Mueller wanted Comey memos to stay private, over fears witnesses might change their stories

In January 2018, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team fought to keep memos written by former FBI Director James Comey private, over concerns that President Trump and other witnesses would read them and change their stories, according to a court transcript released Tuesday.

In the memos, Comey wrote about Trump asking him for his loyalty and to end the FBI probe into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Several media outlets sued the Justice Department to make the memos public, but prosecutor Michael Dreeban argued during the closed-door hearing that "in any investigation of this kind, the recollections of one witness, if disclosed to another potential witness, have the potential to influencing, advertently or inadvertently, the recollections of that witness."

The hearing took place at the same time the special counsel's office was trying to schedule an interview with Trump at Camp David, which ultimately fell through, CNN reports. In April 2018, redacted versions of Comey's memos were made public, after copies were sent to Congress.

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