When asked if he expects to sit down for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, President Trump told Fox News reporter John Roberts that he believes the event is “unlikely,” to occur. However, just because Trump doesn’t foresee the interview taking place, it doesn’t mean the special counsel won’t pull a fast one and request a one-on-one with the President.
Remember, we are talking about Robert Mueller. Trump’s legal team has discussed the prospect of the meeting and according to lawyer Bradley P. Moss, here’s how they are likely preparing for the ‘Mueller showdown.’
Moss writes in POLITICO Magazine:
…[T]he president’s lawyers must prepare him to address any number of potential topics, and also thoroughly coach him on how he will talk about them. They’ll do this with mock interviews. A standard mock session could consist of multiple lawyers jumping in with questions at different times, placing documents in front of Trump and seeking to trip him up on the facts. It would be advisable—although it is debatable whether the president would agree to it—for several mock interview sessions to be conducted before the president sits down with Mueller. […]
He needs to be able to recall with a reasonable measure of clarity what (if anything) he knew about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer, when he learned of it and the context of his involvement in crafting the official White House response when the media started reporting on the meeting in July 2017. […]
They need to make sure he is able to stick to the proverbial script when pressed. […]
[Trump] naturally relies upon simple verbiage and is not prone to getting caught up in complicated or nuanced explanations. That’s good. He should keep it simple.
As The Gateway Pundit‘s Cristina Laila reported, President Trump’s legal team is seeking to avoid a sit-down interview with Robert Mueller and may request a written affidavit instead, declaring he did not collude with the Russians during the 2016 election.
According to the report, Justice Department veterans doubt Mueller will accept a written response or an affidavit in lieu of a sit-down interview with Trump.
Chuck Rosenberg, former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and chief of staff to then-FBI Director Comey, told NBC News that “Prosecutors want to see and hear folks in person. They want to probe and follow up. Body language and tone are important.”
Only time will tell if Mueller will request an interview with President Trump.