Speaking before a signing event on Chinese tariffs at the White House Thursday, President Trump was asked about whether he was still interested in testifying as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the 2016 presidential election.
“Yes I would like to. I would like to,” Trump said.
The comments came just moments after Trump’s leading personal attorney on the probe, John Dowd, announced his resignation.
“John Dowd has been a valuable member of our legal team and we will continue our ongoing cooperation with the office of special counsel regarding this inquiry,” Trump attorney Jay Sekulow told POLITICO.
The President has said in the past he was willing to testify under oath during a meeting with Mueller, but his attorneys have made it unclear whether they’ll allow that to happen.
Earlier this week, Trump was again attacking the Special Counsel on Twitter and questioning its legitimacy by quoting Democrat and law professor Alan Dershowitz.
“‘Special Council is told to find crimes, whether a crime exists or not. I was opposed to the selection of Mueller to be Special Council. I am still opposed to it. I think President Trump was right when he said there never should have been a Special Council appointed because there was no probable cause for believing that there was any crime, collusion or otherwise, or obstruction of justice.’ So stated by Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz,” Trump tweeted.
This week, Trump added former federal prosecutor Joseph diGinova to his personal legal team. White House officials have said there will be no expansion of the government legal team for the President’s defense.