Trump says he won't talk to Mueller unless it's 'fair' - Action News
Home WebMail Friday, November 22, 2024, 07:47 PM | Calgary | -11.4°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
World

Trump says he won't talk to Mueller unless it's 'fair'

U.S. President Donald Trump has shifted his position over possible talks with special counsel Robert Mueller, saying his lawyers have advised him against any talks but that he would submit to questioning if it was "fair."

U.S. president also defends newly hired lawyer Rudy Giuliani, saying 'he'll get his facts straight'

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the news media before boarding Marine One to depart for Texas from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Friday. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

U.S. President Donald Trumpsaid on Friday he has shifted his position over possible talks with special counsel Robert Mueller, saying his lawyers haveadvised him against any talks but that he would submit toquestioning if it was "fair."

Trump has repeatedly said he wanted to talk to Mueller, afellow Republican investigating alleged Russian meddling in theU.S. 2016 election and possible collusion by the Trump campaign.

"I would love to speak. I would love to. Nobody wants tospeak more than me ... because we've done nothing wrong," Trumptold reporters at the White House. "But I have to find a way tobe treated fairly.

"If I thought it was fair, I would override my lawyer," headded.

Trump also defended Rudy Giuliani, who he recently hired torepresent him in the matter. The former federal prosecutor, however, raised a number of questions about Trump's actions andmotivations in a series of media interviews this week.

On Thursday, Giuliani said he wanted limits on any Trumpinterview with Mueller.

"He started yesterday. He'll get his facts straight. He's agreat guy," Trump told reporters. One of Trump's lawyersannounced Giuliani's addition to the team on April 19.

The president repeated his assertion that there was nocollusion by his team and that the federal probe led by Muellerwas a "witch hunt." Russia has also denied any interference,despite the conclusions of U.S. intelligence agencies.

Giuliani's "learning the subject matter,"Trump added. "He knows thisis a witch hunt. That's what he knows."

North Korea summit

Trump also said that the time and place hadbeen set for his landmark meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong-un, but hekept the world guessing for now about the when and where.

He said that withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea was "not on the table" as he looks to get Kim to give up his nuclear program at what will be the first summit between a U.S. and a North Korean leader.

"We now have a date and we have a location.We'll be announcing it soon," Trump said.

The New York Times reported that Trump has asked the Pentagon to prepare plans for scaling back the U.S. military presence in the allied Asian nation. Some 28,500 U.S. military personnel are based there, a military presence that has been preserved since the Korean War ended in 1953 without a peace treaty.

North Korea has long sought the removal of those troops as one of its condition for denuclearization. It remains unclear if Kim has relaxed that demand as he turns to diplomacy with adversaries after a year of escalating tensions.

With files from The Associated Press