Posted on 05/02/2018 10:46:40 AM PDT by sickoflibs
The leak of a list of questions Mueller wants to ask President Trump is a sign that Mueller’s seemingly never-ending investigation in search of a crime may be getting close to a conclusion. One would think that before interviewing Trump, Mueller would have interviewed everyone else relevant to the case and is now trying to show discrepancies between Trump’s amazingly elastic memory and the memory of others in order to give his leftwing fan club the joy of claiming “obstruction.”
Yesterday, the Washington Post ran an anonymously sourced story claiming that Mueller had threatened Trump with a subpoena if he refused to submit to a “voluntary” interview.
In a tense meeting in early March with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, President Trump’s lawyers insisted he had no obligation to talk with federal investigators probing Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.
But Mueller responded that he had another option if Trump declined: He could issue a subpoena for the president to appear before a grand jury, according to four people familiar with the encounter.
Mueller’s warning — the first time he is known to have mentioned a possible subpoena to Trump’s legal team — spurred a sharp retort from John Dowd, then the president’s lead lawyer.
“This isn’t some game,” Dowd said, according to two people with knowledge of his comments. “You are screwing with the work of the president of the United States.”
Will Trump agree to go along with an interview? I’d say the odds are quite a bit less than 50-50. It is widely reported that Trump is still incensed over Mueller using the Southern District of New York US attorney’s office as a stalking horse to get him access to Michael Cohen’s communications with Trump. (Let’s not fool ourselves here and think Cohen was subjected to a no-notice raid of his home, office, and residence because of some bullsh** back tax due on taxi medallions or any other financial wizardry he may have been involved in.) And this tweet by Trump is probably a solid indication of the direction he’s going in part because he’s pissed at Mueller and in part because he’s read the polls and thinks a fight with Mueller will be politically profitable.
It is also an open question whether Mueller even has that authority. Department of Justice regulations say that a sitting president can’t be indicted. So if Trump just refused to comply with the subpoena, Mueller would have damned little recourse. Trump might even think the blatant defiance was a win…and he might be right.
And Mueller is not a special counsel in the mold of Ken Starr. He’s a temp employee of the Department of Justice. He’s supervised (hahaha) by Rod Rosenstein who would certainly have to sign off on anything as extraordinary as a subpoena issued to the President. If Rosenstein did that, his tenure could be measured in nanoseconds.
More to the point, if the leaked questions are in any way accurate, they are simply inappropriate. There is no reason on earth why any president should have to explain to anyone his rationale for firing people or for his policy preferences or reveal his feeling about particular people. That is just fodder for leaks.
Mueller may get his interview, but you can bet it probably will not be a multi-hour, under oath session.
This is a bunch of nonsense! The constitution gives the the House of Representative the power to impeach and the Senate the authority to determine guilt of a sitting president. There is no other avenue to address a grievance against a sitting president. If the special Counsel has something he needs to give it to congress. A Special Counsel does not have the authority to demand a seating President testify. MSM is chasing the pointy laser light.
Better idea. Have the interview aired on TV with the mule asking the questions.
At most Trump should answer questions related to the Special Counsel’s original charter, Russian collusion, only and in writing with SC follow up questions the same way. If SC issues Grand Jury subpoena ignore it and force SC to take it to court.
I like my idea. Threaten Mueller with immediate arrest if he issues such an indictment. Don’t fire him, he can run his investigation from a jail cell.
At most Trump should answer questions related to the Special Counsel’s original charter, Russian collusion, only and in writing with SC follow up questions the same way. If SC issues Grand Jury subpoena ignore it and force SC to take it to court.
Definition of a counter coup d’etat:
Patriots round the traitors up and brutally kill them all. Not showing a shred of human decency or mercy.
Trump needs to change the whole dynamic of this “investigation.” He needs to have military investigators and military police raid Mueller’s home and office (like they did to Trump’s lawyer) along with the rest of the major coup plotters and seize all of the computers and records to find the evidence of the coup attempt to overthrow the lawfully elected President of the United States. Then we might find out the real conspiracy with links to the DNC, Clapper, Brennan and foreign powers.
Maybe Sessions should subpoena Mueller....
Sorry, I didn’t mean to make a joke....
Actually, I take that back. The Boy Scouts of America would have enthusiastically TRIED to respond to Pearl Harbor had they been tasked with the job.
Sessions tries absolutely nothing, absolutely always.
Biggest loser in the history of the republic.
President Trump is an Amazing Man.. We knew it from the beginning! He is A Master Negotiator.. A Doer.. A Compassionate Man with both book smarts and street smarts.. The Bravest Man ever to serve as POTUS.
Bump!
It’s time to fire Mueller and Rosenstein.
That may well be in play at the most advantageous moment.
If Rosentein signs off on any subpoena Trump may call him into the WH and tell him to bring the SC with him. Have the MSM in the room and drop some bombs on both of them.
Trump could play both of the points you raise in a single move, to say nothing of criminal charges brought by an uncompromised DOJ.
And what might the actual crime be?
Guiliani must be working hard behind the scene.. Haven’t heard anything from him.
Continued Prayers for them all.
I’ve lost faith in Rudy. He said in a radio interview the other day that Mueller is a ‘good man’.
Broke my heart.
Though I’m clinging to hope that it was a head fake.
No doubt about it!
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