Donald Trump's legal team was more concerned about potential claims of obstruction of justice concerning the president than any possible collusion with Russia before special counsel Robert Mueller's report was completed, NBC News is reporting.
Martin and Jane Raskin, the husband and wife legal team worked with constitutional lawyer Jay Sekulow, who led the Trump legal team. The Raskins joined the president's legal team last April and dealt directly with Mueller's team, according to the network news.
According to NBC News, by the time the two arrived prosecutors were seldom asking serious questions about Russia.
"It became obvious to the legal team early on that Russia collusion was not a substantive issue," Sekulow told NBC News.
Mueller's office was seeking answers why Trump fired FBI Director James Comey and why he denounced the Russia probe on Twitter, the network news reported, attributing the information to sources.
Mueller's team, on several occasions, made formal requests for a sit-down interview with the president, NBC News said. But Trump's legal team resisted.
The Raskins, Sekulow, and Rudy Giuliani were in Sekulow's office Sunday when Barr released Mueller's conclusions.
Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein "have concluded that the evidence developed during the special counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense."
And Barr quoted Mueller as saying "while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it does not exonerate him" on obstruction.
Trump's legal team members, convinced they had a total victory, high-fived one another upon hearing the news.
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