Trump does not rule out questioning by special counsel
President Trump is not ruling out the possibility that he could answer questions from special counsel Robert Mueller in the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, but he told reporters Friday that there would be conditions imposed.
"If we're going to meet, it's got to be a fair meeting," he said on Air Force One, on his way to campaign events in Fargo, North Dakota.
"I'd do it, but under certain circumstances," he also said. In any case, the president repeated his denials of any obstruction or collusion with Russia.
"If I met with Russians, you people would have found out," he said. "You know everything I'm doing. You don't always report it correctly. But I'm used to it."
CBS News reported that President Trump's legal team would agree to written questions about Russia after it reviews them, though the legal team is not willing to commit to anything beyond that at the moment, according to Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani also denied a report from The Associated Press that quoted him on the question of whether the president would answer questions about whether Mr. Trump had tried to block the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The AP said that Giuliani, in an interview, had told the wire service that it was a "no-go," and "there will be no questions at all on obstruction."
He also remarked on former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who is to be sentenced Friday for lying to the FBI.
"I don't know Papadopoulos, I don't know," Mr. Trump told reporters. "I saw him sitting in one picture at a table with me. That's the only thing I know about him."
"They got him, on I guess, on a couple of lies," he added.
Papadopoulos attempted to broker a meeting between Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the campaign by talking to intermediaries.