Rudy Giuliani, attorney for President Donald Trump, called out Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Sunday, and demanded the report on the Russia probe.
I challenge Mueller to put up or shut up. You have no evidence of the President being involved in a conspiracy with anyone including Russia to hack. And you also have no evidence of collusion. It’s been 2 years so submit a report to DOJ and we will answer it.
— Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) December 30, 2018
Mueller was appointed as special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May 2017, over a year and seven months ago. He picked up the probe from the FBI after Trump fired the agency’s Director James Comey. The investigation racked up indictments against Russian nationals, companies, and alleged intelligence officials accused of interfering in the 2016 election. U.S. intelligence officials said in a report declassified in 2017 that the Kremlin directed efforts to help Trump win. The investigation covers whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow. Prosecutors went after those in Trump’s orbit, whether for unrelated financial crimes (former campaign manager Paul Manafort) or lying to the FBI about communication with the Russian ambassador (former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn).
The president and his representatives in and outside of the White House categorically deny wrongdoing in the 2016 election, and construe the probe as a political “witch hunt” by Democrats angry that their candidate Hillary Clinton lost the race.
Mueller is set to turn in his report to the attorney general as early as the middle of February, government officials and other sources said on background in an NBC report from Dec. 20. These people said these might get pushed back depending on whether the special counsel wants to talk to the president about other matters in the probe, including obstruction of justice. A subpoena fight with the president could also complicate matters.
Trump critics voiced concern about how Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker would complicate the probe. This includes whether he’d make the report public at all, especially if it makes the administration look bad. Before taking the job, he criticized the probe, and denied there was any collusion between the president’s campaign and Russia.
[Image via SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images]
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
