Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani claimed Monday that special counsel Robert Mueller “said something” during a recent meeting suggesting he will finish his report September to avoid accusations of interfering with the 2018 midterm.
“We’re mindful of the fact that we’d like to get [the investigation] over with by September. I do believe that Mueller does, too. He said something in our meeting with him that he thought September was the date to get their report in,” Giuliani, now a lawyer for President Donald Trump, said Monday during an interview on CNN’s “New Day.”
“It makes sense … it’s enough before the November elections so you can’t say [Mueller] interfered with it one way or the other,” Giuliani added.
Mueller entered his second year heading the probe into allegations of collusion between Trump and Russia in May. After Giuliani joined Trump’s legal team in April, Giuliani called on Mueller to wrap up his probe for the good of the nation.
Republicans also fear that retaining their congressional majorities in the November midterm elections will be more difficult if the cloud of the Mueller probe remains active.
“We’re trying to get [Mueller] to end this,” Giuliani said during an interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” in May. “This is not good for the American people, and the special counsel’s office doesn’t seem to have that, sort of, understanding that they’re interfering with things that are much bigger than them or us.”
“So it’s about time to get the darn thing over with,” Giuliani added. “It’s about time to say, ‘Enough, we’ve tortured this president enough.'”
Giuliani echoed that sentiment during his interview Monday on “New Day,” insisting that “it’s a horrible thing that Mueller is doing” with the prolonged probe.
When CNN host Alisyn Camerota asked Giuliani why Trump felt the need to attack the Mueller probe frequently in tweets, Giuliani defended Trump as “a man that doesn’t take attacks on him lightly, as he shouldn’t.”
“It’s his reputation, and he’s the president of the United States. This is interfering with the ability to govern. It’s a horrible thing that Mueller is doing,” Giuliani said.
Trump’s lawyer also accused Mueller of acting “in bad faith” as the president’s legal team attempts to negotiate with Mueller’s over whether or not Trump will ever sit down for an interview as part of the probe.
Giuliani said that Trump’s lawyers sent a letter to Mueller’s team 10 days ago outlining the conditions under which Trump could be interviewed. Although the president could answer questions about collusion allegations, his lawyers do not want him to answer questions about obstruction of justice allegations arising from his May 2017 firing of former FBI Director James Comey.
Related: It’s Time ‘to Wrap Up’ Mueller Probe, Portman Says
“They haven’t gotten back to us in 10 days over our recommendation of how to do an interview. I am sure they are in bad faith about an interview at that point,” Giuliani told CNN.
But Giuliani suggested Sunday during an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that Trump’s legal team “might consider a few questions in that area also.”
“But at this point it’s best left to us and them to do that quietly,” Giuliani said, noting that he hopes to pin down with Mueller’s team “maybe this week” or “maybe next week” whether Trump can sit down for an interview.
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