PM denies US bid to pressure on probe

PRIME Minister Scott Morrison denies being pressured in a phone call last month from US President Donald Trump to discredit the Mueller probe into Russian interference.

Describing the phone call with Mr Trump as “fairly uneventful”, Mr Morrison said Australia was not the “subject of” or “party to” the US Justice Department probe into the origin of the Russia probe.

In his first interview since details of the September 2 phone call were revealed this week, the PM batted away questions about whether there was a recording of a conversation between former commissioner to the United Kingdom Alexander Downer and a former Trump aide.

Mr Downer played a role in sparking the FBI Russia investigation after reporting a meeting in a London wine bar with Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos in 2016.

“A couple of weeks ago the President contacted me, and asked me for a point of contact between the Australian Government and the US attorney [William Barr], which I was happy to do on the basis it was something we had already committed to do,” Mr Morrison said. “I’ve had many conversations with the President and it was a very brief conversation, and it was not one I would characterise or label as pressure.”

Asked whether Australia would provide diplomatic cables to the US probe, Mr Morrison said it would be “very unusual”. Mr Morrison said Australia would “co-operate with” a request from the US to interview Mr Downer if it was made.