Trump says he is 'happy' if Robert Mueller's Russia report is released to the public
President launched angry attack on special counsel and claimed he was conflicted
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has claimed he is “happy” if Robert Muller’s report into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia is made public, while delivering an angry attack on the special counsel.
In the latest comments seemingly designed to undermine the credibility of the independent prosecutor’s investigation into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election, the president claimed Mr Mueller was “conflicted” because of a “nasty business transaction” the president and he had been involved in.
Yet amid mounting speculation the report could soon be completed, Mr Trump also said he did not mind if it was seen by the general public.
“Let it come out, let people see it, that’s up to the attorney general....and we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters.
In his comments to reporters as he left the White House to visit a tank production unit in Ohio, the president also claimed Mr Mueller “best friend” was James Comey, whose May 2017 firing by the president as head of the FBI triggered the appointment of the special counsel. He said Mr Comey was a “bad cop”.
Reuters said Mr Mueller is preparing to submit his report to attorney general William Barr. Mr Trump has repeatedly denied that there as collusion with Moscow or that obstructed justice. Russia has itself denied interfering in the election.
Mr Barr already is coming under pressure from legislators to make the entire document public quickly, though he has wide latitude in what to release, the news agency said.
The House of Representatives voted 420-0 last week on a non-binding resolution calling for Mr Mueller’s report to be released both to Congress and to the public, but it is not clear how the measure will fare in the Senate.
Answering questions from journalists at the White House, Trump said he had no idea when the report would be released, adding, “no collusion, no collusion” and “we’ll see if it’s fair”.
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