Courtesy of the New York Times:
Lawyers for President Trump have advised him against sitting down for a wide-ranging interview with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to four people briefed on the matter, raising the specter of a monthslong court battle over whether the president must answer questions under oath.
His lawyers are concerned that the president, who has a history of making false statements and contradicting himself, could be charged with lying to investigators. Their stance puts them at odds with Mr. Trump, who has said publicly and privately that he is eager to speak with Mr. Mueller as part of the investigation into possible ties between his associates and Russia’s election interference, and whether he obstructed justice.
Mr. Trump’s decision about whether to speak to prosecutors, expected in the coming weeks, will shape one of the most consequential moments of the investigation. Refusing to sit for an interview opens the possibility that Mr. Mueller will subpoena the president to testify before a grand jury, setting up a court fight that would drastically escalate the investigation and could be decided by the Supreme Court.
First of all you could see this coming from outer space.
Of COURSE Trump's attorneys are going to tell him to resist being interviewed until there is no longer any way to avoid it.
Because once he does it's game over.
But this is not the only tactic that Trump's lawyers have up their sleeves.
Someday when schoolchildren learn about presidential abuses of power this will likely be lesson number one.
Lawyers for President Trump have advised him against sitting down for a wide-ranging interview with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to four people briefed on the matter, raising the specter of a monthslong court battle over whether the president must answer questions under oath.
His lawyers are concerned that the president, who has a history of making false statements and contradicting himself, could be charged with lying to investigators. Their stance puts them at odds with Mr. Trump, who has said publicly and privately that he is eager to speak with Mr. Mueller as part of the investigation into possible ties between his associates and Russia’s election interference, and whether he obstructed justice.
Mr. Trump’s decision about whether to speak to prosecutors, expected in the coming weeks, will shape one of the most consequential moments of the investigation. Refusing to sit for an interview opens the possibility that Mr. Mueller will subpoena the president to testify before a grand jury, setting up a court fight that would drastically escalate the investigation and could be decided by the Supreme Court.
First of all you could see this coming from outer space.
Of COURSE Trump's attorneys are going to tell him to resist being interviewed until there is no longer any way to avoid it.
Because once he does it's game over.
But this is not the only tactic that Trump's lawyers have up their sleeves.
That's right there is now going to be a special counsel investigating the way Robert Mueller came up with his evidence.Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah told reporters that Trump's attorneys have already approved the idea of appointing a second special counsel to investigate the FBI and Justice Department's actions during the 2016 presidential campaign. https://t.co/wRxgxMy8Oh— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 5, 2018
Someday when schoolchildren learn about presidential abuses of power this will likely be lesson number one.
