Courtesy of the New York Times:
White House officials once debated a scorched-earth strategy of publicly criticizing and undercutting Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russian efforts to disrupt last year’s election. Now, President Trump’s lawyers are pursuing a different course: cooperating with the special counsel in the hope that Mr. Mueller will declare in the coming months that Mr. Trump is not a target of the Russia inquiry.
Mr. Trump has long sought such a public declaration. He fired his F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, in May after Mr. Comey refused to say openly that Mr. Trump was not under investigation.
The president’s legal team is working swiftly to respond to requests from Mr. Mueller for emails, documents and memos, and will make White House officials available for interviews. Once Mr. Mueller has combed through the evidence, Mr. Trump’s lawyers plan to ask him to affirm that Mr. Trump is not under investigation, either for colluding with Russian operatives or for trying to obstruct justice.
Is anybody else experiencing a little deja vu here?
I think there is ample evidence that Mueller is indeed investigating Donald Trump himself for obstruction, and possibly collusion, that is why he asked for those White House records and the phone logs from Air Force One.
So what happens when Mueller refuses to publicly say that Trump is not under investigation?
Does he try to get him fired next?
Because if he tries that this thing is REALLY going to heat up quickly.
White House officials once debated a scorched-earth strategy of publicly criticizing and undercutting Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russian efforts to disrupt last year’s election. Now, President Trump’s lawyers are pursuing a different course: cooperating with the special counsel in the hope that Mr. Mueller will declare in the coming months that Mr. Trump is not a target of the Russia inquiry.
Mr. Trump has long sought such a public declaration. He fired his F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, in May after Mr. Comey refused to say openly that Mr. Trump was not under investigation.
The president’s legal team is working swiftly to respond to requests from Mr. Mueller for emails, documents and memos, and will make White House officials available for interviews. Once Mr. Mueller has combed through the evidence, Mr. Trump’s lawyers plan to ask him to affirm that Mr. Trump is not under investigation, either for colluding with Russian operatives or for trying to obstruct justice.
Is anybody else experiencing a little deja vu here?
I think there is ample evidence that Mueller is indeed investigating Donald Trump himself for obstruction, and possibly collusion, that is why he asked for those White House records and the phone logs from Air Force One.
So what happens when Mueller refuses to publicly say that Trump is not under investigation?
Does he try to get him fired next?
Because if he tries that this thing is REALLY going to heat up quickly.
