 "'Interview' with Mueller 'seems unlikely' to happen: Donald Trump")
President Donald Trump today hinted that it "seems unlikely" that he would allow Special Counsel Robert Mueller to "interview" him in the ongoing probe into the potential links between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 US presidential election.
Mueller and congressional committees investigating the matter have yet to reach a conclusion about whether any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia took place.
Mueller, a former highly decorated FBI director, has already interviewed several of the close aides and family members of Trump over the issue.
In the last one week, news reports have appeared in the US media that Mueller was seeking an interview with Trump as part of his investigation.
Trump's attorneys were said to have asked whether it could be in the written format.
At a joint news conference here with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Trump hinted that the interview was unlikely to happen.
"We'll see what happens. I mean, certainly I'll see what happens. But when they have no collusion and nobody's found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview," Trump said.
He termed the allegations as a "Democratic hoax brought up as an excuse for losing an election".
"The Democrats should have won, because they have such a tremendous advantage in the Electoral College," the US president said.
He denied any coordination between the Trump Campaign and Russia during the presidential election.
"It has been determined that there's been no collusion," Trump said.
"For 11 months, we've had this phony cloud over this administration," Trump said.
The US president said he will speak to his attorneys regarding the issue.
He ridiculed Hillary Clinton, her opponent in the elections, for being interviewed by the FBI in the email case in 2016.
"And when you talk about interviews, Hillary Clinton had an interview where she wasn't sworn in. She wasn't given the oath. They didn't take notes. They didn't record. It was done on the 4th of July weekend. That is perhaps ridiculous, and a lot of people looked upon that as being a very serious breach. And it really was," Trump said.
"There is collusion, but it's really with the Democrats and the Russians far more than it is with the Republicans and the Russians. So the witch hunt continues," he said.
Meanwhile, Trump's response comes as his lawyers are discussing how they will respond to an interview request from Mueller, which the President's attorneys are anticipating, CNN reported.
Trump's attorneys are looking for ways to limit the President's exposure, including requesting Mueller abide by certain parameters for the interview, the report said.
Mueller and congressional committees investigating the matter have yet to reach a conclusion about whether any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia took place.
Mueller, a former highly decorated FBI director, has already interviewed several of the close aides and family members of Trump over the issue.
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Trump's attorneys were said to have asked whether it could be in the written format.
At a joint news conference here with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Trump hinted that the interview was unlikely to happen.
"We'll see what happens. I mean, certainly I'll see what happens. But when they have no collusion and nobody's found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview," Trump said.
He termed the allegations as a "Democratic hoax brought up as an excuse for losing an election".
"The Democrats should have won, because they have such a tremendous advantage in the Electoral College," the US president said.
He denied any coordination between the Trump Campaign and Russia during the presidential election.
"It has been determined that there's been no collusion," Trump said.
"For 11 months, we've had this phony cloud over this administration," Trump said.
The US president said he will speak to his attorneys regarding the issue.
He ridiculed Hillary Clinton, her opponent in the elections, for being interviewed by the FBI in the email case in 2016.
"And when you talk about interviews, Hillary Clinton had an interview where she wasn't sworn in. She wasn't given the oath. They didn't take notes. They didn't record. It was done on the 4th of July weekend. That is perhaps ridiculous, and a lot of people looked upon that as being a very serious breach. And it really was," Trump said.
"There is collusion, but it's really with the Democrats and the Russians far more than it is with the Republicans and the Russians. So the witch hunt continues," he said.
Meanwhile, Trump's response comes as his lawyers are discussing how they will respond to an interview request from Mueller, which the President's attorneys are anticipating, CNN reported.
Trump's attorneys are looking for ways to limit the President's exposure, including requesting Mueller abide by certain parameters for the interview, the report said.