President Donald Trump in 2017 reportedly pressured former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for his help in convincing the Department of Justice to drop a criminal case against one of Rudy Giuliani's affluent foreign clients, according to a Wednesday report from Bloomberg.

Trump allegedly requested Tillerson's help in convincing the DOJ to cease prosecuting Reza Zarrab, 34, an Iranian-Turkish gold trader. It reportedly happened during a meeting in the Oval Office in front of several witnesses. As part of his reported request, Trump asked Tillerson to speak with Giuliani about the case.

According to the report, which was sourced from three people familiar with the interaction, Tillerson rejected Trump's request and then promptly repeated his protestation to then-Chief of Staff John Kelly, explicitly stating that the president's request was illegal.