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Donald Trump Shouldn’t Talk to the Feds. And Neither Should You.
©2018 Reason Foundation ^ | 02.08.18 | Ken White

Posted on 02/09/2018 5:57:16 AM PST by Behind Liberal Lines

When the feds interview a subject or target, their goal is not mere information-gathering or fact-finding or "clearing a few things up." Their goal is the hunt.

One purpose, arguably the primary purpose, is to provoke the foolish interviewee into lying, thus committing a new, fresh federal crime that is easily prosecuted, rendering the original investigation irrelevant.

When special counsels or FBI agents ask questions ..., they are not fact-finding. They've already done their homework. They've already gathered facts—almost certainly many more facts than the interviewee knows. They are asking questions the answers to which they can already prove, hoping that the interviewee will tell a provable lie, and thus commit a crime, or at least lock themselves into a feckless story that ties their hands later.

even an honest, circumspect person faces grave peril in such an interview. FBI agents and prosecutors are adept at putting interviewees ill at ease. The pressure is immense. Human memory is fallible, and the interrogators are not disposed to view misremembered statements as accidents. You don't know the significance of everything they are asking you, and most people simply cannot sustain the sort of focus necessary to respond to complicated questions precisely and accurately for a sustained period of time. "Just tell the truth," applied to a complicated interview, assumes that the witness is extraordinarily disciplined and that questioners have an open mind and will act fairly and in good faith. Those assumptions are not warranted.

I submit this is not a close call. If the president were my client, I would advise him not to submit voluntarily to an interview, under oath or not, with Special Counsel Mueller. It offers him nothing but risk

(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 115th; fbi; trumprussia
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1 posted on 02/09/2018 5:57:16 AM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

Correct.

These situations are often setups for perjury charges. “We may not be able to prove anything on them for the charge we’re investigating, but we can trip ‘em up under oath and nail them on perjury.”


2 posted on 02/09/2018 6:01:17 AM PST by SharpRightTurn (Chuck Schumer--giving pond scum everywhere a bad name.)
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

This has got to stop. This country is now so banana-republic, it isn’t funny.


3 posted on 02/09/2018 6:01:30 AM PST by miss marmelstein
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

The Feds need to get your scalp to justify their jobs. They have all the power. Not even the President of the USA should allow them to question him just to trip him up. They were all working for Hillary/Obama so they are not honest.


4 posted on 02/09/2018 6:03:06 AM PST by txrefugee
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

never talk to law enforcement ever

never call law enforcement unless you want someone arrested or shot


5 posted on 02/09/2018 6:03:35 AM PST by Eddie01
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

This situation sounds fundamentally dishonest.

Is this what the founders envisioned?


6 posted on 02/09/2018 6:05:45 AM PST by The_Media_never_lie
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

I’ve posted this before. A few years back, we had an FBI agent as a neighbor. He was an arrogant POS and made sure everyone in the neighborhood knew who he worked for. He lived right next to us. One morning, I was in the backyard with the dog and he came up and said: “Good morning, wonder what the poor people are doing this morning?”
I immediately pled the 5th and said nothing else.
He didn’t think it was funny....and neither did I.


7 posted on 02/09/2018 6:06:21 AM PST by lgjhn23 (It's easy to be liberal when you're dumber than a box of rocks.)
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To: miss marmelstein

When one can be put in prison for “we have video surveillance of you putting salt on your scrambled eggs on March 25th of that year...” there is a problem.


8 posted on 02/09/2018 6:06:51 AM PST by wastoute (Government cannot redistribute wealth. Government can only redistribute poverty.)
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

Hat tip to another freeper who pointed me this way:

Why you should never talk to the police

part 1 - lawyer perspective
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au4_EdPwTkE

part 2 - LEO perspective (consistant)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1t3vtr0kxk


9 posted on 02/09/2018 6:07:02 AM PST by Eddie01
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To: Eddie01

“never talk to law enforcement ever

never call law enforcement unless you want someone arrested or shot”

Amen to that. I’ve said a hundred times, police don’t show up with psychology manuals, they show up with guns. Never call the police on a family member if you really don’t want one of those two things to happen to them.


10 posted on 02/09/2018 6:07:56 AM PST by suthener
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

Completely agree.


11 posted on 02/09/2018 6:09:04 AM PST by sauropod (I am His and He is mine.)
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

Always remember this simple phrase: Asked and answered.


12 posted on 02/09/2018 6:09:59 AM PST by Cletus.D.Yokel (Catastrophic, Anthropogenic Climate Alterations: The acronym explains the science.)
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

I might add that leftist prosecutors know that if they can charge a Republican officeholder in DC with lying, the alleged crime will be judged by a DC jury pool that is extremely pro Democrat. That’s why Scooter Libby didn’t have a chance.


13 posted on 02/09/2018 6:10:25 AM PST by Socon-Econ
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

He should take the fifth due to collusion against him by the FBI, DOJ, state department and Muller’s liberal henchmen!!!


14 posted on 02/09/2018 6:12:28 AM PST by ontap
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To: wastoute

It’s really frightening. I remember when the Left used to hate the FBI - the 60s, Black Panther days. Now they love them ‘cause they’re going after hard-working, Christian, law-abiding Republicans and conservatives.


15 posted on 02/09/2018 6:12:30 AM PST by miss marmelstein
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To: wastoute

A lot of people go to prison for lying to a federal officer.

Don’t not give statements always ask for your lawyer and always record.

The best way to shut a FBI agent down is to start recording them.


16 posted on 02/09/2018 6:13:09 AM PST by riverrunner
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To: Behind Liberal Lines
Yes, he should not agree to be interviewed. Any lie, even if not under oath, is actionable. He has a fifth amendment right just like anyone else so even if subpoenaed, he does not have to answer. In fact, if he were to get a subpoena, he could tie up mulehead in a protracted court case on constitutional grounds, sufficiency grounds too. Sufficiency grounds because if mule head is pursuing an obstruction matter, he would be challenged to show cause how a president can face an obstruction charge doing his constitutional function. Furthermore, how does one obstruct a nothing burger. Mule head knows this so he will try to string this out till the mid terms, hope the dems win the house and then turn over everything to the house complete with Trump's refusal to testify which the dems will count on as a guilty verdict. Meanwhile, the country continues to get destroyed, bit by bit.
17 posted on 02/09/2018 6:14:27 AM PST by Mouton (The MSM is a clear and present danger to the republic.)
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To: lgjhn23

Probably itching to have an excuse to shoot Fido.


18 posted on 02/09/2018 6:14:42 AM PST by miss marmelstein
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To: miss marmelstein

We need to make lying by police and other agencies the same punishment as lying TOO them. Perhaps if the law stated that any lie by the authorities resulted in charges being automatically dismissed....


19 posted on 02/09/2018 6:16:16 AM PST by Kozak (DIVERSITY+PROXIMITY=CONFLICT)
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To: Behind Liberal Lines

They can ask questions that have nothing to do with the investigation.


20 posted on 02/09/2018 6:16:48 AM PST by Terry Mross (Liver spots And blood thinners..)
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