Trump, Mueller teams prepare to move forward without presidential interview

Source: NBC

WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office and President Donald Trump’s legal team are now proceeding with strategies that presume a presidential interview will likely not take place as part of the Russia investigation, after months of talks between the two sides collapsed earlier this week, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

On Monday Trump’s lawyers were discussing a possible interview with Mueller's team and had begun to hash out the final sticking points, including the timing, scope and length, according to people familiar with the discussions. One person familiar with the strategy said the president’s lawyers had over the weekend sought to expand his legal team to include individuals who would prepare him for an interview. Another person familiar with the matter, however, said preparations had not yet gone that far.

But the prospects for a presidential interview dramatically dimmed once the FBI raided the home, office and hotel room of Trump’s long-time personal lawyer, Michael Cohen on Monday, these people said. The president criticized the raid as out of bounds in Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump aides.

The president’s lawyers wanted an interview to last only a few hours, according to one person familiar with the matter. They also wanted Mueller to agree to write a report within at least three or four months after completing the interview, this person said.



Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-mueller-teams-prepare-move-forward-without-presidential-interview-n865421?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma