WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller's team of investigators has expressed interest in speaking with President Donald Trump as part of a probe into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.
The issue of an interview with the president has come up in recent discussions between Mueller's team and Trump lawyers, but no details have been worked out, including the scope of questions that the president would agree to answer if an interview were to actually take place, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
The person said it was not surprising that investigators would be interested in eventually seeking to speak with the president. It was not immediately clear when or even if an interview will occur, what the terms will be, or whether Trump's lawyers will attempt to narrow the range of questions or topics that prosecutors would cover.
Mueller for months has led a team of prosecutors and agents investigating whether Russia and Trump's Republican campaign coordinated to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, and whether Trump worked to obstruct an FBI investigation into his aides. Mueller's team recently concluded a series of interviews with many current and former White House aides, including former chief of staff Reince Priebus.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment Monday, as did Trump lawyers John Dowd and Jay Sekulow.
Trump did not rule out the possibility of being questioned by Mueller when asked about it at a news conference Saturday. He said there had been "no collusion" and "no crime."
"But we have been very open," Trump said. "We could have done it two ways. We could have been very closed and it would have taken years. But you know, it's sort of like, when you've done nothing wrong, let's be open and get it over with."
A White House spokesman pointed to a statement from White House lawyer Ty Cobb saying the White House doesn't publicly discuss its conversations with Mueller but was continuing to cooperate "in order to facilitate the earliest possible resolution."
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Associated Press writer Chad Day contributed to this report.
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