert Khuzami, deputy U.S. attorney
in the Southern District.
Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the
Southern District, declined to comment.
If true, Trump's request could be held up as further evidence
that he sought to influence several law enforcement
investigations against him and his associates.
Democrats have accused Trump of "obstruction of justice" or
intentionally trying to prevent an investigation. Special
Counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing whether the Trump
campaign worked with Russians to win the election, is also
believed to be investigating whether any obstruction occurred.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and attacked the Mueller probe.
The report sparked concern from Democratic lawmakers, who said
it conflicted with Whitaker's statements to the House of
Representatives Judiciary Committee earlier this month that
Trump never attempted to meddle in any investigation.
The Justice Department said Whitaker stands by his testimony.
“Under oath to the House Judiciary Committee, then Acting
Attorney General Whitaker stated that ‘at no time has the White
House asked for nor have I provided any promises or commitments
concerning the special counsel's investigation or any other
investigation,'" said Kerri Kupec, a spokeswoman for the Justice
Department.
Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, eventually pleaded
guilty to campaign finance law violations that related to his
paying one woman and helping orchestrate a payment to another in
exchange for their silence in the weeks before the 2016
election. Cohen, in admitting to his crimes, said he had done so
at Trump's direction.
(Reporting by Ginger Gibson, Karen Freifeld and Sarah N. Lynch;
Writing by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Mary Milliken and Peter
Cooney)
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