Trump 'will deny' asking FBI chief to go easy on Flynn

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Donald Trump never discussed the fate of fired former national security adviser Michael Flynn with ex-FBI director James Comey, the US president's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said on Sunday.

Comey testified in Congress last year that Trump sought to pressure him to back off on Flynn the day after the president fired his key adviser for lying about contacts he had had with the Russian ambassador.

But appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Giuliani said Trump will deny he ever asked Comey to go easy on Flynn if made to testify about it under oath.

"There was no conversation about Michael Flynn," the lawyer said when asked about the Oval Office meeting on February 14, 2017.

The private sit-down with Trump is a key episode in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible obstruction of justice in the Russia election meddling probe.

Rudy Giuliani attends the White House Sports and Fitness Day in Washington, May 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

Trump fired Comey in May 2017, later admitting the FBI's Russia probe was on his mind at the time.

"I hope you can see your way to letting Flynn go," Comey quoted Trump as saying in his congressional appearance. "He's a good guy. I hope you can let this go."

Trump has previously denied Comey's version of the meeting about Flynn, without going into detail.

But the former FBI director's contemporaneous memos of his interactions with Trump, which were leaked and ultimately made public in redacted form earlier this year, are a central feature of Mueller's inquiry into whether Trump sought to obstruct the Russia probe. And Flynn has since agreed to cooperate with investigators as part of a plea bargain on charges of lying to investigators.

June 8, 2017: Former FBI director James Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington. /VCG Photo

Giuliani said Trump's denial of the "let this go" comment is "what (Trump) will testify to if he's asked that question."

He said if Trump were to agree to be interviewed by Mueller and his team in hopes of putting the investigation to rest, questions about his dealings with Comey would be off limit to avoid what his lawyers see as a "possible perjury trap."

"If we ever had a trial – I don't think we will – if he goes in and testifies to that under oath instead of this being a dispute, they can say it's perjury if they elect to believe Comey, instead of Trump," he said.

(Top photo, December 21, 2016: US President-elect Donald Trump talks to the media as retired US Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn stands next to him at Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. /VCG Photo)

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Source(s): AFP