American President Donald Trump suggested Saturday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is deliberately leaking to the press documents about his probe into possible collusion with Russia.
“There was No Collusion with Russia (except by the Democrats). When will this very expensive Witch Hunt Hoax ever end? So bad for our Country,” Trump tweeted after the investigation passed its one-year mark last month.
“Is the Special Counsel/Justice Department leaking my lawyers letters to the Fake News Media? Should be looking at Dems corruption instead?”
Earlier, The New York Times published a confidential 20-page letter the American president’s legal team sent to Mueller in January, along with another sent in June 2017.
In the letters, Trump’s lawyers sternly oppose attempts by Mueller’s office to interview him, saying “under our system of government, the president is not readily available to be interviewed.”
They also argue that Trump cannot be accused of obstructing justice because he has the constitutional power to end the investigation led by the Justice Department.
Mueller was appointed in May 2017 to investigate Russian efforts to tip the 2016 presidential election in Trump’s favor.
Good Morning America adds: The president’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani threatened a legal battle with special counsel Robert Mueller if he attempts to subpoena Donald Trump.
“If Mueller tries to subpoena us, we’re going to court,” Giuliani told ABC News.
His latest comments come on the heels of the publication of a 20-page confidential letter sent by Trump’s lawyers to Mueller arguing that the president cannot legally obstruct justice in the Russia investigation due to his position as “chief law enforcement officer.”
“It remains our position that the President’s actions here, by virtue of his position as the chief law enforcement officer, could neither constitutionally nor legally constitute obstruction because that would amount to him obstructing himself, and that he could if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon if he so desired,” reads the letter dated Jan. 29, which was first obtained and reported by The New York Times.
Although Giuliani was not on the legal team at the time of the letter, he confirmed the contents of the letter to ABC News and said it was delivered to the special counsel in January.
He told ABC News the legal strategy outlined in the letter remains in effect.
Lawyers for Trump and a spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment to ABC News.
Mueller has requested an interview with Trump, but while the president has said he would be willing to sit down with the special counsel, his legal team has advised against it.
Trump tweeted 40 minutes before the New York Times broke the news, questioning whether Mueller’s team or the Department of Justice was responsible for leaking the letter.
“There was No Collusion with Russia (except by the Democrats). When will this very expensive Witch Hunt Hoax ever end? So bad for our Country. Is the Special Counsel/Justice Department leaking my lawyers letters to the Fake News Media? Should be looking at Dems corruption instead?”
