The White House heard the news approximately 30 seconds before the rest of the world.
Right around 5 p.m. EST Friday, the Department of Justice announced Special Counsel Robert Mueller had finished his investigation into potential ties between President Trump's campaign and Russian election interference. The White House reportedly heard the news only a few minutes before the announcement — and this reaction from President Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani seems to prove it.
As speculation mounted throughout the day that Mueller had finished his report, Giuliani delightfully told The Washington Post that all this hype was "like waiting for a baby." He also added that Trump's team was "not expecting" further indictments from the report. Yet as the first report surfaced confirming the rumors were true, Giuliani appeared shocked, telling The Hill "I can't believe they'd put out a report at 5 o'clock on a Friday — but they've surprised me before." He and fellow Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow then issued a full statement.
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The White House also followed up the news with a statement of its own, confirming that the White House did not get to look at Mueller's report before its completion.
Meanwhile, officials who've talked with Trump tell ABC News that he's just "glad it's over."
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