President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE reportedly said to special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE in written responses that he was not told about a 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between members of his campaign and a Russian lawyer, nor was he told about WikiLeaks during the campaign.

CNN reported Wednesday that Trump told Mueller that Roger Stone Roger Jason StoneThe agony of justice Our Constitution is under attack by Attorney General William Barr Justice IG investigating Stone sentencing: report MORE, who previously served as an informal adviser to the president, did not speak with him about WikiLeaks, which published a trove of hacked emails from Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign leading up to the 2016 election.

CNN reported that Trump noted that his responses were to the best of his recollection, a common practice during legal proceedings.

The network did not receive a full account of Trump's answers, nor did it have direct quotes.

ADVERTISEMENT

The president's reported responses match his public statements about both the Trump Tower meeting and whether he was privy to WikiLeaks's planned publication of Democratic emails.

Stone and his associate, Jerome Corsi, have come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks over their alleged contacts with WikiLeaks before the organization published the hacked emails.



Multiple reports published Tuesday indicated that Corsi, a right-wing conspiracy theorist, anticipated in emails to Stone that WikiLeaks was planning to release a batch of stolen documents containing damaging material about Clinton's campaign ahead of the 2016 presidential election.



Stone has denied he knew in advance about the planned publication of the hacked emails, and has maintained he did not speak with Trump about WikiLeaks.

Mueller has also reportedly asked witnesses about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer who promised damaging information on Clinton.



Attendees included Donald Trump Jr. Don John Trump'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic requests pardon from Trump: 'Be my hero please' Zaid Jilani discusses Trump's move to cancel racial sensitivity training at federal agencies Trump International Hotel in Vancouver closes permanently MORE, then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortOur Constitution is under attack by Attorney General William Barr Bannon trial date set in alleged border wall scam Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner Jared Corey KushnerAbraham Accords: New hope for peace in Middle East Tenants in Kushner building file lawsuit alleging dangerous living conditions Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing MORE.

Trump and Trump Jr. initially insisted the meeting was focused on a Russian adoption policy, but later acknowledged it was meant to gather information on their then-political opponent.

Trump's lawyers submitted written answers last week to questions from Mueller's team, but the president has said he is unlikely to sit for an in-person interview.

Trump routinely criticizes the Mueller investigation, labeling it a "witch hunt" and a "disgrace." He has repeatedly said he did not collude with Russia during the campaign.

Mueller has thus far obtained guilty pleas from former Trump associates Michael Flynn, George PapadopoulosGeorge Demetrios PapadopoulosTale of two FBI cases: Clinton got warned, Trump got investigated Trump says he would consider pardons for those implicated in Mueller investigation New FBI document confirms the Trump campaign was investigated without justification MORE and Richard Gates. He has obtained indictments against more than 20 Russian nationals as well.

Mueller's team convicted Manafort on bank and tax fraud charges earlier this year.

Manafort reached a plea deal with Mueller to avoid a second, separate trial in Washington, D.C., but federal prosecutors said in a court filing this week that Manafort violated the terms of his plea deal by repeatedly lying to federal investigators.



— Update at 1:50 p.m.