Shep Smith: There’s a ‘concerted effort’ for Fox News guests to warn Trump against Mueller interview

Fox News’s Shepard Smith said on his show Wednesday that there’s a push to have guests on television shows, including those on Fox News, warn President Trump against interviewing with special counsel Robert Mueller.

“There appears to be a concerted effort to put a bunch of people on television, having seen those questions, and to say into the television — like this channel — ‘don’t do it, Mr. President. Don’t do it,’” Smith said, referring to the recently leaked list of questions Mueller reportedly plans to ask Trump in a potential interview.

Reuters reporter Jeff Mason, a guest on Smith’s show, noted that Trump is known for watching television.

Shep Smith calls out people on his own network speaking directly to Trump through the TV telling him not to talk to Robert Mueller pic.twitter.com/lx4giKDRdt

— Media Matters (@mmfa) May 2, 2018

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“He’s got a lot of surrogates, as we call them, or friends out there who speak for him or speak on behalf of his advisers,” Mason said.

“And they all say ‘don’t do it,’” Smith interjected.

“Exactly, and if they start saying that you never know if that will have an impact,” Mason continued.

Trump is known for watching cable news, particularly Fox News. He often tweets about the channel’s programming and is close with network hosts like Sean Hannity.

The president’s attorneys are currently negotiating with Mueller’s team about a possible interview with Trump.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who recently joined Trump’s legal team and is leading negotiations with Mueller, told The Hill on Wednesday that a decision on an interview is “several weeks away.”

The New York Times reported Monday a list of questions that Mueller reportedly wants to ask the president, including about Trump’s dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey and whether Trump communicated with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the 2016 campaign.

However, a Tuesday report by The Washington Post stated that the list was created by one of Trump’s lawyers.

The Post also reported that Mueller suggested that he would subpoena Trump to appear before a grand jury if the president wouldn’t agree to an interview.