Robert Mueller set to interview Donald Trump over Russia probe

Robert Mueller could interview Donald Trump within weeks over Russia probe in sign that it’s moving rapidly toward conclusion.

Donald Trump has expressed he is willing to be interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Picture: AP.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller could interview Donald Trump within weeks over the Russia probe, with the president said to be willing to face direct questioning on the issue.

The president’s lawyers are expecting a formal request from Mr Mueller to interview the president in a sign that the Russia investigation is moving rapidly towards a conclusion.

“This is moving faster than anyone really realises,” a White House source told the Washington Post which broke the story.

But White House lawyers are reportedly wary of giving Mr Mueller’s team a free hand in any interview which would allow them to range unhindered over a wide variety of topics.

Instead, they want to nail down with Mr Mueller’s office some precise guidelines and boundaries for any such interview to minimise the potential for Mr Trump to incriminate himself.

However Mr Trump is said to be comfortable with being interviewed directly by Mr Mueller’s team, believing that it would allow him to state his case that there was no collusion between his campaign team and Russia during or after the 2016 election.

“Just so you understand, there’s been no collusion, there’s been no crime, and in theory everybody tells me I’m not under investigation. Maybe Hillary [Clinton] is, I don’t know, but I’m not,” Mr Trump said this week. “But we have been very open. We could have done it two ways. We could have been very closed, and it would have taken years. But you know, sort of like when you’ve done nothing wrong, let’s be open and get it over with.”

“Because, honestly, it’s very, very bad for our country. It’s making our country look foolish. And this is a country that I don’t want looking foolish. And it’s not going to look foolish as long as I’m here.”

Yet any interview by Mr Mueller’s team is likely to go beyond the question of whether Trump’s campaign sought to collude with Moscow. It is also likely to question the president over the issue of whether he obstructed justice in his sacking last year of FBI chief James Comey who was overseeing the FBI’s Russia investigation.

In addition, Mr Mueller’s team is expected to question the president over reportedly dictating a misleading statement for his son Donald Trump Jr. about his meeting with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 election campaign.

According to the Post, Mr Mueller raised the issue of interviewing Mr Trump during a meeting last month with the president’s lawyers, John Dowd and James Quarles.

There is debate about whether a sitting president can be forcibly interviewed by a special counsel and practices have varied in the past.

In 1998 then president Bill Clinton agreed to testify before a grand jury via a video and audio link to the White House. The four hour interview included the moment when Mr Clinton famously denied having “sexual relations” with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, a claim which critics argued amounted to perjury.

In the 1980s president Ronald Reagan agreed to provide written answers for the Iran-Contra investigation, while in 2004 president George W Bush was interviewed by a special prosecutor over whether a White House aide was responsible for blowing the cover and a CIA agent.

The White House declined to comment on the issue yesterday.

“For the record the White House does not comment on communications with the (Office of Special Counsel) out of respect for the OSC and its process. The White House is continuing its full co-operation with the OSC in order to facilitate the earliest possible resolution,” White House lawyer Ty Cobb said in a statement.

A spokesman for Mr Mueller’s team Also declined to comment.

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia