A new report indicates that Special Counsel Robert Mueller warned President Trump’s lawyers about a possible subpoena for the commander in chief if he refused to talk to Mueller’s team.
The Washington Post reports that Trump’s lawyers “insisted he had no obligation to talk with federal investigators probing Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.”
In response, Mueller reportedly brought up the possibility of issuing “a subpoena for the president to appear before a grand jury.”
New: In a tense meeting in March with Mueller, Trump’s lawyers insisted he had no obligation to talk with investigators. But Mueller responded that he had another option if Trump declined: He could issue a subpoena for Trump to appear before a grand jury. https://t.co/SkMeaFzfY1
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) May 2, 2018
The Post also reports that Trump lawyer John Dowd (who later resigned) told Mueller, “This isn’t some game.
“You are screwing with the work of the president of the United States,” he reportedly added.
This is a major escalation from the special counsel, whose nearly year-long investigation has still not uncovered any evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
U.S. President Barack Obama meets with FBI director Robert Mueller at FBI headquarters in Washington April 28, 2009. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES POLITICS CRIME LAW) – GM1E54S1TJA01
A referral from Mueller led to the FBI raiding the home and office of Michael Cohen in April. Cohen was Trump’s longtime personal attorney. The raid reportedly resulted in the FBI obtaining documents about payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. (RELATED: Report: FBI Raids Office Of Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen)