Earlier today the Justice Department revealed that Robert Mueller conducted an interview with Attorney General Jefferson Sessions last week. Following that, Mueller’s team let slip that they had interviewed former FBI Director James Comey last year. And while everyone was still digesting both those events and the timing, the Washington Post made it clear that there’s another shoe about to drop.
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is seeking to question President Trump in the coming weeks about his decisions to oust national security adviser Michael Flynn and FBI Director James B. Comey, according to two people familiar with his plans.
Mueller’s meeting with Comey focused both on his dismissal and his previous meetings with Trump—the one in which Trump tried to extract a promise of personal loyalty, and the one in which Trump tried to pressure Comey into dropping the investigation into Flynn. It’s clear that the meeting with Sessions also devoted a good deal of time to Comey’s dismissal.
The idea that Mueller also wants to talk to Trump about the firing of Flynn brings in another factor—Flynn has already taken a plea deal in exchange for his testimony. If Mueller wants to talk to Trump about the way that Flynn left the White House, that suggests that the idea Flynn was dismissed because he wasn’t open with Mike Pence about his discussions with the Russian ambassador is far from a complete picture.
Trump’s attorneys have crafted some negotiating terms for the president’s interview with Mueller’s team, one that could be presented to the special counsel as soon as next week, according to the two people.
Trump’s attorneys have given up on a purely written interaction between Trump and Mueller, but they’re still calling for a “hybrid” response, where Trump could response to some questions by notes. That seems very unlikely to happen.
Within the past two weeks, the special counsel’s office has indicated to the White House that the two central subjects that investigators wish to discuss with the president are the departures of Flynn and Comey and the events surrounding their firings.
It’s not clear if these are the topics that Mueller wants to discuss with Trump now, or this are the only topics of concern.
Considering the plea deals with both Flynn and Papadopoulos, and the focus on money-lending that’s been clear in previous indictments, it would seem unlikely that Mueller was limiting himself to only concerns about obstruction concerning Comey.