One of President Donald Trump's lawyers on Sunday declared "there is not an investigation of the president of the United States. Period."
In an interview on NBC News' "Meet The Press," Jay Sekulow refuted reports that special council Robert Mueller's probe is targeting Trump for possible obstruction of justice – reports that Trump appeared to confirm in angry tweets condemning the investigation as a "witch hunt" last week.
"He is not under investigation by the special council," Sekulow said, adding the tweet from the president referred to anonymous sources cited by The Washington Post, which first reported that Trump was under investigation.
"Let me be very clear here… the president is not and has not been under investigation for obstruction."
"You're reading more into the tweet than what is there," he said. "The tweet from the president was in response to the five anonymous sources purportedly leaking info to the Washington Post."
"He's not afraid of the investigation — there is no investigation," he added.
On Friday, the president seemingly confirmed the Post report two days earlier that he was being targeted by Mueller.
On Thursday, Trump called Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign a "witch hunt: based on the "phony" premise of possible collusion between Russia and a cadre of Trump campaign associates.
The conservative lawyer Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, is assisting Trump as Mueller also probes into the potential obstruction of justice by the president in the firing of former FBI Director James Comey.
Sekulow, who appeared on four Sunday political talk shows, several times insisted the president was referring to a news report about an investigation, not an actual probe.
On CBS News' "Face The Nation," the Sekulow said the special council's office hasn't said anything to Trump about his being a target of the probe.
"There's been no noification from the special counsel's office there is an investigation" of him, Sekulow said.
"I can't imagine a scenario in which the president would not be aware of it," he added, calling the idea of him being investigated for doing what was recommended for him to do by the acting attorney general brings up a "serious" constitutional issue with an "easy" answer.
"The president cannot be... found liable for engaging in an activity for which he clearly has the power to do under the Constitution."
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