EXCLUSIVE: Trump cites Nixon, says he 'was never going to fire Mueller' — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00good morning happy Father's Day and
2. 0:01welcome to this week only a small
3. 0:04portion of George's extensive interview
4. 0:06with the president has aired so far and
5. 0:08those excerpts are reverberating
6. 0:10throughout Washington in just a moment
7. 0:13you'll see new scenes from our
8. 0:14all-access ABC News exclusive George
9. 0:18asked the president questions that
10. 0:20Robert Muller never had a chance to ask
11. 0:22him but first to underscore the
12. 0:24significance of what we have already
13. 0:26heard from the president he did not see
14. 0:28a problem accepting help from a foreign
15. 0:31country an adversary even to win a
16. 0:33second term and if he received that kind
17. 0:36of offer he may or may not tell the FBI
18. 0:39about it
19. 0:39that comment surprised even some of the
20. 0:42president's closest allies but it was
21. 0:44also classic Donald Trump bluntly saying
22. 0:48exactly what was on his mind without
23. 0:50regard for the political repercussions
24. 0:53prominent Republicans have stepped
25. 0:55forward to disagree with the President
26. 0:57on this and Senate Democrats tried to
27. 1:00pass a bill that would make it a crime
28. 1:02to fail to report interference in an
29. 1:05election the president has sent sought
30. 1:07to clarify his comments he called into
31. 1:09Fox & Friends to say he would review the
32. 1:12material from a foreign entity and
33. 1:14reported if it was quote something bad
34. 1:17but then this weekend he tweeted that he
35. 1:19enjoyed his interview with George and
36. 1:21quote I think I will do many more
37. 1:24Network interviews sending the message
38. 1:26he's not worried about the backlash also
39. 1:30this morning another big ABC News
40. 1:32exclusive we will be joined live by
41. 1:34progressive firebrand Alexandria Ocasio
42. 1:38Cortez she's part of the growing chorus
43. 1:41in the house calling for an impeachment
44. 1:43inquiry and she may also be the most
45. 1:45sought-after endorsement in the
46. 1:47Democratic presidential primary but now
47. 1:49more from George's interview with the
48. 1:52president over two days president Trump
49. 1:55and I covered a lot of ground
50. 1:56[Applause]
51. 2:01starting in Iowa on Tuesday where we
52. 2:04rode together in his brand-new armored
53. 2:06limo the Beast this is some piece of
54. 2:08machinery oh this is amazing actually
55. 2:10the conversations turned tense after
56. 2:12Trump raised the Muller report himself
57. 2:14what's your pitch to the swing boater on
58. 2:16the fence safety security great economy
59. 2:21I think I've done more than any other
60. 2:23first term president ever I have a phony
61. 2:25witch-hunt which is just a phony pile of
62. 2:28stuff Muller comes out there's no
63. 2:29collusion and essentially a ruling that
64. 2:31no obstruction and they keep going with
65. 2:34it you know what people are angry about
66. 2:35it I don't think that's one example you
67. 2:37don't have time for that now we'll talk
68. 2:38about this later found excuse me he
69. 2:40found no collusion and he didn't find
70. 2:42anything having to do with obstruction
71. 2:44because they made a ruling based on his
72. 2:47findings and they said no it didn't
73. 2:48examine collusion he laid out evidence
74. 2:50of structure but were you trying to say
75. 2:51now that there was collusion even though
76. 2:53he said there is no collusion he didn't
77. 2:55think there's we said no collusion he
78. 2:57said he didn't look at George you the
79. 2:59report said
80. 3:00no collusion did you either yes I did
81. 3:02and you should read it to everything
82. 3:04that's you should read it back at the
83. 3:08White House Wednesday we were invited to
84. 3:09the Oval Office where the president
85. 3:11returned of the Muller report again
86. 3:13unprompted this time responding to a
87. 3:15question about 2020 polling he doesn't
88. 3:17like but why does it bother you some way
89. 3:19because it's untrue I like the truth you
90. 3:24know I'm actually a very honest guy if I
91. 3:26thought they were correct I wouldn't be
92. 3:29complaining at all I understand that
93. 3:30it's like the witch hunt that goes on no
94. 3:35collusion with Russia there was no
95. 3:37collusion and what bothers me is you
96. 3:41know what it said no collusion in fact
97. 3:45the report cites 126 contacts between
98. 3:47the Trump campaign in Russia but
99. 3:49insufficient evidence to charge a
100. 3:51criminal conspiracy no George all I want
101. 3:54is the truth all I want is failure did
102. 3:57you say that for example you were
103. 3:58pursuing a Trump Tower in Moscow during
104. 4:00the campaign and denying any
105. 4:02relationship with Russia George let me
106. 4:05tell you
107. 4:06I didn't even do a deal in Moscow you
108. 4:08know we I don't even know if they had
109. 4:09excuse me excuse me pursuing what is
110. 4:12pursuing me mean because somebody walks
111. 4:13in says hey we're look at it do you know
112. 4:15that I don't even think they had a site
113. 4:17I don't even think they knew who was
114. 4:19gonna do the deal it was a concept of a
115. 4:21deal more of a concept than anything
116. 4:23else it was a concept of a deal
117. 4:25someplace in Russia probably in Moscow
118. 4:27and I was looking at places all over the
119. 4:29didn't voters have a right to know that
120. 4:31I wouldn't mind telling them there's
121. 4:33nothing wrong with it in fact I was I
122. 4:35didn't consider that pursuing a deal
123. 4:37when you don't even have a site then
124. 4:39that's stunning admission about the
125. 4:40prospect of accepting help from a
126. 4:42foreign power in 2020 and this time
127. 4:45around if foreigners if Russia if China
128. 4:47if someone else offers you information
129. 4:48an opponent should they accept it or
130. 4:50should they call the FBI I think maybe
131. 4:52you do both I think you might want to
132. 4:54listen I don't there's nothing wrong
133. 4:56with listening if somebody called from a
134. 4:59country Norway we have information on
135. 5:03your opponent oh I think I'd want to
136. 5:05hear you want that kind of interference
137. 5:07in our elections it's not an
138. 5:08interference they have information I
139. 5:10think I'd take it if I thought there was
140. 5:11something wrong I'd go maybe to the FBI
141. 5:13if I thought there was something wrong
142. 5:15but when somebody comes up with a poor
143. 5:18research right they come up with a poor
144. 5:19research oh let's call the FBI the FBI
145. 5:22doesn't have enough agents to take care
146. 5:24of it but you go and talk honestly to
147. 5:26congressmen they all do it they always
148. 5:28have and that's the way it is it's
149. 5:30called Oppo research later that day I
150. 5:33asked him about Mulder's findings and
151. 5:35obstruction of justice and a statement
152. 5:37signed by more than a thousand former
153. 5:38prosecutors who believe Trump was spared
154. 5:40from indictment only because of a
155. 5:43Justice Department opinion that a
156. 5:44sitting president cannot face criminal
157. 5:46charges the Attorney General said he
158. 5:48didn't commit obstruction of justice
159. 5:49robert muller said he's not reaching
160. 5:51decision to could not exonerate you and
161. 5:53he laid out all that evidence more than
162. 5:56a thousand formal federal prosecutor
163. 5:58that's politician hey George left
164. 6:00I know more about prosecutors than
165. 6:01you'll ever know they're politicians I
166. 6:03could get you five thousand that would
167. 6:05also say that there's nothing you know I
168. 6:08saw the names and these are all many of
169. 6:10them with trumpeters many of them if you
170. 6:13look at the name many Republican you
171. 6:14thousands you know many prosecutors that
172. 6:16have been over
173. 6:17that you add them all up we could get
174. 6:19you thousands of prosecutors I've been
175. 6:21treated so unfairly because I never did
176. 6:23anything there was no crime one of those
177. 6:25prosecutors today Kamala Harris running
178. 6:28for president said she's running for
179. 6:29president she's doing horribly she's way
180. 6:31down in the polls she says she must say
181. 6:33but Oklahoma is really cleaner Gerlach
182. 6:36and I heard she made that statement and
183. 6:38you know what who wouldn't probably if I
184. 6:40were running in her position I'd make
185. 6:42the same statement I asked Trump about
186. 6:43some of the specific evidence of
187. 6:45possible obstruction Muller cited in his
188. 6:46report a lot of evidence including the
189. 6:49episode where you asked your White House
190. 6:51Counsel Donna again you tell him Muller
191. 6:53has to go you call him twice and say
192. 6:55Muller has to go call me when it's done
193. 6:57now the story on that very simply number
194. 7:00one I was never gonna fire Muller I
195. 7:01never suggested firing Muller do excuse
196. 7:05I don't care what he says it doesn't
197. 7:06matter that was to show everyone what a
198. 7:09good counsel he was now he may have
199. 7:12gotten it confused with the fact that
200. 7:13I've always said and I said it to you
201. 7:15and I said it to anybody that would
202. 7:16listen Robert Muller was conflicted why
203. 7:19would that we had a business wouldn't
204. 7:21lie under oath why would he wanted to
205. 7:24make himself look like a good lawyer or
206. 7:26or he believed it because I would
207. 7:29constantly tell anybody that would
208. 7:31listen including you including the media
209. 7:33that Robert Muller was conflicted Robert
210. 7:37Muller had a total con hastag honest I
211. 7:40never I didn't say that if I look
212. 7:43article two I would be allowed to fire
213. 7:45Robert Muller that was not assuming
214. 7:48assuming I did all of the things I said
215. 7:50I want to fire him number one I didn't
216. 7:53he wasn't fired okay number one very
217. 7:56importantly but more importantly article
218. 7:57two allows me to do whatever I want
219. 7:59article two would have allowed me to
220. 8:01fire him so it's not that I wasn't going
221. 8:03to fire you know why because I watched
222. 8:05Richard Nixon go around firing everybody
223. 8:07and that didn't work out too well so
224. 8:09very simply article two would allow me
225. 8:12to do article two of the Constitution
226. 8:13outlines the powers of the presidency
227. 8:15and the president's defenders argue he
228. 8:18cannot commit obstruction of justice
229. 8:19while exercising those powers you talk
230. 8:22about article two so your position is
231. 8:24that you can hire fire anybody stop or
232. 8:26start that is a decision of a lot of
233. 8:28great lawyers that's a position of some
234. 8:30of the most
235. 8:31lawyers and you have to have a position
236. 8:33like that because you're the president
237. 8:34but without even bringing a particle to
238. 8:37which absolutely gives you every right
239. 8:39so a president can't obstruct justice
240. 8:41a president can run the country and
241. 8:45that's what happened George I run the
242. 8:47country and I run it well when the
243. 8:48President does it it's not illegal I'm
244. 8:50just saying a president under Article
245. 8:52two it's very strong read it
246. 8:54do you have article to read it the
247. 8:55president never sat for an interview
248. 8:57under oath with a special counsels team
249. 8:58instead he answered written questions
250. 9:01about contacts with Russia but he
251. 9:03refused to take any questions about
252. 9:05obstruction of justice but if you answer
253. 9:07these questions to me now why not answer
254. 9:09them to robert muller under oath because
255. 9:14they were looking to get us four lies
256. 9:17for slate misstatements i looked at what
257. 9:21happened to people and it was very
258. 9:23unfair very very unfair very unfair so
259. 9:28I'm listening to you you're not worried
260. 9:30about being prosecuted once you leave
261. 9:31office it did nothing wrong judge did
262. 9:34nothing wrong
263. 9:34there was no collusion you don't even
264. 9:37hear Russia mentioned anymore
265. 9:38Russia's not mentioned now it's all
266. 9:41about abstract obstruction of what they
267. 9:44built up a phony crime they hired a man
268. 9:47that hated Trump he hired 18 people that
269. 9:50were Democrats that hated Trump some of
270. 9:53them contributed to Clinton's campaign a
271. 9:56couple of them worked for Clinton I mean
272. 9:59what kind of a rig deal is this and then
273. 10:01on top of it after two years and after
274. 10:04being the most transparent in history I
275. 10:06gave them 1.5 million pages of documents
276. 10:09right I gave them four or five hundred
277. 10:12witnesses I let Don Magan testify I let
278. 10:16him tell use the White House Counsel I
279. 10:17let him test I knew he was different in
280. 10:19their view you didn't answer questions
281. 10:21on the structure wait a minute wait a
282. 10:22minute I did answer questions I answered
283. 10:23them in writing no I don't know I don't
284. 10:25know I answered a lot of questions they
285. 10:28gave me questions I answered them in
286. 10:30writing not an obstruction look George
287. 10:32you're being a little wiseguy okay there
288. 10:34which is you know typical for you just
289. 10:36so you understand very simple it's very
290. 10:38simple there was no crime there was no
291. 10:41collusion the big things collusion now
292. 10:43there's no collusion
293. 10:44that means they said it was a setup in
294. 10:46my opinion and I think it's gonna come
295. 10:49out I hope it's gonna come out we're
296. 10:51gonna find out very soon because I
297. 10:52really believe it's gonna come out when
298. 10:54you look at struck these FBI guys that
299. 10:56were lowlifes when you look because the
300. 10:58FBI is the greatest but these the top
301. 11:00people were absolute lowlifes when you
302. 11:03look at strucken page and they're
303. 11:05talking about an insurance policy just
304. 11:06in case she loses that was in June she
305. 11:10talked about went through George I went
306. 11:12through the insurance policy I
307. 11:13understand that but if they were
308. 11:14determined to prevent you from becoming
309. 11:17president why wouldn't they leak it
310. 11:19before head you know what you'd have to
311. 11:20ask them oh they tried they tried and
312. 11:23you know what had that gun out before
313. 11:25the election I don't think I could have
314. 11:27I don't think I would have had enough
315. 11:29time to defend my really believe there
316. 11:31was a group of people working against
317. 11:33you do you think President Obama was
318. 11:35behind it I would say that he certainly
319. 11:37must have known about it because it went
320. 11:39very high up in the chain but you're
321. 11:41gonna find that out I'm not gonna make
322. 11:43that statement quite yet but I would say
323. 11:46that President Obama had to know about
324. 11:48it and of course our conversation took
325. 11:50place against the backdrop of growing
326. 11:52calls from Democrats for an impeachment
327. 11:54inquiry you're not worried about what
328. 11:56happens in Congress look the Republicans
329. 11:59in the Senate every single one of them
330. 12:01that I see no this is a witch-hunt they
331. 12:05get it a hundred percent and that's what
332. 12:07matters the Democrats are going to do it
333. 12:09only because they might think it helps
334. 12:10them I think it actually hurts them in
335. 12:12the election but there's never been a
336. 12:15time in the history of our country where
337. 12:17somebody was so mistreated as I have
338. 12:20been and they should never ever be
339. 12:23allowed to happen to another president
340. 12:25again a previous administration used the
341. 12:29intelligence data and the intelligence
342. 12:31agencies to spy on my campaign you
343. 12:35believe the President Obama of spider I
344. 12:37don't know but hopefully we're gonna
345. 12:38find out well there is a lot to discuss
346. 12:43in that interview in the power house
347. 12:44round table has been here with me and is
348. 12:47ready to go over at all this remarkable
349. 12:49interview with the president and later
350. 12:51my exclusive interview with
351. 12:52congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortes
352. 12:55her first Sunday Show interview since
353. 12:57taking office and a reminder to tune in
354. 13:00for George's full exclusive interview on
355. 13:03the ABC News primetime special tonight
356. 13:06at 8:00 p.m. Eastern
357. 13:07hi everyone George Stephanopoulos here
358. 13:10thanks for checking out the ABC News
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365. 13:22for watching