The chances of President Donald Trump giving an interview to Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russia’s role in the 2016 election, fell significantly following an FBI raid of Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen’s home and office, NBC News reported Thursday.
Trump’s legal team was preparing for a potential interview and working on setting terms for the president to talk to the former FBI director’s investigative team, according to NBC, which cited people familiar with the discussions. However, talks between the White House and special counsel’s office “collapsed” following the raid on Cohen, which frustrated Trump.
Mueller may be able to end an investigation into possible obstruction of justice more quickly if he does not need to prepare for a Trump interview or follow up on it, NBC reported.
Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer working on the Russia probe, called the report “untrue.”
The special counsel’s office declined to comment.
