President Donald Trump explained to reporters Friday why it makes sense for him not to speak voluntarily to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.
Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election has not targeted Trump amid speculation his campaign colluded with Russia. Trump again called the investigating a "witch hunt" and said he would like to speak to Mueller if he had confidence that the probe was fair.
"The problem with sitting is this: You have a group of investigators and they said I am not a target — and I'm not a target — but you have a group of investigators that are all Democrats, and in some cases, they went to the Hillary Clinton celebration that turned out to be a funeral," Trump said.
The president did not elaborate, but he was apparently referring to the support Clinton's campaign received from multiple investigators who are now working for Mueller.
Trump went on to explain that his lawyers have cautioned against speaking to Mueller, but he said he would override them if he was convinced he’d get a fair hearing.
"I would love to speak. I would love to," he said. "Nobody wants to speak more than me — in fact, against my lawyers, because most lawyers say never speak on anything."
"I would love to go, I would love to speak, but I have to find that we're going to be treated fairly," he added. "I have to find that we are going to be treated fairly because everybody sees it now, and it is a pure witch hunt."
Trump said people’s conception of obstruction of justice was "nonsense" intended to stop him from fighting back.
"Somebody says something wrong, you fight back. They say, ‘That's obstruction of justice.’ It is nonsense," he said.
He blamed Democrats for being so aggressive on the Russia matter, and he said their partisanship shows the lack of fairness that has infiltrated the investigation.
"Why aren't we having Republican people doing what all these Democrats are doing?" he asked. "It is a very unfair thing. If I thought it was fair, I would override my lawyers."
The Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit against Trump last month alleging he conspired with the Russians in 2016.