2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Close advisers and friends of President Donald Trump are warning him not to sit for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, with some expressing skepticism that there would be any circumstance in which it makes sense to voluntarily submit to an interview, according to multiple sources familiar with the ongoing discussions.
The President has told friends he’s willing to talk with Mueller — the man Trump views as leading a ‘witch hunt’ against him — to make the case there was no wrongdoing, sources told CNN. White House special counsel Ty Cobb says the White House is cooperating with Mueller’s investigation into potential collusion between the Trump team and the Russians in the 2016 election.
Some key allies on Capitol Hill also are urging Trump to avoid potential political and legal jeopardy and not answer questions from Mueller. They are part of a group of supporters ranging from lawyers on the Trump team and in the White House orbit to friends who say it would be unwise for the President to talk. Others say Trump should find a way to cooperate that limits his potential legal exposure.
Mueller hasn’t yet requested a Trump interview but has indicated he wants to talk with the President. In the end, much depends on the course Mueller takes and whether the two sides can reach a deal or end up having a lengthy legal fight to decide the issue.
Trump’s legal team is weighing ‘every possible avenue’ for the President to provide information to the special counsel, from interviews to written answers. One source said the result ‘could end up being some sort of hybrid’ and that the whole thing is ‘under deep discussion.’ “
-Kara Scannell, Pamela Brown, Manu Raju, Gloria Borger, and Dana Bash, “Trump allies urge him not to talk to Mueller,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, Jan. 11, 2018 5:11pm