Trump legal team set to reply to Mueller request for interview: Sources

The president will likely take questions in written and oral form.

August 7, 2018, 7:26 AM

President Donald Trump's legal team plans to respond to special counsel Robert Mueller's request for a potential interview with the president in the coming days. The response could happen as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday, sources with direct knowledge told ABC News.

As ABC News first reported last week, the special counsel will take questions in both written and oral form as part of their reply to the Trump team, according to sources close to the White House.

The hang-up between the two sides is over obstruction of justice, according to the sources. Mueller wants to ask about it while the Trump legal team has written previously they do not.

PHOTO: Then-FBI Director Robert Mueller listens as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 13, 2012.
Then-FBI Director Robert Mueller listens as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 13, 2012.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP, FILE

Trump's legal team, led by Rudy Giuliani, is expected to keep the negotiations going. It is unclear when they will reach a decision one way or the other, sources said.

Negotiations over a potential presidential interview have gone on for months. Giuliani told ABC News last month that his team submitted a response to Mueller asking to limit the scope of an interview with Trump especially as it relates to obstruction of justice.

ABC News has reached out to the special counsel's office for comment.

PHOTO: Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for President Donald Trump, addresses a gathering during a campaign event for Eddie Edwards, who is running for the U.S. Congress, in Portsmouth, N.H., Aug. 1, 2018.
Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for President Donald Trump, addresses a gathering during a campaign event for Eddie Edwards, who is running for the U.S. Congress, in Portsmouth, N.H., Aug. 1, 2018.
Charles Krupa/AP

Giuliani spoke to reporters after an event last Thursday, saying his team was in the process of responding to Mueller's request.

"They took about 10 days and yesterday we got a letter back for them. Now we're in the process of responding to their proposal," Giuliani said Aug. 2.

The president has said many times he would be willing to speak with Mueller, but plans to await his legal team's guidance.

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