Trump says he's 'looking forward' to talking to Mueller
Ed Henry reports on latest comments from the president.
President Trump told reporters Wednesday that he would "love" to talk to special counsel Robert Mueller under oath as part of Mueller's probe into alleged collusion between Trump's campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 election.
"I'm looking forward to it, actually," Trump said when asked about the possibility of being interviewed by Mueller. Discussing the possible timing of such an encounter, the president said, "I guess they're talking about two or three weeks, but I'd love to do it."
Trump repeated his claims that there was "no collusion whatsoever" with the Russians and added, "There's no obstruction whatsoever." He said he'd be happy to speak under oath, subject to his lawyers' approval.
MORE THAN 20 WHITE HOUSE AIDES INTERVIEWED FOR MUELLER PROBE, TRUMP ATTORNEY SAYS
Mueller has sought an interview with Trump, but White House officials had not previously confirmed the president would grant it. Fox News learned earlier Wednesday that more than 20 White House personnel have voluntarily given interviews to Mueller's team of investigators. Among those officials who have been or expect to be interviewed by Mueller's team include former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus; former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer; White House Communications Director Hope Hicks; and former White House adviser Steve Bannon.
A White House attorney also said the president's legal team has turned over more than 20,000 pages of records to investigators, including 5,079 pages related to the former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russia and 7,799 pages on former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump fired last year.
Asked if he thinks Mueller would be fair, Trump replied: "We're going to find out." The president also suggested that didn’t obstruct justice, but rather fought back against a false accusation.
Four people have so far been charged in the Mueller investigation, including Flynn and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Flynn and former campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos have pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
Trump also said Wednesday that he's open to an immigration plan that would provide a pathway to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of young people who were brought to the country as children and are now here illegally.
"We’re going to morph into it," Trump told reporters. "It's going to happen, at some point in the future, over a period of 10 to 12 years."
But immediately after Trump spoke, a senior White House official cast doubt on Trump’s assurances, telling The Associated Press a pathway to citizenship for so-called Dreamers was "maybe" an option.
"That's a discussion point," said the official, who added that Dreamers could immediately be given "legal status, as long as they behave themselves."
Trump told reporters he had a message for the Dreamers: "Tell 'em not to be concerned, OK? Tell 'em not to worry. We’re going to solve the problem."
The president has repeatedly said that any deal to protect those immigrants from deportation is contingent on money for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and other security measures.
Earlier Wednesday, the White House announced it would be unveiling a legislative framework on immigration next week that it hopes can pass both the House and the Senate. The president’s remarks amounted to a preview of that framework. He said he’ll propose $25 billion for the border wall and $5 billion for other security measures.
Fox News' Kevin Corke, Catherine Herridge and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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