Trump's lawyers may allow him to meet directly with Robert Mueller
The White House has insisted repeatedly that it has "nothing to hide" in the face of multiple investigations into potential collusion with Russia — and the administration is apparently willing to put its man where its mouth is. President Trump's lawyers are contemplating enabling a direct sit-down with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Politico reported Thursday, who is leading the probe into Russian election meddling and the Trump administration's potential ties to it.
"The White House believes such an interview could help Mueller wrap up the probe faster and dispel the cloud of suspicion over Trump," Politico explained. But putting the mercurial commander in chief in front of Mueller is a fraught gamble:
Lying to Mueller or a member of his team would be illegal, Vox notes, though Trump said earlier this year that he was "100 percent" willing to testify under oath about the Russia scandal. Trump's personal lawyer, John Dowd, initially declined to comment to Politico on the story, but sent an email after the article was published saying it was "totally false!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" without directly identifying any false assertions.
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Read more about Trump's theoretical testimony at Politico, including similar situations involving former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.
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Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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