President Trump is confident that neither his former campaign chairman nor his former national security adviser has damaging information about him to offer prosecutors, a White House lawyer told The New York Times.
“The president has no concerns in terms of any impact, as to what happens to them, on his campaign or on the White House,” the lawyer, Ty Cobb, said in an interview on Thursday for The Times’s podcast “The New Washington.”
The Justice Department special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, is investigating whether anyone close to Mr. Trump worked with Russian operatives to disrupt last year’s presidential election. He has summoned witnesses before a federal grand jury in Washington to gather information about Paul J. Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman; Michael T. Flynn, the retired general and former national security adviser; and other associates of Mr. Trump.
Mr. Manafort has been warned to expect an indictment, raising the prospect that Mr. Mueller will offer him leniency in exchange for incriminating information about Mr. Trump. Mr. Cobb’s remarks echo what those around Mr. Manafort have said: that he has no such information to offer. Mr. Trump has sought to play down the significance of Mr. Manafort’s role with the campaign.
The White House lawyer talked with Matt Apuzzo, a reporter for The Times, about the state of the special counsel’s investigation and the White House legal strategy, looking over his shoulder at restaurants, that trademark handlebar mustache and more.
“He likes and respects Mr. Manafort and appreciates the work he did for him during the three months he was with the campaign. He likes General Flynn personally, but understands that they have their own path with the special counsel,” Mr. Cobb said. “I think he would be sad for them, as a friend and a former colleague, if the process results in punishment or indictments. But to the extent that that happens, that’s beyond his control.”
Mr. Mueller is investigating whether Mr. Manafort violated federal tax laws or lobbied on behalf of foreign officials without registering. His team is also investigating Mr. Manafort for possible money laundering, a line of inquiry he took over this spring from federal prosecutors in Manhattan, according to lawyers and federal officials. Many of the activities Mr. Mueller is scrutinizing date back years, well before Mr. Manafort joined the Trump campaign.
“Mr. Manafort has said from the beginning neither he nor anyone else in the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to undermine the 2016 election,” said Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Mr. Manafort. “Finally, everyone seems to be coming to that same conclusion.”
The special counsel is also examining Mr. Flynn’s financial ties to Russia and whether he concealed lobbying he did last year for Turkey.
The White House has given Mr. Muller’s team documents related to Mr. Manafort and Mr. Flynn, as well as the firing of the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, and other topics. Mr. Trump has instructed all White House staff members to cooperate with investigators, Mr. Cobb said.
Mr. Mueller has begun interviewing White House staff members, but he has not yet asked to speak with Mr. Trump. “We’d have to address that in the future if they see a need to talk to him,” Mr. Cobb said.
Mr. Cobb said none of the White House documents turned over to Mr. Mueller showed evidence that that anyone colluded with Russia, or that Mr. Trump tried to obstruct justice. The president is fully cooperating with the special counsel, he said.
“I think the path that he chose of trying to minimize conflict and maximize cooperation is one that benefits the country as he tries to erase this cloud,” Mr. Cobb said. “Which I think he will ultimately achieve.”
He did not say when he believed that would happen, but he predicted the end of the investigation was nearing.
“I don’t think that it’s far away,” he said.
