Special counsel Robert Mueller told President Trump’s attorneys in March the president is not considered a criminal target at this time, The Washington Post reported Thursday, citing three people familiar with the discussions. In early March, Mueller reportedly described Mr. Trump as a subject of his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, but at that time, he wasn’t a target, meaning that there isn’t sufficient evidence linking him to any crime.
At this point there is no conclusion the president has committed a crime, CBS News’ Paula Reid points out, which is why he is not considered a target
Mueller has begun preparing a report detailing the findings of his investigation, including obstruction of justice, says Reid. This will be handed to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. It is unclear if this will be made public.
John Dowd, the president’s former attorney for issues related to the investigation, resigned last month. News outlets reported that he disagreed with the president’s other attorneys about legal strategy.
At this point in the investigation, the president’s decisions related to the firing of James Comey, as well as his interactions with other top justice officials continue to be the subject of an obstruction of justice investigation, according to Reid.
In response to the Washington Post’s report, the president’s lawyers declined to comment. “We do not discuss real or alleged conversations between our legal team and the Office of Special Counsel,” said Jay Sekulow, counsel to the president. “We continue our full cooperation with the Office of Special Counsel.”
CBS News’ Major Garrett contributed to this report.
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