THE WHITE HOUSE Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been interviewed by the team led by Robert Mueller which is investigating potential Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, US outlets are reporting this evening.
“The President urged me, like he has everyone in the administration, to fully cooperate with the special counsel. I was happy to voluntarily sit down with them,” Sanders told CNN.
It is not known at this stage what she was asked, but it is likely she fielded questions on how responses were drafted to questions she faced around alleged Russian collusion.
The news comes as Mueller closes in on concluding his almost two-year long probe.
Late last month, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said the investigation was almost wrapped up.
Mueller’s office has been notoriously tight-lipped about the progress of the high-profile investigation, and Whitaker’s remarks were the first official indication that the probe may be coming to a close.
“The Mueller investigation is close to being completed,” Whitaker told journalists.
“I’ve been fully briefed on the investigation and I look forward to Director Mueller delivering the final report,” he said. “I hope we can get the report from Director Mueller as soon as possible.”
The report will be delivered to new Attorney General Bill Barr initially.
Mueller, a former FBI director, was named by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May 2017 to look into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
He was appointed special counsel after US President Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI director James Comey that same month.
Mueller’s team has indicted a total of 34 people — but so far, no charges of outright collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow have been filed.
Trump has repeatedly denounced the investigation as a “political witch hunt” and fervently denied there was any collusion between his campaign and Moscow.
He has frequently taken to Twitter to condemn members of the Mueller team as a bunch of “angry Democrats.”
The president has also dangled the possibility of pardons for some of those indicted, which could include the likes of long time advisor Roger Stone, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former national security advisor Michael Flynn.
With reporting from AFP
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say