Trump is not under scrutiny
Legal team member speaks out publicly
WASHINGTON — A member of the president’s outside legal team said Sunday that President Donald Trump is not under federal investigation, days after Mr. Trump was seen as confirming that he was with a tweet about being the target of a “witch hunt.”
Appearing on a series of morning news programs, attorney Jay Sekulow repeatedly stressed that “the president has not been and is not under investigation.” He said a Friday tweet from Mr. Trump did not amount to an acknowledgment that he was under investigation, but was specifically directed at a story in The Washington Post about the expanding probe into Russia’s election meddling.
As evidence, Mr. Sekulow said that Mr. Trump has not been notified of any investigation. He also cited the testimony from former FBI Director James Comey before the Senate intelligence committee, in which Mr. Comey said he had told Mr. Trump he was not under investigation in the months leading up to his May 9 firing.
Asked about the possibility that an investigation has since developed and the president just does not know, Mr. Sekulow
said: “I can’t read people’s minds, but I can tell you this, we have not been notified that there’s an investigation to the president of the United States. So that — nothing has changed in that regard since James Comey’s testimony.”
The Post reported last week that Robert Mueller — the special counsel appointed to investigate Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election — was looking into whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice. Mr. Mueller was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and has expansive powers to probe any matters that develop from his initial investigation.
Later, Mr. Sekulow conceded that he could not say with absolute certainty that Mr. Trump is not being investigated because he cannot read the mind of Mr. Mueller.
The president wrote on Twitter Friday: “I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.”
“Witch hunt” has become Mr. Trump’s preferred phrase to dismiss the probe into Russian election interference. The message apparently referred to Mr. Rosenstein, whose role leading the federal investigation has become increasingly complicated. The White House used a memo he wrote to justify Mr. Trump’s decision to fire Mr. Comey, but Mr. Trump’s firing of the FBI director may now be part of the probe.
The president has denied that he has any nefarious ties to Russia and has also disputed that he’s attempted to block the investigation into his campaign’s possible role in Russia’s election-related hacking.
The president has directed some of his frustration at Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Mueller. Sen. Marco Rubio said Sunday that he does not expect Mr. Trump to seek to fire them.
“I don’t believe it’s going to happen,” said Mr. Rubio on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “The best thing that could happen for the president, and the country, is a full and credible investigation.”
Mr. Trump is under pressure to reveal whether he has any tape recordings of private conversations with Mr. Comey. Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said that the panel — overseeing one of several congressional investigations — is looking forward to getting a response from the White House on whether recordings exist.
The president suggested on Twitter that he may have taped those conversations. Mr. Schiff said he wants the White House to acknowledge the tapes or make clear there are no tapes and “it was an idle threat.”
The committee sent a bipartisan letter this month to White House counsel Don McGahn seeking an answer by this Friday. It also sent a letter to Mr. Comey asking for any notes or memos. Mr. Schiff said if the panel can’t get an answer then he believes a subpoena will be needed.
Mr. Schiff also said he believes recent congressional testimony from Mr. Comey and Attorney General Jeff Sessions points to signs of possible obstruction by Mr. Trump that warrant further investigation. Mr. Schiff cited the fact that the president at one meeting “cleared the room” of advisers and asked to speak to Mr. Comey alone. Mr. Comey testified to Congress that Mr. Trump then asked him to back off the investigation into his fired national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
“That signifies this president knew all too well that it was inappropriate,” Mr. Schiff said.
While aides have advised Mr. Trump to stay off Twitter, the president continued to weigh in Sunday as he spent the weekend at Camp David, the governmentowned presidential retreat in Maryland.
In a two-part tweet posted before 7 a.m., Mr. Trump wrote: “The MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN agenda is doing very well despite the distraction of the Witch Hunt.”