President Trump may be interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller in the ongoing probe into Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election, possibly within the next several weeks, The Washington Post reports.
The newspaper, quoting an unnamed source close to the president, says Mueller has raised the likelihood with Trump's legal team that his office will seek an interview with the commander in chief.
"This is moving faster than anyone really realizes," the source said, adding that Trump would be comfortable participating in an interview.
The president also believes such an interview "would put to rest questions about whether his campaign coordinated with Russia in the 2016 election," The Post reports.
But the possibility of such a powwow has led to a discussion among the president's attorneys as to how to dodge a sit-down with Mueller or set limits on such a session, two people familiar with the talks told The Post.
White House lawyer Ty Cobb declined to comment on the report but said, "The White House is continuing its full cooperation with the OSC in order to facilitate the earliest possible resolution," Cobb added.
The Associated Press, meanwhile, reported that the issue of an interview with the president has come up in recent discussions between Mueller's team and Trump lawyers, but no details have been worked out, including the scope of questions that the president would agree to answer if an interview were to actually take place.
One source told the AP it was not surprising that investigators would be interested in eventually seeking to speak with the president. It was not immediately clear when or even if an interview will occur, what the terms will be, or whether Trump's lawyers will attempt to narrow the range of questions or topics that prosecutors would cover.
Mueller for months has led a team of prosecutors and agents investigating whether Russia and Trump's Republican campaign coordinated to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, and whether Trump worked to obstruct an FBI investigation into his aides. Mueller's team recently concluded a series of interviews with many current and former White House aides, including former chief of staff Reince Priebus.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment Monday, as did Trump lawyers John Dowd and Jay Sekulow.
Trump did not rule out the possibility of being questioned by Mueller when asked about it at a news conference Saturday. He said there had been "no collusion" and "no crime."
"But we have been very open," Trump said. "We could have done it two ways. We could have been very closed and it would have taken years. But you know, it's sort of like, when you've done nothing wrong, let's be open and get it over with."