Trump spokesman to share concerns about Hope Hicks with Mueller

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

President Trump accompanied by White House Communications Director Hope Hicks aboard Air Force One Manila, Philippines on Nov. 14. (ANDREW HARNIK/AP)

A former spokesman for the President’s legal team is planning to tell special counsel Robert Mueller that White House communications director Hope Hicks may have considered obstructing justice, it has been reported.

Mark Corallo has agreed to an interview with Mueller, who is zeroing in on the misleading statement Trump dictated aboard Air Force One regarding his son’s meeting with a Russian lawyer during the presidential elections, according to The New York Times.

The statement said Donald Trump Jr. “primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children” when he met with Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016.

Days after the statement was issued in July 2017, Trump Jr. released a series of emails that showed he accepted the meeting after British music publicist Rob Goldstone offered damaging information on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer,” Trump Jr. wrote.

Members of the Trump administration began pointing fingers once the statement was issued, with some arguing that it made the situation worse, The Times reported. 

Special counsel Robert Mueller is zeroing in on the misleading statement Trump dictated aboard Air Force One regarding his son’s meeting with a Russian lawyer. (KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)

Corallo is planning to tell Mueller about a previously undisclosed conference call the next morning, during which Hicks told the president that Trump Jr.’s email exchange with Goldstone would "never get out” because only a few people had access to them, according three sources who spoke to the Times.

Corallo said he disagreed and told both Trump and Hicks that documents would eventually reveal the meeting had been set up to gain dirt on Clinton. 

Corallo wasn't sure whether Hicks was actively suggesting the emails be hidden from investigators, according to The Times. But he was alarmed at her comments, given that they could not be protected by attorney-client privilege.

Hicks' lawyer Robert Trout denied Corallo’s account with a statement that read, “She never said that. And the idea that Hope Hicks ever suggested that emails or other documents would be concealed or destroyed is completely false.”

Corallo, who represented Trump's outside lawyers amid the federal and congressional Russia inquiries, resigned in July amid a shakeup in Trump's legal team.

Mark Corallo (far left), followed by President Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz (center) at the to National Press Club in Washington. (PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/AP)

According to Michael Wolff's book covering Trump's first year in office, Corallo quit over his concerns about Trump's role in crafting the statement for his son.

The Mueller team contacted Corallo’s lawyer, Victoria Toensing, and said they wanted to discuss the circumstances of his departure, the source said. The interview is expected to take place within two weeks.

U.S. intelligence agencies have determined that Moscow worked to sway last year’s election toward Trump. Moscow has denied interference and Trump, a Republican, has said there was no collusion.

Mueller's team, which is investigating whether Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow, is still negotiating an interview with the President, The Times reported.