Trump lawyers met with Mueller, arguing Trump didn't obstruct justice: Report
President Trump's lawyers have met several times with Special Counsel Robert Mueller and submitted memos outlining their arguments as to why President Trump didn't obstruct justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey, according to a Thursday report in the Wall Street Journal.
The president's attorneys have also called into question Mr. Comey's reliability as a witness, the WSJ reported, citing "people familiar with the matter." In one memo given to Mueller's team in June, the president's lawyers argued the president has the constitutional authority to fire Comey, and thus, cannot have obstructed justice, the WSJ said. Another memo said Comey wasn't a reliable witness when he testified before Congress, according to the WSJ.
The New York Times also reported Friday that Mueller also has a draft of the president's original letter giving his reasons for firing Comey, a letter met with opposition by Donald F. McGahn.
The White House referred all of the WSJ's questions to Ty Cobb, the president's legal counsel, who said, "We have great respect for the special counsel," and declined to comment further.
The memos offer a glimpse into how Mueller's investigation is unfolding, as he and his team exercise their broad ability to investigate Russian election meddling, any ties to the Trump campaign, and any issues stemming from those topics. CBS News has confirmed Mueller has convened a grand jury in the widening Russia probe.
Mr. Trump's sudden firing of Comey in May created somewhat of a snowball effect of controversy. The president offered various reasons for why he fired Comey. In the official and initial explanation, Mr. Trump said he fired Comey at the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Later that week, the president told NBC he thought of the "made-up" Russia story when he decided to fire his FBI director.
Rosenstein soon selected Mueller to conduct the independent investigation into Russian election meddling and any Russia ties to Trump associates.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly denied and dismissed any ties between himself and Russia, and has defended his decision to fire Comey. The president selected Chris Wray to head the FBI, and the Senate confirmed Wray earlier this summer.