Video: Donald Trump Lawyer Giuliani Spars With CNN's Chris Cuomo

U.S. Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani CNN Chris Cuomo

President Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, sparred with CNN's Chris Cuomo over Attorney General William Barr's summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's report, clashing over the obstruction of justice issue and whether the network should apologize for its coverage.

Giuliani berated Cuomo, demanding that he say sorry to President Trump for CNN's coverage of the Mueller investigation. Trump claims the Mueller report totally exonerates him, though the special counsel himself wrote that he does not exonerate the president on all charges.

"I don't apologize for the network. I'm proud of the network, I'm proud of the job it does, but I only control what I say," Cuomo responded while defending his own coverage of events.

Mueller's final report from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election is in the hands of the justice department. Barr released a summary of the confidential report to Congress but is facing demands to release the document and all supporting evidence in full.

According to Barr's summary of Mueller's principal conclusions, prosecutors "did not establish" that members of Trump's campaign conspired or "knowingly" coordinated with the Russian government to sway the election.

However, on the question of whether Trump obstructed justice by interfering with the special counsel's investigation, Mueller's report "does not exonerate" the president and deferred the decision to prosecute to the justice department, which declined to pursue the president.

Giuliani brought up Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server for which she was investigated by the FBI and no charges brought. "Tell me how you can make an obstruction case when he didn't destroy 30,000 emails?" Giuliani said, referring to the deletion of Clinton's claimed personal emails.

"When is that the standard?" Cuomo asked, pointing out that Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey in a way that appeared to be related to his oversight of the Russia investigation, an action that could be considered obstruction of justice.

"He is allowed to fire anyone that works for him and he had seven good reasons to do it," Giuliani replied.

"Well, he could have had some bad reasons too," said Cuomo .

"That doesn't matter as long as he had the good reasons," Giuliani said.

"It does in terms of why you look. Come on, Rudy," Cuomo said as the pair continued to joust over the issue.

Giuliani said the president's legal team has its own report ready to go that would rebut anything that may appear in the Mueller report if and when it is released to the public.

"I would like to see every single thing come out because I believe that every single thing can be rebutted," Giuliani told Cuomo. "I think this obstruction theory is garbage. Complete legal garbage."

Trump said he does not care if the Mueller report is released in full. "Up to the attorney general. Wouldn't bother me at all," Trump told reporters during a meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.