CNN’s Phil Mudd Claims Release of Mueller Report Will Be ‘Access Hollywood Moment’ for Trump

With a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian election interference scheduled to be released by Attorney General William Barr Thursday morning, CNN analyst Phil Mudd speculated that the report will be as embarrassing for President Trump as the infamous Access Hollywood tape during the 2016 election.

After it was announced that Barr would hold a 9:30 AM ET press conference — without Mueller — on Thursday to discuss the report, the New York Times published a story reporting that the Justice Department has briefed the president on some of Mueller’s findings and conclusions. The Times also reported that many Trump aides and advisors are gripped by “paranoia” because the report “might make clear which of Mr. Trump’s current and former advisers spoke to the special counsel, how much they said and how much damage they did to the president — providing a kind of road map for retaliation.”

During a CNN panel discussion Wednesday afternoon, anchor Wolf Blitzer brought up the Times piece to Mudd, noting that White House officials and aides are concerned about backlash from the president.

“I mean, that seems so self-evident,” the former CIA official said. “The president, as we knew when this report — when the Barr letter came out, won. He won on the issue of conspiracy.”

He continued: “So then why the heck do you worry about the details coming out? The president has beaten every competitor since the Republican campaign. The only reason you would worry about the details coming out is that, in a national security perspective, this is an Access Hollywood moment.”

Mudd went on to say that the “details that come out are going to be so cringeworthy” that the president and those around him feel the need to go out there and defend Trump even after Barr already said that he’s been exonerated on the issue of conspiracy.

“The details are nasty,” he concluded.

Watch the clip above, via CNN.