Trump's lawyers are reportedly trying to squirrel Trump out of an interview with Robert Mueller

Robert Mueller.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

President Trump's attorneys are trying to prevent the president from sitting down for an interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, arguing that Mueller hasn't proved that there's information only Trump can provide, a threshold they claim is a necessary prerequisite, CNN reports, citing "sources familiar with the ongoing deliberations." Trump told reporters last week that he's "looking forward" to talking to Mueller "under oath," but lawyer John Dowd quickly walked that back, saying the president was speaking off the cuff. "I have not made any decision yet," Dowd told CNN.

Mueller has made it clear he wants an in-person interview with Trump, and soon, according to several reports, and he's even given Trump's lawyers a range of topics he wants to ask Trump about, CNN says. "The discussions about presidential testimony are ongoing and professional," CNN reports, but "it is now clear where the president's attorneys stand." This isn't their final stance, CNN reports, but if they decline to allow Trump's testimony, Mueller can seek to compel it with a grand jury subpoena. "There is no clear legal precedent for a president to avoid testifying," CNN says, but the subpoena would set off a long, fraught legal battle. You can read more about the negotiations at CNN.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.