House Impeachment Investigators Probing Whether Trump Lied to Mueller

President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on November 15, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

House Impeachment Investigators Probing Whether Trump Lied to Mueller

"The House is trying to determine whether the current president should remain in office. This is unbelievably serious and it's happening right now, very fast."

The House of Representatives is reportedly investigating whether President Donald Trump lied to former Special Counsel Robert Mueller in written testimony during the Russia probe.

According toCNN, House attorney Douglas Letter told a federal appeals court Monday that House impeachment investigators are examining whether the president lied about his conversations with longtime confidant Roger Stone about WikiLeaks.

"Did the president lie? Was the president not truthful in his responses to the Mueller investigation?" Letter asked the court. "The House is trying to determine whether the current president should remain in office. This is unbelievably serious and it's happening right now, very fast."

Letter's remarks came during a hearing on the House effort to obtain grand jury material Mueller compiled in his investigation. House lawyers argued the materials could help lawmakers determine whether Trump lied to the former special counsel.

As CNNreported:

The House's arguments Monday draw new focus to whether Trump had lied to Mueller following public revelations at Roger Stone's trial [for lying to Congress] this month.

Former Trump deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates testified that Trump and Stone talked about information that was coming that could help the campaign in mid-2016, at a time when Stone was attempting to get secret details about stolen Democratic documents WikiLeaks had.

Gates' account appeared to contradict Trump's written responses to Mueller last November.

Trump told Mueller that he did "not recall discussing WikiLeaks" with Stone.

"Nor do I recall being aware of Mr. Stone having discussed WikiLeaks with individuals associated with my campaign," Trump wrote.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) tweeted Monday that "this is not a complex issue."

"Rick Gates and Donald Trump both made statements under oath that flatly contradict each other," Lieu said. "Either Mr. Gates committed perjury or POTUS committed perjury."

During his testimony before Congress in July, Mueller suggested the president was not truthful in his written answers.

Asked if Trump's "answers showed that he wasn't always being truthful," Mueller replied, "I would say generally."

News of the House investigation into Trump's possible lies to Mueller came as the president said in a tweet Monday that he would "strongly consider" submitting answers to impeachment investigators in writing.

In response to Trump's tweet, progressive advocacy group Stand Up America demanded that Trump testify in the House impeachment probe and allow "all of the other witnesses he has blocked from appearing to testify as well."

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