Trump has got his ‘swear’ words ready for Mueller

Testy about testifying? Nah

President Donald Trump says he can’t wait to explain himself to special counsel Robert Mueller — under oath.

“I would love to do it, and I would like to do it as soon as possible,” Trump told reporters in an impromptu session at the White House. “I would do it under oath, absolutely.” His lawyers expect it will happen in “about two to three weeks,” Trump said.

Trump seemed to be road-testing a response to any suggestion he might have obstructed justice in the Russia investigation.

Speaking generally of his conduct, Trump said he was “fighting back” and added mockingly: “Oh well, did he fight back? ... You fight back, oh, it’s obstruction.”

Mueller has been looking at Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey for how the bureau conducted the Russia probe. That happened after, according to Comey, Trump demanded his loyalty and leaned on him to go easy on Mike Flynn, the former national security adviser fired for lying about his Russia contacts.

As for the original focus of the investigation — whether Trump or his campaign collaborated with Russian election meddling — Trump repeated, “There’s no collusion whatsoever.”

Just can’t shake it

Trump’s got good reason to hope talking to Mueller could bring the special counsel’s inquiry to a conclusion — or at least its scrutiny of him, since others, such as former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, are awaiting trial.

The Russia investigations have shadowed the president through the first 12 months of his tenure, writes Newsday’s Yancey Roy. Indications are the probe might not just be about election collusion, but also obstruction of justice and, some believe, money laundering.

The administration has acknowledged various meetings and communications with Russian officials, but it has denied any collusion with election meddling and called the inquiry “fabricated” and “politically motivated.”

Meet with Trump? No sancts

New York’s Bill de Blasio and several other mayors from around the country abruptly canceled plans to meet with Trump after the Justice Department stepped up legal threats against about two dozen “sanctuary” cities that limit cooperation with immigration authorities.

De Blasio tweeted that the action renewed a “racist assault on our immigrant communities.”

The White House meeting went on with leaders from other cities attending, and Trump said, “The mayors who choose to boycott this event have put the needs of criminal, illegal immigrants over law-abiding Americans.” See Newsday’s story by Laura Figueroa Hernandez.

Janison: Is the doctor out?

One might wonder if voters who earnestly see a need for tough immigration policies welcome the possible deportation of a Michigan physician named Lukasz Niec, who was detained by immigration cops last week, writes Newsday’s Dan Janison.

Niec, 43, was brought to America by his family as a child from Poland. He went to medical school, and reportedly is what the government deems to be a lawful permanent resident, a green card holder. But he had two misdemeanor convictions from his teen years and run-ins since, mostly on traffic charges, including driving while impaired in 2008.

The local congressman, Republican Rep. Fred Upton, expresses alarm at attempts to remove “productive members of our communities.”

Trump’s wall paper

Senators from both parties complained last week that Trump hadn’t made clear exactly what he wanted in an immigration and border security package. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says he’ll tell them, and everyone, on Monday.

She said the legislative framework will include Trump’s four core principles: “Securing the border and closing legal loopholes; ending extended family chain migration; canceling the visa lottery and promoting a permanent solution on DACA.”

Trump later told reporters he favored a citizenship path for Dreamers “over a period of 10 to 12 years," during which he said they'd "morph" into citizens.

Also promised: more details on just how much of an actual wall he wants on the Mexican border. Even supporters believe his wall talk is, in part, a metaphor for border security. Trump said he wants $25 billion for the wall and $5 billion for other security measures.

See Newsday’s story by Tom Brune.

Welcome to the club

When Trump arrives in Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum, it will be his first time inside the annual gathering of financial titans, who ignored him when he was a mere billionaire businessman, The New York Times writes.

As leader of the world’s last superpower, he will command attention, if not admiration, said the report. Not only will he finally crash a party that would not have him, but he will also bring his protectionist “America First” message to the apostles of globalization.

His message, according to The Washington Post, will be that his ideas are working.

Justice: Don’t release the memo

The Justice Department warned House intelligence chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) it “would be extraordinarily reckless” to release a classified memo he wrote claiming abuses in the Trump investigation.

Intelligence agencies need to review the material to protect sources and ongoing investigations, wrote Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd.

Some Trump allies have been pushing for release of the memo in an effort to discredit the Russia investigations.

What else is happening

• A Quinnipiac poll found that, by 53 percent to 43 percent, voters who support a DACA bill think the government shutdown — triggered by the failed effort by Senate Democrats to pass the legislation — wasn’t worth it. Overall, 84 percent deemed the shutdown mostly unnecessary, while only 13 percent cast it as “mainly necessary.”
• In Davos, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin welcomed a weaker dollar to boost U.S. exports. His statement broke with a decades-long commitment by the U.S. government to back a strong dollar and caused it to drop sharply in currency markets.
• The Senate confirmed Alex Azar as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on a 55-43 vote. His predecessor, Tom Price, stepped down after reports revealing his use of private jets at taxpayer expense became an embarrassment.
• Vice President Mike Pence will take a higher-profile approach while attending the Winter Olympics in South Korea next month to help counter North Korean propaganda efforts at the games, a White House official told Bloomberg News.
• CIA Director Mike Pompeo praised Trump’s grasp of intelligence briefings as on par with “25-year intelligence professionals.”