John Dowd outside Manhattan Federal Court in New York, March 9, 2011. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

Former White House attorney John Dowd on Monday disparaged Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation as a “one of the greatest frauds this country’s ever seen,” and predicted that Mueller would not produce the comprehensive report so many lawmakers and pundits are anticipating and calling for.

“I don’t think there’ll be a report,” Dowd told ABC News during an interview for the premiere episode of the The Investigation podcast. “I will be shocked if anything regarding the president is made public, other than, ‘We’re done.’”


Mueller is required to provide an accounting of his investigation to the attorney general, who must then decide what information should be shared with Congress and what information, if any, should me made available to the public. Trump’s attorney general nominee, William Barr, told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing that he would like to make public as much information as possible but did not make any specific promises.

Citing his familiarity with Mueller’s investigative tactics, Dowd, who left the White House in March due to disagreements with the president over the extent of his cooperation with investigators, went on to criticize the length and scope of the probe as unwarranted and harmful to the country.

“There’s no basis. There’s no exposure. It’s been a terrible waste of time,” he said. “What’s worse is let’s get on the other side of this, how it all happened. This is one of the greatest frauds this country’s ever seen. And I’m just shocked that Bob Mueller didn’t call it that way and say, ‘I’m being used.’”



Dowd, who was brought on by Trump just one month after the president fired former FBI director James Comey, told ABC that he cooperated extensively with the special counsel’s office during his time in the White House, but would not allow Trump to be interviewed because he believed the president would become confused and make a false statement.

“In my questioning him or talking to him, you know, first question, easy. Second question, easy. Third question, he wasn’t sure. And he doesn’t like being unsure. So he’ll guess,” Dowd said of his interactions with Trump. “There’s your trap, right there. It’s not whether he lies or not. . . . It’s not a matter of integrity. It’s overload.”

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