Rudy says getting Trump to answer Mueller's written questions was 'a nightmare' and it took him THREE WEEKS to do 'what would normally take two days'

  • The president's lawyer said Trump has a 'great memory' 
  • Yet it was a 'real job' to remember 2016 since it was busiest year of his life
  • Trump last month turned in his written responses to special counsel Mueller
  • After months of talks, he refused to submit to an interview 
  • Trump is 'ready to resist' a subpoena 
  • Trump has said he has 'one of the greatest memories of all time' 

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.s. Political Editor For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

For President Donald Trump, responding to dozens of questions by Special Counsel Robert Mueller was a burden, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani says –adding that it was a 'real job' to remember what happened in 2016.  

'Answering those questions was a nightmare,' the former New York mayor told the Atlantic. 'It took him about three weeks to do what would normally take two days,' Giuliani said.

Giuliani also indicated it was a challenge for Trump to recall the answers to questions about 2016 – a key year for the probe, since it would encompass the time period when any possible collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russians would have occurred.

'He's got a great memory,' Giuliani told the publication. 'However, basically we were answering questions about 2016, the busiest year of his life. It's a real job to remember.'

'Answering those questions was a nightmare,' former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani said of President Donald Trump's responses to special counsel Robert Mueller

'Answering those questions was a nightmare,' former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani said of President Donald Trump's responses to special counsel Robert Mueller

The comment raises the possibility that Trump in his responses may have on occasion answered that he didn't recall the answers. 

By one count, Donald Trump Jr. didn't recall 54 things during his congressional testimony. 

Trump in the past has said he has 'one of the great memories of all time.' 

Any alleged obstruction of justice, reported to be an area of interest for investigators, would have occurred mostly 2017, when Trump was president and fired FBI director James Comey and former security advisor Mike Flynn. 

IT WAS A VERY BUSY YEAR: Giuliani said Trump has a 'great memory' but it was a struggle to recall things from 2016, when he was frantically running for president 

IT WAS A VERY BUSY YEAR: Giuliani said Trump has a 'great memory' but it was a struggle to recall things from 2016, when he was frantically running for president 

LET'S MEET UP IN PERSON NEXT TIME: Special counsel Robert Mueller could subpoena Trump if he finds his written responses are inadequate – but that would provoke a court fight

LET'S MEET UP IN PERSON NEXT TIME: Special counsel Robert Mueller could subpoena Trump if he finds his written responses are inadequate – but that would provoke a court fight

Trump was aghast when he learned former campaign chair Paul Manafort, jailed after his conviction on corruption charges, was being held in solitary confinement

Trump was aghast when he learned former campaign chair Paul Manafort, jailed after his conviction on corruption charges, was being held in solitary confinement

But Trump told Fox News in November he was unlikely to respond to questions about obstruction.

"I think we've wasted enough time on this witch hunt and the answer is probably, we're finished," he told host Chris Wallace.

Giuliani also spoke about the president's view of how former campaign chair Paul Manafort has been treated – after Trump refused to take a pardon of Manafort off the table. 

'The thing that upsets [the president] the most is the treatment of Manafort,' Giuliani said. 

After Trump learned Manafort was being held in solitary confinement, according to Giuliani, 'He said to me, 'Don't they realize we're America?'

As for any Mueller subpoena if the special counsel isn't satisfied with Trump's responses, 'We're ready to resist that,' Giuliani said. Such a move would almost certainly provoke a court fight.

Giuliani also shared other concerns about his client, who regularly rails against Mueller and has made comments about former lawyer Michael Cohen and longtime advisor Roger Stone that seasoned lawyers have said amount to witness tampering.

 'I don't think there's anyone in the world that can stop Donald Trump from tweeting,' Giuliani said, 'I've tried.'

'I don't think following his lead is the right thing. He's the client,' Giuliani said. 'The more controlled a person is, the more intelligent they are, the more they can make the decision. But he's just like every other client. He's not more … you know, controlled than any other client. In fact, he's a little less.'

Officials have been grumbling that the White House has yet to develop a detailed plan for how to counter the possible release of a Mueller report, although new acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, installed by Trump, will have to sign off on its release.  

'We would always put together plans with the knowledge that [Trump] wouldn't use them or they'd go off the rails,' a former official told the Atlantic. 'And at this point, with Mueller, they've decided they're not even going to do that.'

'It's like, 'Jesus, take the wheel,' the source said, 'but scarier.'

 

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