Giuliani Falsely Claims Mueller Investigation Could End Trump Probe By September – Report

Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s attorney, falsely claimed that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III shared a timeline with him that indicated the investigation into whether Trump obstructed the Russia inquiry would be completed by Sept. 1, according to officials interviewed by Reuters. 

Giuliani claims dragging out the investigation any longer could unfairly disadvantage Republicans in the November elections, and it is speculated that he made the executive decision that perhaps the investigation will be completed by September in order to sow distrust amongst the public toward the probe and back Mueller into a corner.

Even if the investigation is Giuliani’s main focus, deciding if the president had committed any wrongdoing is only a portion of Mueller’s work.

Despite Trump’s consistent claims of no evidence of collusion to be found, Mueller’s track record in the year since he has been appointed says otherwise.

Since beginning his investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Trump’s campaign, Mueller has indicted 13 people and three companies, Trump national security aide Michael Flynn and foreign policy aide George Papadopoulos both have pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about Russia contacts and Alex van der Zwaan, the Dutch son-in-law of one of Russia’s richest men, was sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000 for lying to Mueller’s investigators.

Along with this, Mueller has expanded his investigation and has charged deputy chairman Rick Gates and Paul Manafort with crimes regarding business dealings and interactions with a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine before the campaign had started, to which Manafort pled not guilty and Gates pled guilty. Manafort’s home was raided July 2017.

Most recently, Mueller’s investigation became involved with the Stormy Daniels story. Last month, FBI agents raided the offices and home of Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen in part due to his $130,000 payment to silence the porn star on her alleged affair with the president.

Even with Mueller’s offshoot investigations and indictments, Trump wants any report summarizing the investigation to be made public, according to Giuliani. He also states that while the president is a willing interview participants, they are still “hammering out the terms of an interview” and that it would be a distraction for Trump. However, Giuliani had said in his made-up statement that the Sept. 1 end date he desired would be contingent on if and when the president provided an interview.

Calling the interview a distraction recalls a New York Times article from February in which it was revealed Trump’s lawyers advised him to refuse an interview. The Times stated that his lawyers were concerned that Trump could be charged with lying to investigators, as he has a history of making false statements and contradictions. It was thought that Trump was unlikely to interview following the Cohen raid.  

Distracting though it may be, this interview will be the crux of bringing about the end of Mueller’s probe, which the president and his allies have so often called a “witch hunt.”   

Below is a list of everyone who has been charged in Mueller’s probe:

• Paul Manafort (Tax fraud, bank fraud; false statements; unregistered agent of foreign principal)
• Rick Gates (Financial fraud; lying to FBI)
• George Papadopoulos (Lying to FBI)
• Michael Flynn (Lying to FBI)
• Alex van der Zwaan (Lying to investigators)
• Thirteen Russian nationals (Conspiracies to defraud U.S., commit bank fraud; identity theft)
  • Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin
  • Mikhail Ivanovich Bystrov
  • Mikhail Leonidovich Burchik
  • Aleksandra Yuryevna Krylova
  • Anna Vladislavovna Bogacheva
  • Sergey Pavlovich Polozov
  • Maria Anatolyrvna Bovda
  • Robert Sergetevich Bovda
  • Dzheykhun Nasimi Ogly
  • Vadim Vladimirovich Podkopaev
  • Gleb Igorevich Vasilchenko
  • Irina Viktorovna Kaverzina
  • Vladimir Venkov
• Three Russian companies (Conspiracies to defraud U.S., commit bank fraud; identity theft)
  • Internet Research Agency LLC
  • Concord Management and Consulting LLC
  • Concord Catering
• Richard Pinedo (Identity fraud)

Article by Kaitlyn Martin