Special counsel Robert Mueller. Photo: AP
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3014733/i-run-country-donald-trump-declares-when-quizzed United States & Canada
‘I run the country,’ Donald Trump declares when quizzed about obstruction of Russia probe
- On America’s ABC News, Trump tells interviewer to read the US Constitution after he is asked whether something is ‘not illegal’ if the president does it
US President Donald Trump answers questions about comments by special counsel Robert Mueller at the White House in May. Photo TNS/Getty Images
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Matthew Choi on politico.com on June 16, 2019.
US President Donald Trump stood firm in his belief that former special counsel Robert Mueller absolved him of any crimes, adding that he had every right to fire Mueller if he wanted to.
Speaking with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an interview segment broadcast on Sunday morning, Trump dived into the Mueller investigation into the 2016 election, justifying his decision not to speak with the special counsel’s team.
While denying he ever had any such plans, the president also argued that firing Mueller would not have amounted to obstruction (but denied he ever had any such plans). Former White House counsel Don McGahn has testified that Trump wanted to fire Mueller, which Trump disputed during the interview.
“A president can’t obstruct justice?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“A president can run the country,” Trump responded. “And that’s what happened, George. I run the country.”
Reflecting the famous 1977 interviews between David Frost and former president Richard Nixon, Stephanopoulos asked the president “When the president does it, it’s not illegal?”
Trump replied that Article II is “very strong. Read it”.
Stephanopoulos also asked about the Trump team’s decision not to testify in person to the special counsel, opting instead to submit written responses. Stephanopoulos noted that the president was answering questions covering similar topics as the investigation on national television. Trump went after Mueller as being partisan and unfair.
“Because they were looking to get us for lies, for slight misstatements,” Trump said of the Mueller investigation. “I looked at what happened to people, and it was very unfair. Very, very unfair. Very unfair.”
Segments of the interviews have already been released ahead of its full broadcast on Sunday evening. In a segment released on Wednesday, Trump shook Washington by saying he would probably take foreign help if offered ahead of the 2020 elections and that he may not report it to the FBI. Those remarks were widely condemned across the political spectrum for opening up to foreign interference in a US election.
President Donald Trump leaving the Rose Garden of the White House on Friday. Photo: AP
Trump reiterated to Stephanopoulos his frequent claim that there was no collusion with Russia, heating up as he kept bringing up the topic with the ABC News anchor.
“Look, George, you’re being a little wise guy, OK, which is, you know, typical for you. Just so you understand. Very simple. It’s very simple,” Trump said. “There was no crime.”
Though Mueller did not bring up charges against Trump for obstructing justice, he did not absolve the president either, saying that if “we had had confidence the president clearly did not commit a crime we would have said so”. But Trump was confident he would not be prosecuted after leaving office.
“I did nothing wrong,” Trump said.