Special counsel Robert Mueller continues to press for an interview with the Russian oligarch Aras Agalarov and his pop star son Emin who, according to the US media, encouraged President Donald Trump to meet in June 2016 with a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Hillary Clinton.
The conversations between the attorney for Aras Agalarov and his son, Emin, and the special counsel have been ongoing for nearly a year, Agalarov's attorney said. The continuing back-and-forth is a sign of the lasting special counsel interest in investigating the circumstances of the controversial campaign-year discussion.
"We've been having conversations with the special counsel for a potential interview for nearly a year. Those conversations are not new. They are ongoing. We haven't reached an agreement yet on any terms of such an interview and I can't predict whether we will reach agreement or not," attorney for the Agalarovs Scott Balber said.
Mueller's team is interested in discussing the Trump Tower meeting and the talks around the building of a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to Balber. The tower was never built.
Balber added that his clients have no reason to believe Trump knew about the meeting with the Russian lawyer before it happened.
"The Agalarovs were not aware and had and have no reason to believe that the President knew the Trump Tower meeting was happening or that it happened before it was publicly disclosed," CNN cited Balber as saying.
Mueller has no authority to subpoena the Agalarovs, who do not live in the United States. The special counsel's office interviewed several of attendees of the meeting in late 2017 or earlier this year.
Emin is mentioned multiple times in an email exchange between Goldstone and Trump Jr. during the spring 2016 ahead of the now-infamous Trump Tower meeting that took place on June 9, 2016 with Trump Jr., a Russian lawyer and others.
