ELECTION/ROBERT MUELLER/RUDY GIULIANI/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Rudy Giuliani said Monday [8-13-18] that he believes special counsel Robert Mueller will respond to President Donald Trump’s legal team on the terms of a possible presidential interview this week, adding that he does not want the Russia investigation to influence the upcoming midterm elections. Trump’s legal team, led by Giuliani, last week replied to special counsel Mueller’s proposal for terms of a possible presidential interview, but wouldn’t disclose the details of the counteroffer. Mueller is charged with investigating whether the Russian government colluded with Trump’s 2016 campaign, as well as related issues including possible obstruction of justice by the president. While Trump’s legal team declined to outline the specifics of its counteroffer to Mueller’s team, Giuliani did say that their reply to the special counsel’s office included a restatement of their broader interest that Mueller’s investigation conclude ‘without further delay.’ The president and his allies have frequently denounced Mueller’s probe as a ‘witch hunt’ and the special counsel’s office as being staffed by partisan Democrats, even though Mueller himself is a registered Republican. Giuliani has at times suggested he would advise the president against sitting down with Mueller, warning that such an interview could be a ‘perjury trap.’ The former New York mayor also has indicated that Trump would not answer questions related to obstruction of justice, although he told POLITICO last week that questions on obstruction of justice are still on the table, but only if Mueller ‘can demonstrate to us he’s got a couple questions on obstruction that he doesn’t have the answer to, that he really needs the answer to and he hasn’t made up his mind that Trump is lying.'”
–Rebecca Morin, “Giuliani: Mueller could have decision on Trump interview this week,” Politico, August 13, 2018 8:37 am