Rudolph Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City who now serves as an attorney for President Donald Trump, said on Monday that he would like to see text messages exchanged among members of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's team in order to check for anti-Trump bias.
Made during an interview with "Fox & Friends," Giuliani's statement was the latest in a string of attempts by Trump and his legal team to undermine Mueller's credibility as the special counsel continues to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
"I want to see all their texts. I'd want to see if they're texting the same thing [as Strzok], and I'm willing to bet a dinner that they are," Giuliani alleged of the lawyers on Mueller's team, suggesting the messages would be similar to those of two FBI officials caught exchanging texts critical of the president.
FBI agent Peter Strzok, who previously worked on both the Trump-Russia probe and the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, has come under intense criticism for the series of lengthy anti-Trump texts he swapped with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, with whom he was linked romantically.
The texts included one message in which Strzok told Page "we'll stop" then-candidate Donald Trump from becoming president.
Giuliani also reiterated Trump's description of Mueller's legal team as "13 Angry Democrats." Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Trump appointee who is overseeing the Justice Department's investigation, are both Republicans.
During his appearance on Fox News, Giuliani also said there remained a chance Trump would agree to an interview by Mueller.
"We haven't made a final decision," he said. "There's still a slight opening."
Giuliani said he could see Trump answering "narrow questions" about alleged collusion between his campaign and Russia.
While making the political talkshow rounds Sunday morning, Giuliani also said Michael Cohen, the president's former personal attorney, "should cooperate" with prosecutors.
"Michael Cohen should cooperate with the government," Giuliani said on ABC's This Week.
"So you have no concerns at all about anything that Michael Cohen might tell the prosecutors?" asked ABC News host George Stephanopoulos in response.
"Zero. None," Giuliani said. "As long as he tells the truth, we're home free."
Giuliani's remarks come amid growing speculation that Cohen is inching closer to criminal charges and weighing cutting a deal with prosecutors. Two sources confirmed to CNN that Cohen is ready to tell the "real truth" in a new report released Monday by the network:
In particular, the same sources say Giuliani is wading into dangerous territory when he asks Cohen to "tell the truth" about the Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr. and Russian meddling in the election.For the past year, Cohen has vehemently denied participating in or knowing about any collusion with Russia during the 2016 campaign. These new comments from sources close to Cohen suggest he might have information about Trump and others in the President's orbit to share with investigators, though Cohen hasn't publicly revealed any details yet.
In an interview last week with Stephanopoulos, Cohen noted himself that he could soon face criminal allegations in the ongoing FBI investigation of his finances and business dealings. He also indicated his willingness to cooperate with federal prosecutors – even if what he tells them or special counsel Robert Mueller could put the president in legal jeopardy.
"My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty, and always will," Cohen said. "I put family and country first."
On Sunday, Giuliani downplayed the possibility that Cohen, who has been known for years as Trump's fixer, could provide prosecutors with information that would potentially imperil Trump.
"There is no evidence of wrongdoing with President Trump. So, we're very comfortable," Giuliani said on CNN's State of the Union. "If [Cohen] believes it's in his best interest to cooperate, God bless him. He should cooperate."
In April, Trump said he did not believe Cohen would cooperate with investigators.
"Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if it means lying or making up stories," Trump tweeted. "Sorry, I don't see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!"
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