Rudy Giuliani Reportedly Met With Mueller To Reopen Negotiations For A Trump Interview

Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York and current lawyer for President Donald Trump, has reopened negotiations with special counsel Robert Mueller to potentially interview the president, The Washington Post reports.

Negotiations between Trump’s legal team and the special counsel’s team broke down in March when John Dowd, the lawyer who preceded Giuliani as head counsel for the Russia probe, resigned due to disagreements with Trump about the interview.

Back in January, Trump said he would “look forward” to meeting with the special counsel, but he has since been less publicly enthused at the prospect. As The Washington Post reports, “the president’s willingness to meet with the special counsel cooled dramatically when he learned earlier this month that his personal attorney Michael Cohen was under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.”

According to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Giuliani explained to the special counsel that the president is reluctant to have an interview, but did not take the possibility off the table. He also asked Mueller to specify when he expected the probe to end.

For his part, Mueller explained that a presidential interview is crucial for investigators to get to the bottom of Trump’s intent behind certain decisions to determine whether he was involved in obstruction of justice.

One person briefed on the session told the Post that it was “relaxed” and gave both sides the opportunity to “feel each other out.”

[image via screengrab]

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!