Vice President Mike Pence said on Sunday he’s “more than willing” to be interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of a federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Though Mueller has not yet asked to interview Pence, the vice president said he would continue to “fully cooperate” with the investigation.
“I would be more than willing to continue to provide any and all support in that,” Pence said on CBS’ “Face The Nation.”
“And we have outside counsel that will advise me accordingly,” he added.
Pence has called on Mueller to wrap up his expansive probe, which is also reviewing whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice as the investigation proceeded. Unlike his boss, Pence has refrained from repeatedly attacking the credibility of the investigation.
Trump frequently accuses Mueller of carrying out a “witch hunt” against him. He initially said he would be willing to sit down with Mueller for an interview, though his attorneys have strongly advised against doing so for fear their client would fall into a “perjury trap.”
“So if I say something and [former FBI Director James Comey] says something, and it’s my word against his, and he’s best friends with Mueller, so Mueller might say: ‘Well, I believe Comey,’ and even if I’m telling the truth, that makes me a liar. That’s no good,” Trump told Reuters last month.
Pence, in his Sunday comments, insisted that the investigation hasn’t been a main concern for the White House.
“It’s just not been my focus and it’s not the president’s focus,” he said.