President Donald Trump’s new lawyer says Trump doesn’t have to comply with a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — President Donald Trump’s new lawyer says Trump doesn’t have to comply with a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller.
And if he’s forced to testify, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said the president could plead the Fifth, CBS2’s Meg Oliver reported Sunday evening.
In his new role as a member of the president’s legal team, Giuliani said Trump doesn’t have to cooperate with the special counsel’s probe.
“We don’t have to. He’s the president of the United States. We can assert the same privileges other presidents have,” Giuliani said recently on “ABC This Week.”
Giuliani said his advice is to say “no” to being interviewed by Mueller’s team.
“Not after the way they’ve acted,” he said.
Mueller has reportedly raised the possibility of a subpoena with the president’s lawyers. Giuliani said if one were issued, President Trump might assert his Fifth Amendment right and refuse to answer questions.
Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, disagreed.
“He’s going to need to comply with the subpoena. If they take that case to court, they’re going to lose,” the California congressman said.
Giuliani also said it’s possible Stormy Daniels wasn’t the only woman who received a payment from Trump.
When asked if attorney Michael Cohen made payments to other women for the president, Giuliani said, “I have no knowledge of that, but I would think if it was necessary, yes.”
Attorney Michael Avenatti represents Daniels, a porn star who claims she had an affair with Trump years ago.
“I think it is obvious to the American people that this is a cover-up, that they are making it up as they go along. They don’t know what to say because they’ve lost track of the truth,” Avenatti said.
Avenatti said the president and his attorneys are helping his client’s case, instead of hurting it.
