WASHINGTON, May 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani said Friday that special counsel Robert Mueller has agreed to narrow the scope of a potential interview with the president from five topics to two.
Giuliani told CNN that Mueller is not considering to ask Trump about his longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who is facing a separate criminal investigation in New York.
The "main focus we want is Russia," Giuliani said.
Giuliani's comments came as Trump tried Friday morning to undercut the ongoing Russia probe led by Mueller, which started a year ago.
The special counsel is mandated to investigate the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and any potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, among other matters that may arise from the investigation.
Over the past year, Mueller's team has brought charges against 19 individuals, including several Trump campaign associates, and three Russian entities, notched five guilty pleas and seen one person sentenced.
A number of those charges were related to Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 election, but none of them has been extended to collusion allegations.
Russia has denied interference in the election campaign.
Trump, who has repeatedly called the Russia probe "hoax" or "witch hunt," has ratcheted up pressure on it in the past months, amid a reshuffling of his legal team.
Giuliani said earlier this week that Mueller has informed the president's lawyers that the investigation would follow Justice Department guidance and not seek an indictment against Trump, a claim that the special counsel's team declined to comment.
