President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani said that special counsel Robert Mueller expects to wrap up the portion of his Russia probe focusing on the president’s potential obstruction by Sept. 1, The New York Times reported Sunday.
The former New York City mayor told the Times that Mueller’s office gave the Trump team that timeline two weeks ago, amid negotiations on whether Trump would be willing to be interviewed by Mueller’s team, Giuliani said.
The Times’ report suggested that Giuliani may be trying to put public pressure on Mueller by sharing that end date. Giuliani also urged that the larger investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election wrap up soon, warning that prolonging the probe risks influencing voters in the midterm elections in November.
He reportedly cited former FBI Director James Comey as an example, pointing to Comey’s announcement, just days before the 2016 election, that he would reopen an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server, and how that act was blamed for her losing the White House.
The investigation into obstruction is only one part of Mueller’s probe, however, meaning the case wouldn’t necessarily end with its completion.
A spokesman for the special counsel’s office declined to comment when reached by the Times.
Giuliani joined Trump’s legal team last month, and in the weeks since has made statements that contradict Trump and his former legal team.
Earlier this month, Giuliani described himself as “not an expert on the facts, yet. I’m getting there.”
- This article originally appeared on HuffPost.