President Donald Trump's legal team has made a broad assertion of executive privilege in a bid to avert a subpoena by the special counsel investigating the president's conduct with respect to Russia, according to a confidential memo obtained by The New York Times.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is probing allegations that Trump may have obstructed the inquiry into Russia influence over the 2016 election. The memo — the contents of which The Times published in full on Saturday — cites Trump's lawyers arguing that the president "could neither constitutionally nor legally constitute obstruction because that would amount to him obstructing himself, and that he could, if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon if he so desired."

The letter, which was not independently verified by CNBC, was authored by John Dowd and Jay Sekulow, lawyers that have since departed Trump's legal team. The memo's disclosure comes as Trump's lead counsel, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, has stated publicly that Mueller's probe into obstruction charges could be wrapped up by September. However, separate reports have cast doubt on that assertion.