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.
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