Special counsel Robert Mueller’s office plans to complete its probe into alleged obstruction of the Russia inquiry by President Donald Trump by September 1st, the president’s personal lawyer told The New York Times in an interview, suggesting investigators may seek to avoid influencing public opinion ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
Rudolph Giuliani told The Times that the special counsel’s office shared its timeline about two weeks ago, in the middle of discussions about whether Trump would submit to questioning by Mueller.
“You don’t want another repeat of the 2016 election where you get contrary reports at the end and you don’t know how it affected the election,” Giuliani told the publication, who shared similar remarks with NBC News.
The obstruction inquiry is part of a larger probe of Russia and the president, which includes a counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s attempts to meddle in the general election.
A spokesperson for the special counsel declined to comment to The Times.
The timeline matters not just to Trump, but to Congressional Republicans under pressure from the electorate.
Polls suggest Democrats are favored to retake control of Congress in November, amid dissatisfaction with the GOP and a Trump administration mired in controversy. However, that edge in public opinion has narrowed recently, according to a Real Clear Politics average.
Giuliani’s public remarks come as the president has demanded an investigation into whether the FBI placed surveillance on his 2016 campaign — and whether such activity was ordered by members of the Obama administration. Trump has repeatedly blasted Mueller’s probe as a “witch hunt” and insisted there was no collusion, or attempts to obstruct justice.
The full New York Times article can be found on its website.
