President Donald Trump has provided the special counsel with
written answers to questions about his knowledge of Russian interference in the
2016 election, his lawyers said Tuesday, avoiding at least for now a
potentially risky sit-down with prosecutors. It's the first time he has
directly cooperated with the long investigation.
The step is a milestone in the negotiations between Trump's
attorneys and special counsel Robert Mueller's team over whether and when the
president might sit for an interview.
The compromise outcome, nearly a year in the making, offers
some benefit to both sides. Trump at least temporarily averts the threat of an
in-person interview, which his lawyers have long resisted, while Mueller
secures on-the-record statements whose accuracy the president will be expected
to stand by for the duration of the investigation.
The responses may also help stave off a potential subpoena
fight over Trump's testimony if Mueller deems them satisfactory. They represent
the first time the president is known to have described to investigators his
knowledge of key moments under scrutiny by prosecutors.
But investigators may still press for more information.
Mueller's team months ago presented Trump's legal team with
dozens of questions they wanted to ask the president related to whether his
campaign coordinated with the Kremlin to tip the 2016 election and whether he
sought to obstruct the Russia probe by actions including the firing of former
FBI Director James Comey. The investigators agreed to accept written responses
to questions about potential Russian collusion and tabled, for the moment,
obstruction-related inquiries.
Mueller left open the possibility that he would follow up
with additional questions on obstruction, though Trump's lawyers — who had long
resisted any face-to-face interview — have been especially adamant that the
Constitution shields him from having to answer any questions about actions he
took as president.
Trump attorney Jay Sekulow offered no details on the current
Q&A, saying merely that "the written questions submitted by the
special counsel's office ... dealt with issues regarding the Russia-related
topics of the inquiry. The president responded in writing." He said the
legal team would not release copies of the questions and answers or discuss any
correspondence it has had with the special counsel's office.
Another of Trump's lawyers, Rudy Giuliani, said the lawyers
continue to believe that "much of what has been asked raised serious
constitutional issues and was beyond the scope of a legitimate inquiry."
He said Mueller's office had received "unprecedented cooperation from the
White House," including about 1.4 million pages of materials.
"It is time to bring this inquiry to a
conclusion," Giuliani said.
The president told reporters last week that he had prepared
the responses himself.
Trump said in a Fox News interview that aired Sunday that he
was unlikely to answer questions about obstruction, saying, "I think we've
wasted enough time on this witch hunt and the answer is, probably, we're
finished."
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