Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) said that President Donald Trump‘s “hyperbolic” style of speaking could be an issue as Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s probe continues to intensify.
Christie, who was the first Republican presidential candidate to back Trump during the 2016 election, made the comments on Sunday during a panel on ABC’s This Week.
“One of the things that makes the president who he is, is that he’s a salesman, and salesmen at times tend to be hyperbolic, and this president has certainly tended to be that,” he said. “That’s OK when you’re working on Congress. It is not OK when you’re sitting talking to federal agents because, 18 U.S.C. 1001 is false statements to federal agents, that’s a crime, that can send you to jail.”
Fmr. Gov. @ChrisChristie tells @GStephanopoulos Pres. Trump should not meet with Special Counsel Mueller: "He's a salesman, and salesmen at times tend to be hyperbolic… That’s ok when you’re working on Congress. It is not ok when you’re sitting talking to federal agents." pic.twitter.com/saiGHUCbT9
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 1, 2018
Mueller is heading a sprawling probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and related matters, including examining whether Trump obstructed justice when he fired former FBI Director James Comey, among other things.
Recent reports suggest that the president’s legal team is preparing for a potential interview between Mueller’s team and the president, however, Christie did not seem keen on allowing that to happen.
“As a former U.S. Attorney and somebody who would be sitting on the other side of that table … He should never walk into that room with Robert Mueller,” Christie said.
After one of Trump’s lead attorneys defending him in Mueller’s investigation, John Dowd, resigned last month, the president said he would still be willing to answer questions.