Step in, Donald. It won't hurt too bad...Mueller promises!
2
I would pay big money to have a front row seat to the 45's grilling by Mueller and his team. He won't stand a chance and will start squirming like an ant on a hot plate. There is no way that he would be able to survive professional and rational questioning without spewing lies, half-truths, misdirection, and usual psychotic stream of consciousness verbal blather about so-called witch hunt, lock her up, biggest crowd (biggest hands?), Cohen's not my lawyer, Stormy who?, Kim Jong Un is a great guy, Putin is my friend, no collusion, we'll see, Comey, the emails, Sessions recusal, Democrats obstructing, etc. etc. etc..
Grab your drink of choice, everyone, as we are getting closer to "Mueller Time".
4
If our president can't be trusted not to perjure himself, maybe he isn't qualified for office.
3
Any way you look at it, Trump is overmatched here. He has no grasp of the law or any ramifications of his tweets and statements. Ignorance of the law is no defense. Obviously, Mueller has specific targets here and is not just going on a fishing expedition. Trump is being set up by the Deep State, and his actions within the campaign were extralegal. Both these statements can be true. Whereas Hillary was allowed a pass for her crimes (Trump correctly trumpets), he will be taken to task for his. Power abhors a vacuum and the vacuous. My guess is he will try to remove Mueller rather than submit to him. After all, if Trump is going to talk himself into criminal jeopardy, what does he have to lose? If compelled to the interview we are going to hear “executive privilege” all day long. With Trump there is no there, there. What you see is what you get. His impulsive Twitter rants provide an X-ray of his thinking and intent. Mueller is stalking Trump who has neither foresight nor hindsight to cover his tracks. However, Trump is a child of privilege who has never been held accountable in his life. As such he can always count on one ace in the hole: they always let him off the hook. As was the case with Reagan, he may keep his presidency and avoid prison, but it really will become a worthless reality show. He will have gotten 4 yrs. further than he expected though. The GOP will have gotten their patsy president to sign off on tax cuts and then back to serious business with Pence.
4
In 1968, Robert Mueller put on a uniform to fight for his country.
Today, he puts on a suit and tie every day to fight for democracy and the rule of law, to fight for his country.
God speed, Robert Mueller!
17
There is evidence in the public domain that Trump family and campaign members attended meetings where the prospect of obtaining adverse information about Candidate Clinton was discussed with agents of the Russian Federation. These individuals include Papadopoulos, Kushner, Don Jr. and Roger Stone. The entire extent of this conspiracy and the attempts to hide it have not been publicly divulged. These actions are criminal and constitute conspiracy to interfere with a U.S. election with agents of a foreign power. The extent of what the President knew and when he knew it remains unknown. Consider this last paragraph again, it is breathtaking.
Evidence of the President attempting to obstruct justice is legion and exists in his public actions, statements and tweets. The President’s admission or explanation about why any of these actions do NOT show corrupt intent are missing.
8
Love how all the Trump supporters are calling this a witch hunt by crooked investigators out to get Trump and that Mueller should be fired. Remember when Obama was trying to govern while Trump was distracting us with his birther nonsense? At least Obama came clean and proved he was born in the US. Lets see what Trump can prove. If he's so innocent and has nothing to hide, then why all the whining?
7
I'm disturbed that the NYT would quote lawyers casually discussing legal advice that the president should not meet with investigators because of the high likelihood that he will incriminate or perjure himself.
We are not gaming the legal strategy of an ordinary white collar criminal here.
This is the President of the United States we are talking about. The job description comes with higher moral standards!
If there is a high likelihood that he will do anything other than completely exonerate himself by telling the full and complete truth to Mueller, he should just resign.
I don't care if he does a Nixon style resign for pardon deal with Pence. I just want him out of the Oval Office and away from any policy or god-forbid military decisions.
3
So it looks like Trump has two options: 1) lie repeatedly like Reagan and say he doesn't recall; or 2) take to wearing his bathrobe outside of "executive time" and start mumbling crazy talk like the mobsters. Either way, Mueller has the criminal Trump in the crosshairs. It is about time someone rid the US of Trump's crime wave.
5
According to a Mueller insider these questions were prepared by Stormy Daniels.
It’s absolutely madness to have a legal system where lying to investigators is a criminal offense.
In Denmark, you probably mitigate penalties for people cooperating with investigations.
1
Well, Martha Stewart went to prison for lying to the FBI in their insider trading investigation. She wasn't found guilty of insider trading but she had been less than forthcoming when first interviewed by the FBI.
Lying to a traffic cop is just as illegal. Just tell the truth and you should be fine.
2
It's a minefield ONLY for someone with major crimes to hide.
It's a perjury trap ONLY for someone who cannot help but perjure.
3
There is some confusion about these leaked questions. These are the questions that Trumps lawyers anticipate and they made a list. Then they leaked them. These are not Muellers questions. Sometimes this is properly explained other times not. Please, let’s get this right.
2
Good point - these were written and leaked by Trump's lawyers.
2
Of course he will never answer Mueller’s questions. Trump—if he can hold onto a lawyer long enough—will take it to the Supreme Court as a last resort. It’s his nature, and how he’s always viewed his privilege to use lawyers as fixers when he gets in a jam. All the will-he-won’t-he chatter just builds the drama for the inevitable. Or, Mueller nails him without needing his testimony, and it becomes a Republican will-they-won’t-they drama.
2
Trump has an "legal obligation" to answer Mr. Mueller's questions.
It is only a "minefield" if:
a) Trump and his campaign are guilty of conspiring with Russia or its interlocutors regarding the past Presidential election.
b) Trump has laundered money for corrupt &/or foreign entities
c) Trump or his interlocutors have conspired to gain election funding or things of value from foreign nationals or entities
d) Trump thinks he can spin facts already verified by those who have already pleaded guilty
e) Trump has used Michael Cohen for illegality over the duration of the Trump-Cohen relationship
If none of the above is true it should be smooth sailing for DJT.
2
It wouldn't be a minefield if Trump had not told lies and had run an aboveboard campaign and presidency.
3
"With 48 questions like that, that's honestly a two-day interview. That's 12 hours of Questioning."
Pffft! Hillary Clinton was subjected to 11 hours of questioning over Benghazi in just one day. Wassamatter, Trump hasn't got the stamina and sharpness of mind that Mrs. Clinton has? Even though he would have the world believe he is Superman?
8
I think a subpoena to the Grand Jury is a much better way to go. Of course finding out what closet the President is hiding in might make serving the subpoena an interesting reality show.
2
If Trump desn't testify it's because he's taking the Fifth. That is a huge matter. No President has ever taken the Fifth.Trump's decision to go that route would express a fear in talking to law enforcement and a refusal to be frank with the American people. Maybe Democrats have become desensitized to Trump's inappropriate behavior. there is no arguing that taking the Fifth is perfectly appropriate for an ordinary citizen. But the President has an obligation to be open and frank with the American people. In my opinion all Trump's lies are not as disturbing as his decision to take the Fifth. He is acting appropriately for a common criminal. But he needs to act appropriately for a President. We're not talking about the size of his innauguration crowd. We're talking serious felonies. The Democrats will make a big mistake if they don't attack Trump aggressively on this matter. It is the single most disturbing thing the man has ever done.
1
As much as a think Trump is an awful human being, I question whether anything will come of this investigation. This is just a part of a kangaroo court. Did anyone question Reagan about Iran Contra? I don't remember it. Why Trump then? The GOP cares about winning but not about the integrity of the voting system. Getting Russia to help to rig or sway an election, meh? Our so called democracy is a sham. The very fact that the GOP has a systematic plan to keep opponents from voting is more dangerous than anything Trump and his pal Putin have done.
Bush 41 pardoned all the people involved in the scheme to lead Iran's revolutionaries down the primrose path to getting invaded by Iraq after strangling Carter with the embassy hostages.
Ronald Reagan was questioned about Iran-Contra. He didn't lie during that investigation. Don't President Reagan into this mess, President Reagan, in my opinion, was a vastly better president than the current occupant.
1
Let him have his day in court
So is "news analysis" equivalent to opinion?
https://abovethelaw.com/2018/05/jay-sekulow-wrote-those-questions-he-rea...
Jay Sekulow wrote and leaked the questions as reported by NBC yesterday and at the above site. We are waiting for the NYTs to get up to speed.
And, Rachel Maddow names Jay Sekulow as author of questions last night.
3
Nothing better to observe than an idiot who thinks he is a genius.
8
This President is simply a global blight and embarrassment.
7
Reasons for Trump to avoid talking to Mueller:
1. The devil's in the details and we know about Trump and details
2. Maybe Mueller is smarter than Trump
3. Maybe Trump is guilty
4. It's often better to keep your mouth shut and appear a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it.
7
Interesting number of opposing comments with relatively uninformed arguments ...
2
President Donald Trump. You won't impeach him. Go back to genuflecting to Obama. Yup, President Trump.
Aren’t there at least 50 questions for Muellee to answer under oath?
Are you talking about Obama?
The Vile One would, in theory at least, have 3 choices in an interview with Mueller: he could lie about everything, he could lie about some things, or he could engage in some combo of lying and truth-telling. All 3 would be damning to him, and as to the last, he would be incapable, as a practical matter, likely having had no experience in his 71 years of ever being totally truthful.
3
D
I'm comforted by the thought that due to his unconscious assumption of privilege, lack of any understanding of our government, and ceaseless need to aggrandize himself, Trump has made it clear to see what he is doing. The fact that the repubs are so scared of his power over their constituency means it will be difficult for them to engage in denial. They have lost anything resembling morals and in future elections will be campaigning with something worse than egg on their face.
But what if a truly brilliant, devious person were in the white house during this time of partisan divide and voter apathy? He might get a bit further along the road than Trump, it would take longer to undue the damage. Democracy works very slowly.
Let's finish this; we have a lot of work to do in this country.
4
Is there no hope for brilliance without deviousness?
President Trump will most likely go to the interview with Robert Mueller even though he is being advised to not go.
President Trump thinks he is brilliant and will have no problems because he considers he knows everything. Trump considers Mueller, and everyone else, are way below his level of intelligence so Mueller will not cause him to make any statements that will get him in trouble.
5
The questions, prepared by Trump lawyers, are about Trump actions. As such, why would he need extensive preparation?
1
Last night I watched a Netflix special where the comedian referred to Trump in the White House as "having a horse loose in a hospital".... the funniest bit on Trump I've seen yet! Hysterical.
2
The writing's on the wall. If Trump refuses to meet with Mueller's team then he will be subpoenaed and required to appear before a grand jury. It could take several more months, but Trump will eventually get booted from the White House, and will easily go down as the most corrupt president in US history.
5
I think a Subpoena to appear before the Grand Jury is the best route. This way Ordinary Citizens can decide what is true and what are lies.
4
What is astounding to me is that Trump et al. actually thought that none of this would ever come out. We know about the Trump Tower meeting. We know about the phony statement crafted aboard Air Force One. I am an eternal optimist and I have to believe that we will know the rest before all is said and done. He is the President of the United States, for crying out loud; did he not consider that his every move would be heavily scrutinized in this role? He may have gotten away with a lot of things in his life, but he will not get away with whatever it is that comes out in the end (and I am willing to bet, there will be something). We cannot let him.
5
People voted for Trump without even wanting to see his tax returns. Who can blame him for feeling special?
1
If I were Trump, I'd delay, delay, delay. Make Mueller subpoena me, then take it to the Supreme Court. By that time, Trump may have had a chance to appoint another Supreme Court Justice. The clock is running..... if any of the Trump/Russia mess goes to the Court, and if Trump gets to nominate a justice who will flip the Court before then....wow. And if Mitch McConnell has any role, he will do what's best for Trump/Republicans. All of this is yet another reason to vote for Democrats in November.
3
As a fledgling attorney, one of the first lessons in trial advocacy is, "Never ask a question to which you do not know the answer."
Mr. Mueller is very likely to have the answers to all the qiestions he wishes to pose to Mr. Trump. The reason for getting responses from Trump himself are to assess Trump's position(s) and make a legal record of them.
4
But.. but.. but... Trump is a "stable genius". All he has to do is tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the trust... like the rest of us do. No problem. Right?
3
What does Trump have to worry about? He has "one of the great memories of all time." I'm sure all his answers will be precise, accurate and truthy. Or not.
Some other great quotes come to mind, too.
"You can't handle the truth."
"What, me worry?"
3
"Mr. Mueller’s questions are so broad that Mr. Trump would need a detailed command of a range of issues."
That is a quite a joke.
Unfortunately, the joke that is Trump is not all that funny to many Americans who care about the credibility, integrity, and prospects for our representative democracy.
2
A president should not be subjected to prosecutorial scrutiny over poor judgment, venality, bad taste, or policy disputes. Absent concrete evidence that the president has committed a serious crime, the checks on the president should be Congress and the ballot box — and the civil courts, to the extent that individuals are harmed by abusive executive action. Otherwise, a special-counsel investigation — especially one staffed by the president’s political opponents — is apt to become a thinly veiled political scheme, enabling the losers to relitigate the election and obstruct the president from pursuing the agenda on which he ran.
That is what we are now witnessing.
3
What you describe is not what anyone not watching Fox News is witnessing.
4
Trump lost by 3 million popular votes in multi-candidate race where no candidate won a majority of the votes cast. His legitimacy problem follows directly from his failure to call for a run-off election. He has no mandate for his reign of nihilism.
1
"Mr. Dowd become even more convinced, the person said, that allowing the president to be interviewed would be a problem.
Mr. Dowd quit in March after he advised Mr. Trump that sitting down with investigators would put him in too much jeopardy...."
Why? If he hasn't done anything wrong, if he has nothing to hide, why would answering the questions be "a problem"?
2
This process of criticizing everything, everyone, and every government agency, news outlet, social and charitable organizations, opposition politicians, even the military, and military officers is exactly how the Nazis took over Germany. They got Hitler elected on those grounds and then, one by one, they undermined the public's faith in every institution in the country. In fact, every dictator across the globe followed the exact same game plan. Here it comes folks, to our very own country. It's the truth that sets us free and we have had precious little of that since Trump settled in our White House!
77
Please be clear about who exactly wrote the questions and how the Times obtained them. This lack of clarity is disturbing.
9
You don't find the "lack of clarity" from the president disturbing? And you want the NY Times to expose the source to the vitriol of the president and his supporters? Other than Trump, who benefits from that disclosure?
2
Ya' think? Donald Trump, with his tendency toward poorly-considered remarks, under oath, and in a room with people determined to find some reason to hang him.
4
What nonsense.
You investigate after a crime takes place.
Not go look for a crime.
Too bad Trump doesn't fire everyone and tell the US attorneys to start prosecuting all those involved in this manufactured to do.
The conspiracy and corruption includes the top levels of the Justice Department and the US Media.
3
Unless a criminal is caught in the act, every crime begins as allegations. If we don't investigate the allegations, how would we know whether a crime took place? Your argument makes no sense. If we followed your reasoning, finding a dead body would not instigate an investigation into the death unless it was clearly obvious the person had been murdered. Your argument has no relation to reality as far as how investigations work and how they get initiated.
2
Trump alone can broker world peace, so heck yeah, the whiner can sit for this. Bring it, so he gets to prove his stamina. Mr. T for testosterone.
5
Any field where Trump is required to tell the truth is going to be a minefield for Trump. Not only is he a liar, he is a bad one. He can't remember what lies he's told from one year to the next.
That fact doesn't really matter to the folks who purchased this POTUS, or those so set on a Xtian Theocracy that they would sleep with the Devil to have it. They just wish he weren't quite so embarrassing.
It does, however, matter to me.
9
Times: 'He [Trump] also incorrectly declared both that none of the questions were about “collusion” ...'
Trump is right when he says that "you have a made up, phony crime, Collusion, that never existed".
There is no such crime a "collusion". My source is James Comey, who said so on the PBS NewsHour.* The Times should stop lying about a non-existent crime.
* Apr 30, 2018.
5
Its a description of a process or relationship ... there will be many crimes contained within this ...
1
You must have only been listening half the time to that PBS interview. Try listening all the time next time, it will help you a lot.
1
It's only a minefield if you're a liar. Also, Trump is a liar.
11
Uh...because he lies like a rug.
3
Why is the NYT warning Trump about the pitfalls of an interview with Muller? Let Trump speak for himself and the world will soon become a safer place for me and you.
6
Enough of all the niceties and accommodations for Trump. The narcissistic, mentally ill demagogue had trashed our democracy and institutions enough. Serve the subpoena and whatever else can be legally thrown at him!
7
Why answering Mueller’s questions could be a minefield for Trump?
a. Because Trump is an idiot
b. Because Mueller is not an idiot
c. All of the above
10
There's really nothing new about this. We've been here before, and we'll be here again. Trump is the spiritual successor to Boss Tweed.
2
Trump is under no obligation to answer Mueller's questions. It is a fishing expedition looking for a technical "gotcha." It is time to fire Mueller and quit this charade.
3
That statement might work except for Trump's reputation, which is most notable for the lying and cheating, followed closely by his rather pitiful attempts to have better people believe they are less, not more, than he.
2
I understand the need to use our 'inside voices' on this matter but can we get to the pith here and state the obvious: This is about the truth.
Blaming anyone but Mr. Trump and his proxies for this situation completely shifts accountability. Our current president is in legal jeopardy because he lies. Frequently. It's not a "trap" or a "minefield" for criminal investigators to ask questions about a crime.
Mr. Trump faces two choices: 1) Answer questions, under oath, in a manner consistent with his public comments. If Mr. Trump were to answer the FBI's questions, under oath, the same way he would speak to the press or public, he will perjure himself because lying under oath, as opposed to lying from behind a lectern or on Fox & Friends, is illegal. A crime. 2) Alternately, Mr. Trump could decide to answer the questions, honestly, under oath. If Mr. Trump is innocent of all crimes, as he claims, this would be the preferred option. However, Mr. Trump will not choose this option either because in answering honestly, under oath, he will incriminate himself.
Those are his legal choices: Lie and perjure himself or tell the truth and incriminate himself. Unsurprisingly, given these choices, he is going another direction trying to stop, sabotage, and discredit the investigation and the investigators.
How about this: Let all the facts come out and let the American people judge for themselves.
8
All the more reason for the President not to agree to be questioned by Mueller. Mueller is doing a great job of destroying his own investigation. Trump should just let him continue.
2
Time to end this nonsense. It should have been ended 6 months back! Trump was democratically elected. There are so many very significant global events happening/about the happen.
2
No, in a true democracy the person with the most votes wins. Your faith in a liar and a cheat to help us through difficult times is sadly misplaced.
2
Shaping up to be an interesting battle that will have implications far beyond the Trump presidency.
3
The fascinating thing about all of this is to picture President Trump being grilled for several hours, and having to provide sometimes complex answers to dozens of questions--and in each case to do something he's terrible at, to give the EXACT TRUTH, with no hedging, embellishment, self-promotion, or, let's be honest, the flat-out lying he's addicted to. What make this more challenging is that for many of the questions Director Mueller probably already knows the truthful answer and has evidence of that truth. So the scenario here is that President Trump gets into some new trouble not because of anything he's done in the past but because he's incapable of telling the truth in this kind of setting. If he was smart he'd have his lawyer at his side, and he would quietly review each answer before providing it, but this is something he is probably too vain to bring himself to do.
1
What about his income tax reports which nobody has seen yet? Wouldn't they. possibly, reveal some information about money exchanged (back and forth) with
Russia that he has been trying to hide all this time? Isn't all this about his connections (in every possible way) going way back before the election and on up to the present? Certainly this would supply a lot of the missing information
up until now. Maybe Mueller has this already?
2
Again, is it a crime even if Trump et al had discussions or meetings with the Russians or ANYBODY? Cite the law or the statue that defines that as a crime. It's only a crime if the accused party, in conjunction with said foreign government, conspire to affect the outcome of the elections. Any proof of that? I think we know the answer. Mueller is trying to entrap vis a vis his recollection of events. Well known thug police tactic that is used all the time.
What a colossal waste of our of time and money.
4
Ah, yes, the same thug police tactics that fueleld dozens of time wasting Benghazi investigations. What a colossal waste of our time and money
1
President Trump has for decades a reputation and credibility issues ,and America knows about it . There is no surprise for president 's Attorneys to be concerned about questioning by Special Counsel . The big Lies on record estimated at three thousands , likes of the presidential Tweets , Q & As and other forms of messaging on hundreds of issues during the last 16 months would implicate him. The cover up of Sins ( Lies ) if any always lead to worst results and situations . Compared with Lie in it self does i. e. , obstruction of justice , conspiracy , collusion and others. What do you think ?
1
Time to leave Trump alone so he can run the country.
Let's talk more about Francis Crozier instead.
2
(Efforts to obstruct an investigation can be prosecuted even if no underlying crime is found.)
Like going to jail for trying to rob an empty bank. How embarrassing is explaining that to your fellow cellmate?
There can be no doubt that Dem lawyers have advised all relevant campaign people that everything descends from a Dem win across the country, through both houses of Congress, come November. Without that, the Congress will do nothing, no matter what Mueller does.
2
Could be a minefield? LOL!!! Will absolutely be one. While this whole collusion thing is a joke it still has to run it's course. Unfortunately the interview is under oath so President Trump can easily get strung up for saying something wrong even if nothing wrong happened.
1
The real danger to Trump and his Republican enablers in an interview is to expose how little our president understands the issues facing our country today, from trade, healthcare, infrastructure ,Middle East peace, war, what have you. We have a fraud sitting in the White House who is being played by special interest groups, both domestic and foreign. There is a good reason the Russians wanted him elected while most educated Americans didn't.
10
The noose is tightening on con-man Trump.
And everyone involved must know that Trump is utterly intellectually incapable of answering the proposed questions. What a state of affairs for the U.S Presidency.
These days he is mainly flailing out in campaign-style outbursts with his face and lips rounding into screaming "no collusion", "no collusion".
Special Counsel Mueller must use every lever available—subpoena, even indictment—in an effort to finally persuade our Congress to relieve the country of this menace and blight.
3
An interview with Mueller would catastrophic for DJT.
So I hope he does it.
Mueller knows lots of complicated and detailed information that would twist DJT in knots and likely lead to DJT freely admitting to a serious crime while under oath.
The difference is that in the past DJT could always surround/insulate himself with bunches of lawyers. He cannot do that any longer since he was (s)elected.
Mueller is practically daring DJT to a meeting. I am not sure that DJT can resist the dare too much longer.
5
Trump has had a guilty mind going back at least as far as the pre-election questions about whether he paid federal taxes in recent years, and his refusal to prove that he had. And all the rest of this has developed from that circumstance.
3
Mueller has that certain "Kerry" look--a craggginess of features which might well signify experience and wisdom but which is betrayed by a certain deer-in-the- headlights look in his eyes. Like Kerry I think that, despite all his other qualifications, Mueller is ill-equipped mentally to exercise common sense and good judgment in his prosecutorial efforts. Soon it will be time to step in and tell him he needs to go to a quiet place, perhaps a sanitarium, where he can no longer be a harm to himself or others.
2
What if the Trump campaign was the recipient of good fortune simply because the Russians disliked Hillary Clinton as much as our own conservatives? Putin could not pass up the opportunity to give Hillary a black eye and put someone incompetent in the White House. A brilliant, destabilizing win-win. You have to admire this.
But while the chants of no collusion occupy talk radio, some savvy people are worried. It's the boring things the accountants uncover along the way that are the problem. Al Capone was wildly charismatic and had a large following. But in the end it was the accountants who got him.
1
Advice to anyone: NEVER, EVER answer questions from the FBI. If you state even the least inconsistency in your conversations with an FBI agent, it could be designated as "lying to the FBI," which is a crime. And often, that is their object: to entrap you in an inconsistency. So, anyone who imagines they can communicate to the FBI risk-free is sadly mistaken. There is nothing to be gained in speaking to them and everything to lose. Let a court subpoena you if there is a legitimate need for your testimony to serve the cause of justice.
2
Here's an even better piece of advice, don't do anything that would cause the FBI to question you.
After all Trumps pronouncements he has done nothing wrong and at times his seemingly eager desire to volunteer to be questioned by Mr. Mueller how would he say no without disgracing himself, again!
Talk is cheap reality is dead.
"Why Answering Mueller’s Questions Could Be a Minefield for Trump"
They are a minefield because Mueller is about to expose all the morally-questionable, possible criminal activities that Trump has conducted for years. And obviously Trump doesn't want anyone to know the truth. Sad that we need an article to state the obvious.
The truth will out.
2
So far, Muller hasn’t indicted anyone for things they did as members of the Trump campaign or the Trump administration. He charged Michael Flynn and George Papadopoulos with lying to FBI investigators during post-election interviews. Michael Flynn did not violate the Logan Act by telling the Russian ambassador that Russia should not overreact to sanctions imposed by the Obama administration. Papadopoulos violated no election laws by attempting—unsuccessfully—to arrange meetings with Russians said to have incriminating information about Hillary Clinton. But Flynn said he did not discuss sanctions with the Russian ambassador while Papadopoulos falsely stated he met a Maltese professor before rather than after he was appointed as a campaign advisor. Their crime was making false statements during FBI interviews; if they had been no interviews, there would have been no crimes. So why should Trump agree to an interview? If Mueller has evidence Trump committed a crime, let him file charges.
This is a beautiful article by Mr. Savage; it captures the salient points of why trump is inadequate for the role he now holds.
The key statement of the article addresses the central tenet of presidential requirements, that a president “need[s] a detailed command of a range of issues.” Trump has proven again and again, he is not mentally up to the task. But should that absolve trump from the rule of law?
The fact that his attorney’s KNOW that trump does not have this capacity tells you that even his attorneys know trump fails the job requirement expected of the individual holding the office of president; let alone, sitting before a court and answering questions under oath.
Although, trump didn’t have any problem swearing an oath to uphold the Constitution. Why should trump not be held that that oath?
And the reason “complicating efforts to try to adequately prepare [trump] for [testifying], the president’s lawyers do not know everything that the special counsel has learned” and that Is because “…the president has a history of telling demonstrable falsehoods…”
“Mr. Dowd had argued that Mr. Trump was too busy running the country to sit for an interview…” Oh, would that were true!
Instead, trump’s penchant for constant television watching, tweeting, holding endless campaign rallies, golfing, visiting his own properties and vacationing make sitting for an interview an inconvenience.
Inconvenience does not place trump above the law.
5
What is wrong with the NYT? While I agree with the analysis, why would you print a primer for trump (I never capitalize trump) to you so he and his legal team can prepare for what may come of a session with Mueller? To sell papers?
How about an article challenging his great ego so he WILL sit down with and chat?
1
It baffles to think that the majority of the Republicans lawmakers do not realize what is happening right now. A sitting President is publicly threatening the DOJ where most of the senior members are Republicans. This is clearly not a war between the Democrats and the Republicans, it is about those that are loyal to the President and those that are not.
With this President, you do not ask questions, you just submit. Americans voted for a guy who refuses to disclose his tax returns, a President who writes his own medical findings, a President who has his family members in top positions, President who makes and breaks policy on social media, President who makes fun of the disable, mocks women, and appoints not qualified but loyal people. How can any of these lawmakers look in the eye of their constituents and say “He is the best man to lead us, to take this country forward”. We can all be keyboard warriors but nothing will change until people start showing up in the voting booth.
4
Well, wouldn't it be a surprise if after the outcome of next couple of elections that Congress, who must fund Ukraine's aid, takes a contrary stand. Then, it is not just up to Trump. It is up to Congress.
Further, is there a basis to subpoena Skadden Arps for the documents it produced, to confirm whether or not they are subject to attorney client privilege?
Times: "Mr. Mueller replied that he had to question Mr. Trump to determine whether he had criminal intent when he took actions like firing Mr. Comey ..., the person [briefed on the encounter] said."
There are constitutional problems with finding "criminal intent" in the firing of an executive branch official by the President, so the Times should not be using an unnamed sources for claims about what Mueller said.
As it is, the Times appears to be facilitating politically-motivated smears of the President.
7
Just out of curiosity, what did you call Trump's "Birtherism" over where President Obama was born? I'd like to benchmark your ethics.
Mr. Trump is an example of what the rich in this country get away with on a daily basis. The rest of us must be kept in check. I think that's how the story goes.
13
Perhaps Mr. Trump would have more time to sit for an interview if he'd skip one of his weekly golf trips?
12
"Mr. Dowd had argued that Mr. Trump was too busy running the country to sit for an interview"
Wouldn't want to cut into his Fox and Friends time, or make him miss a round of golf at Mar-a-Lago.
20
Why do all the news outlets have to be instrumental to warning Trump? Don't they think he'll take heed of all their warnings? They should be encouraging him to testify. I did see one editorial somewhere doing just that.
Anchor after anchor and headline after headline warns how he shouldn't testify. It really diminishes the chances of him doing so. I know you guys want to be right but can't you frame it in another way for God's sake?
9
Although it is fascinating to read this list of questions and the analysis provided by the knowledgeable journalists, I think it was a bad idea to publish these before the [likely] interview. How much lead time did 45 get? How much prompting will he get for responding to the questions? It seems to be a situation heavily slanted in 45's favor. Let him sink or swim on his own.
Most important is that *the law must be brought to bear on the President!* He should bear the consequences of his actions. The GOP, motivated by their wanting to keep their jobs, must stop shielding him, for the sake of the country and the world.
Meanwhile, we must ensure that the investigation will go smoothly to its ultimate conclusion—which I hope will be well before the midterm elections!
2
The only things anyone should say to any law enforcement are: "am I free to go?, I don't consent to any search, I wish to remain silent and invoke my fifth amendment protections, and I want counsel." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE
It's the only protection you have, even if totally innocent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCVa-bmEHuQ
Any information you give will be used against you, and can be used to frame you. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/nyregion/man-framed-by-new-york-detec...
Speaking to law enforcement when guilty is arrogant and when innocent is foolish, so...
3
I am tired of reading multiple stories about „Trump“ whenever I open the NYT. I understand that there is some reciprocal aversion. But please consider your international readers for a moment who would expect news not gossip when reading a high level newspaper. Thank you.
7
I don't know about you, but I think the President of the United States committing atrocities against the people of this country is far from gossip. Gossip is tabloid material. Sure, Trump was once a celebrity, but he is now the President (as unfortunate as that may be for all of us). We are way past gossip.
4
The answers to the questions asked by the coup-plotter Mueller were known on Day 1: no collusion, no obstruction of justice. The only “crime” committed is a leftist coup
3
But Mueller and Comey were Republicans, how is this a leftist coup?
3
The questions, leaked by the White House itself or the Trump legal team, tell us that Mr. Mueller is investigating the president himself for criminal wrongdoing. He is both subject and target of the investigation.
If Mr. Dershowitz is now acting as a consultant to Mr. Trump, then Dershowitz must be quoted from now on, here and elsewhere, as a Trump advocate.
Trump's dishonesty and erratic behavior are giving his lawyers difficulty. Trump should not, however, be permitted to escape justice because of them. The law and the Constitution make no allowance for those factors.
8
Dear NYT: Jay Sekulow wrote the questions. Please confirm and report this. It makes a difference.
13
Where are all the branch donaldians of the 7th day trumpetists with their appeal to hypocrisy fallacies?? Not a single "but Hillary"? SAD!
Trump is above the law. Indeed, he is above the country. Who are we the people to tell him otherwise.
Tump is leveraging the executive branch, legislative branch controlled by extremists, FOX News, National Enquirer, Sinclair, NRA, Russians and a minority of Americans that are his base against our nation’s law enforcement agency that is headed by a trump crony. Muller may have the law and the facts on his side, but those two are meaningless under trump and Republicans.
Trump is too busy watching FOX or playing golf to be interviewed - truly presidential.
Next trump will close the House after the 2018 elections and install a new one modeled after the one in Venezuela. Who is going to stop him? Republicans?
At least Ken Starr would be investigating the pee pee tape, porn stars, and women grabbing incidents.
If trump actually shot someone on Fifth Ave, Republicans would be falling all over themselves to obstruct justice as they are doing now. So it does not matter what crimes Mueller proves trump has committed.
“exercise constitutional powers” like the power we all have of freedom of speech - is it ok use the power of speech to con someone out of money?
6
Oh, all this examination of why Trump is kicking and screaming is ridiculous. He's holding onto posts by his fingernails trying to avoid the truth coming out and prosecution of various of his campaign staff and family. He's not just evading prosecution, he's evading and obstructing the investigation itself. That's worse. Only someone guilty could be so obsessed with keeping the truth from being discovered.
9
What President Trump should do is
resign and then he could play, even more
than he does now, the biggest victim on the
face of the earth, and then martyrdom.
He and his fans could luxuriate, or marinate,
in that for years.
The alternative (criminal indictment) not as pleasant
or satisfying.
5
During the Clinton impeachment the Republicans constantly pontificated about the "rule of law," but there is a higher one--the rule of common sense which the Republicans ignored then and the Democrats are ignoring now. The more Mueller goes off on every legal tangent and technicality to make his case, the more of a fool he proves himself to be to the American people who are the final judge.
1
It's not up to Trump whether Trump talks to Mueller. It's up to Mueller whether Trump talks to Mueller.
If Trump agrees voluntarily, then he can talk to Mueller with his lawyer present. If Trump doesn't agree, then Mueller can compel him in front of a grand jury without counsel present.
6
A minefield I wouldn't mind watching go off....only in these circumstances.
Now question is, WHEN will Congress say it's enough and put an end to this puerile, vomitous toddler in office?!
6
Trump has no shame and is beyond embarrassment. He has his fanatic zombie supporters who are the only people he cares about retaining. So, let us say that Democrats win both the House and the Senate in November. It would still take a majority of the House and 2/3 of the Senate to impeach him. In the wildest of fantasies, this will not happen, and Trump will never resign.
We are stuck with an incompetent crook in the White House. The only thing we can do is deprive him of a Republican majority in Congress and try to curb his crazy idiotic moves that are destroying our social fabric, our judicial system, our economy and our foreign relations.
Please, America. Vote in November, and get rid of the GOP sycophants who are allowing this debacle to continue.
14
How bad are things? Well Mr. Trump's challenges to propriety, competence and honesty are pretty clear to anyone with the faintest clue. The measure of how bad things are is the abundant number of folks who are ready to go to great lengths to still support him, including especially the many knowing politicians and elite others only too happy to bend the truth and the law for him. I respect Mr. Mueller greatly but have faint hope he can make a difference with so many plastic politicians. It remains for the electorate to deal decisively with Trump, assuming enough can see past the fog of Fox news and Facebook.
5
+ voter suppression and gerrymandering
Enough! End this witch hunt. Robert Mueller found nothing wrong and is now inventing things. He should have the decency and the professionalism to stop abusing his prosecutorial powers and let Donald Trump get on with his presidency without the cloud of this investigation hanging over him.
This reminds me of the low point of the Joe McCarthy hunt for communists. Didn't we learn a lesson from that?
3
How do you know Mueller found nothing wrong, none of us know what Mueller (the Republican) knows.
2
trump's legal team had to leak the questions to the media so someone on cable tv would read them to him. He certainly could never have read that much on his own. They must think that he channel surfs because he'll not learn about it from cluster Fox.
9
Nothing is going to happen because the Republicans have a choke hold on the government. The USA lost its democracy when it this guy into office.
4
Remember the old lawyers’ axiom: “Never ask a question you do not already know the answer to.” By now Robert Mueller almost certainly knows whether or not President Trump is guilty of any crimes. Despite the president’s bellicose style, Mr. Mueller will be comparing his testimony to actual, documented facts.
Along with the possibility that he has actually committed crimes, the peril for the president is his poor character as evidenced by his demonstrated tendency to lie. For the sake of our republic, I am hopeful that Mr. Mueller’s process will reveal the truth whatever that turns out to be.
5
"Minefield"? Why use THAT word? The Donald can't speak in whole sentences, let alone not contradict himself. Minefield, no. Goldmine, yes!
6
Dear Jess: Not so sure this guy needs dirtying up.
1
I catch myself thinking that Robert Mueller's inquiry will make a contribution to "reestablishing political equilibrium" in this country - a process that can only be truly completed by the electorate. And then I think again, take a good look at what's going on in this country and conclude that whatever partial equilibrium may have existed previously is now irretrievably broken. Good luck Mr. Mueller. Good luck America. You'll need it.
3
I don't understand why you used this headline. Of course, it's a minefield for Trump -- or anyone else who lies every time he opens his mouth. Has anyone ever known Trump to be honest?
5
Trump was trained on how to be deposed by Roy Cohen. he will do just fine.
3
Trump, the coward that he is, will never agree to answer to a sit-down, except for two things:
1. A subpoena (subject to the Department of Justice green light)
2. A challenge by the media either by CNN's Don Lemon calling him a coward or Fox's Sean Hannity praising his innocence with the promise of Neilsen-busting ratings.
In the event that the coward sits down, I hope the opening minutes unfold like this:
Q: "Mr. President, a lot of people are saying that you have a very poor memory, the poorest ever of memories among all American president, that you cannot recall things, that you even forget what you did yesterday. Is this true?
A: "I have the best memory! The best! I can remember everything. Everything! I have even better memory than Abraham Lincoln, who, by the way, is a Republican. Not many people knew that. Yes, I have the best memory! I can remember everything since I was in the womb."
Q: "For the record, Mr. President has just said he can remember everything. Now on the next question: When did you meet with the Russians and what was discussed?"
16
If it's a felony to lie to a federal prosecutor and Trump does so (which would undoubtedly happen because if he tells the truth he'll also be admitting to a crime), what then happens? Mueller presents these facts to Congress and they just sit on them and do nothing?
I can't see this current congress ever impeaching this president, which is more the reason to go out and VOTE in November. Sadly, we'll be stuck with another nut job in Pence, but at least we won't be subjected to this daily anxiety that 45 has created in our country.
The worst part of this all (and what keeps me up at night), is the fact that Trump will never actually go away. By giving him the presidency and legitimizing him, we are going to be stuck with him until he dies. With his "incredible health," who know when that will be.
9
He refers it to a grand jury or another prosecutor, as he did with the Cohen matter. It isn't rocket science. The Supreme Court will order Trump to obey the subpoena; the law on that was decided forty-five years ago.
And there's is no law that he can't be indicted in office. Do you think if he murdered somebody that they wouldn't indict him? Crime is crime.
2
At this point we have a Constitutional and legal crisis thanks to the minefield that trump and his ilk in Congress has set for Mueller.
Trump is slowly and assuredly consolidating his dictatorial powers.
7
...with the collusion of a corrupt, power-hungry party and a following that are willing to sacrifice the ideals of this country for the delusions of White superiority, entitlement and victimization.
Trump has many options.
1. Let Mueller's team question him.
For this he has two choices (both under oath):
a. a controlled list, time, and setting.
b. an isolated, uncontrolled set of questions without lawyers (grand jury)
Apparently everyone: Trump, all of his legal team, past, and present,
his entire staff, every member of the press, Fox News, etc. are certain
that Trump will lie, commit perjury, and/or confess to a wide variety of
criminal actions.
2. Plead the fifth amendment. This is a true confession of guild in this case.
3. Stonewall, and dare anyone in justice or the courts to do anything about it.
4. Declare that he has accomplished great things, resign, and let Pence pardon him. This would likely set off a pardoning cascade as the crimes by many others are brought to trial.
The long term outcomes depend on voters, and any existing morality in key players like Fox News, Justice department, and Republican leaders.
1. Kleptocratic Dictatorship: third-worlding the country as the planet burns.
2. A national revival, cleaning up some of the worst inequities, and moving to a more sustainable future while protecting at least some of the key low-lying areas.
3. Muddling along for a while, while the pressure builds and the planet continues to heat.
Republicans say: but our health care is better than Botswana at least in some states. Vote Republican so your ungrateful children can suffer!
3
Of course it's a minefield. His campaign was up to its elbows with the Ruskies (and their pals at Wikilieaks). This we know. Everybody in his administration has lied about their contacts with the Russians. Where are his tax returns? How much does he owe and to whom? Why is he so enamored with Putin? He associated himself with people like himself, sleazy hustlers like Manafort and his corrupt Russian oligarch pals. He wouldn't call it collusion because this was just business as usual. He'll never talk to Mueller, or if he did, he'd have to plead the fifth. There is no way he could talk his way out of this unless he pulled a Sessions and couldn't recall anything.
6
This is not about Russia anymore, they can’t find 'COLLUSION' by the President, so they are going after tripping up people to get them on technicalities. It has now turned into an expensive fishing trip by a heavily loaded Democratic lawyer inquisition. No matter Mueller finds, now they poisoned the well and any evidence will be thrown out of court.
1
Jay Sekulow wrote the questions. Oops. There goes your theory.
2
So now a requirement to tell the truth is "tripping up people to get them on technicalities". Please remind me for what was Bill Clinton impeached?
4
Fred Mertz, please share with us your thoughts about the expenditures of the Benghazi hearings.
3
Trump lies every time he opens his mouth. Being under oath for literally any reason would result in perjury. And isn't that why President Clinton was impeached?
Of course, Republicans won't impeach Trump until their own reelection chances are being harmed. As long as they're safe, they don't care what he says or does. In fact, they like it. President Trump takes all of the blame for doing the exact things they want done. Privatizing education, for-profit prisons, roll-backs of civil rights, religious right-to-discriminate laws...it's all good!
8
Would you knock it off with the “demonstrable falsehoods?” Newspaper style is supposed be direct, to the point, using the most accurate words to convey the message. That word is “lies.”
8
Trump opening his mouth about anything puts him into a minefield of his own making.
Unfortunately our utterly incompetent President is dragging the entire country through that minefield with him, and he’s stepping on landmine after landmine. What’s even scarier is Trump’s sycophantic followers are cheering about how great he is at walking, because he’s told them there is no minefield and the non-existent mines won’t hurt them.
Republicans are in an abusive relationship with Trump and they just can’t “quit” him. Their collective self-delusion and willful ignorance of reality is why America is rapidly sliding towards being second-world has-been, all because they refuse to accept that he has no idea what he’s doing. God help us all.
15
Apparently, Trump's lawyer, Ty Cobb resigned; a high-powered Washington lawyer who defended Bill Clinton during impeachment is coming on board. If Trump has nothing to hide, he's certainly upping the ante.
Funny how the rich and powerful can hire people who keep them out of prison; too bad for the rest of us.
11
It's astounding that our democratic republic lies in the hands of the Mueller investigation as we wait with bated breath, (except for those who cheer madly their false prophet), for confirmation of our disgust and distrust of a narcissist charlatan. The United States has withstood many threats by other inferior unscrupulous men who occupied the Oval Office, but non with the range of deceitfulness and demagoguery encapsulated in the personality of the present man who occupies the office.
11
Bob812 - our democratic republic lies in our hands. Election Day is November 6, 2018 and afterward we won't have to stand just gaping while only one man named Mueller stands between this country and the drain.
2
Trump pioneers the Twitter frontier.
The whole point is compulsive liar Trump's removal from office. a subpoena is the essential first step. When he perjures himself, he's done.
6
its only a problem if you're a criminal. Donald...are you a criminal?
7
Bigley
Reality check an beat goes on mean while government continues spend billions on imports further enabling corperations out source jobs pay living wage with are taxs
This nothing but another distraction an sensationalizing
The forecast for the Oval Office is very “Stormy.”
6
Over the months of Trump's presidency, we know he and his family has, and had, ties with Russia - during the campaign, financially, the odd relationship with Putin. What we don't know yet is whether, within these ties, he has broken actual the laws of our country. It seems that he, his lawyers, and so many members of Congress are not trying to reveal the truth - but they are, driven by obvious motives, all trying very hard to figure out ways to use our laws to ensure that the president isn't charged with any crimes, even if laws have been broken.
As I've listened and watched, I've often wondered if we need a change in our laws to cover dishonorable and illegal actions taken by the president, by his cabinet members, and by Congress. If we need changes in vetting and choosing our presidential candidates. If the electoral college is obsolete. I'm not that ideological to think that there haven't been times in our country when our democracy has been tested - but what is happening now seems far outside of anything we've seen before. The president cannot be above the law for any reason.
When our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution and laid the foundation for our democracy, I'm sure they thought that our country's leader would be a man of honor - which Trump is not. And that Congress would put country above party when necessary - which the Republicans have not. It may be time to modernize our laws to try to prevent this kind of abuse of power from happening again.
6
Seriously, folks, do any of us really believe that Trump will be forced out of office by this investigation? Do we really believe that a Republican controlled Congress would impeach this guy? Or that he will be convicted of any wrongdoing? Unfortunately, I think he'll be with us for the full term.
5
I fail to understand , why this inquiry hasn’t been concluded.If the plan is to impeach Trump , get at it.This ongoing CNN saga is not fair for the American people.
1
The over-the-top Starr investigation of Clinton took years, with dry hole after dry hole.
The probe of the venal Trump has barely cracked the year mark, with several guilty pleas and many indictments.
The rooting out of the extensive Trump crime syndicate will take time.
3
Our so-called president and his accomplices must be placed under some form of house arrest until the investigations are finished and charges have been filed This is unprecedented, but so are the levels of corruption, obstruction from the Trump Administration.
5
If Mr. Trump is planning to tell the truth, why does it matter what Mr. Mueller knows?
I do not think that Mr. Mueller is fishing for misdemeanors or benign traps. He must know by now that Trump supporters do not want to hear about the little things, anyway. My guess is that he is more interested in conspiracies against the US and corrupt money.
4
Given the gravity of Mr. Mueller's questions, the silence of our elected Republican representatives is deafening. However, given the harsh partisan times we live in, I suspect a few of them may stir from their tone deafness right after Tuesday, November 6th, 2018...
4
A special counsel never should have been appointed in this matter. Just so everyone understands, even if there were something "there," colluding to win an election is not a crime. Mr. Mueller's questions as published in the NYTimes make me think Mueller is desperate because he has found nothing. If he were an honest special counsel without an agenda, he would have ended this investigation months ago. However, because there is nothing there, Mueller moves to plan B. If he can get Trump to answer "incorrectly" under oath just once on any of these questions, Mueller has trapped Trump, who has now perjured himself, and the drama continues. Not impeachment though: that will never be confirmed by the Senate. In the end, this investigation is only hurting Democrats who will fair poorly in the midterm elections because this never-ending boondoggle has fired up the Trump-supporters that feel like their candidate was never give a chance.
2
Ahh-huh. Wrong.
An Important Person wrote this a long time ago: The Truth Shall Make You Free". What a line! What a goal! Why not give it a try, America????
4
As a cornered rat, he's not going to talk to Mueller, but will fire him instead. It's his only chance at freedom!
2
Anyone who understands Donald Trump would see his testifying under oath as a disaster. It is Trump who doesn’t understand Trump.
6
I am certainly not a fan or supporter of Trump. But I find it an interesting question whether Trump could just offer Mr. Mueller to answer the written questions also in writing. With a little help of his lawyers and some luck he might survive such an inquiry.
As has been stated, these are open-ended categories, not questions with answers that won’t be challenged, reworded, and asked again during Mueller’s meeting or subpoena’ed testimony .
1
The NYTs seems to think the dirt on Hillary Clinton angle is productive. Why would Trump need the Russians for that? He could read the NYTs and get plenty of dirt on Hillary Clinton. Trump's Twitter diatribes are a regular feature of Trump's presidency. If there is a more self contradictory person than Trump it would be difficult to find. Just look at the DACA story. Bringing up Ken Starr's marathon investigation of Whitewater shows how a special prosecutor can abuse his mandate. I'm sure Mueller is going to be continuing this investigation for years.
1
ok. then why did Dumbo Jr. and Jared Jailbird take a meeting with Putin's reps if the info they needed was so readily available?
1
WHAT dirt on Ms. Clinton? As far as I can tell, Starr & Co. switched to the 4-year-old semen stain because Whitewater was about the Clintons going to the aid of a dying friend, maddened by disease.
The Clintons deliberately lost money on the deal, because money isn’t everything to them.
The private nail server, which I would question your understanding of, was necessary because apparently the “black budget” agencies would not allow their encryption systems to be used by the State Department.
And it is a) necessary for the Secretary of State to be in 24/7 contact with her staff, and to have a backchannel allowing Alice to speak to Clinton without Ben finding out.
If you dont understand the ABCs of keeping data secret, I suggest picking up books by reputable authors in the field, Jim Bamford, David Wise, from the espionage pov,, many others onon computer systems.
Next Snoping?
What is wrong with this newspaper? It's supposedly an example of great journalism, and yet, repeatedly, its contributors seem compelled to use a clunky euphemism like "falsehoods" when "lies" will do. Why? Is this some sort of soft-pedal NYT policy?
9
Falsehoods are elements in larger schemes of dissimulation. Trump is an alternate reality, not just an alternate fact.
Gosh, how could it be a minefield? Trump has lied only 2,400+ times since taking the oath of office (ironic no?). Why would telling the truth be a problem for a man known to be a pathological liar, philanderer, crotch-grabber, on his third marriage, and only failed in business 5X to bankruptcy?
How this cretin was elected to the nations highest office is the issue.
12
when does Robert Mueller get to sit down and answer questions. for instance,
1. After Donald Trump interviewed you for the position of FBI director (and picked someone else) in May of 2017, did you think that there was a conflict of interest in accepting the appointment of special counsel?
2. when did you speak to James Comey, and what was discussed? Is James Comey a personal friend? what about Mccabe?
3. when did you first learn that the FBI was investigating the Trump campaign and how did you learn of it?
4. why did you pick Andrew Weisman to be part of the team of prosecutors?
5. did it matter that one of the prosecutors on your team, tweeted in support of Sally Yates actions in refusing to defend a lawful executive order regarding banning travel issued by Trump?
6. were you the FBI director when the US government approved the sale of Uranium One to Russians? did you express any concerns about the sale? at the time, were there any active investigations into bribery or racketeering by Russians relating to the US Uranium industry?
7. has the FBI or special counsel ever investigated Russian connections between Hillary Clinton campaign chairman and Russia?
8. why was Petet Sztrok not fired instead of just being demoted?
Just wondering.....
1
Mr. Mueller isn't under investigation. Even clicking your heels together three times isn't going to get your guy off of the hook, Dorothy.
6
@johnny: Still milking that debunked Uranium One story for all it's worth? That tells me everything I need to know about you. (Backed up by the rest of your questions.) Donald Trump is the one that is being investigated, not Mr. Mueller.
4
Ahhhh, the Right Wing Talking Points. Wondered when they crawl out from under their rock.
2
"....a list of forty questions. You can't make Trump read that much!!!" - Trevor Noah
7
There is something shady going on at the NYT. Does El Trumpo have dirt on them? I have the same feeling I had when they ran down Bernie during the campaign and ignored things about HRC.
NYT you have some explaining to do!
The telling Quote from the link-
"In the wake of the testy March 5 meeting, Mueller’s team agreed to provide the president’s lawyers with more specific information about the subjects that prosecutors wished to discuss with the president. With those details in hand, Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow compiled a list of 49 questions that the team believed the president would be asked, according to three of the four people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly. The New York Times first reported the existence of the list."
SO THIS IS NOT A LIST OF MUELLERS QUESTION'S for El Trumpo!
So why is the NYT asking and talking about "What does Mueller know?" instead of asking what are the answers to these questions Jay Sekulow thinks Mueller may ask? Why hide the source?
Or even better; Why has the NYT posted this whole story line as if the NYT had an inside line to Mueller creating the impression Mueller's team leaked?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mueller-raised-possibility-of-pr...
2
Mueller would indict the proverbial "ham sandwich" unless the "ham sandwich" is Hillary, DOJ or FBI officials who orchestrated this entire fraud on America because they just hate Trump.
1
Trump sure has taken us to new lows of oversimplification.
4
So the problem Trump's lawyers have is that their client is a lying moron?
10
Can we get someone less dumb and lazy to be president, soon, please? It is painful listening to such ignorant utterances and pretending he has something worth hearing to say. How long must this dumbing down of America go on?
3
POTUS should go for it! Sit down one-on-one with Mueller.
2
Collusion isn't a crime. That's why he keeps saying the word.
Obstruction is a crime. He's so screwed.
5
Collusion is a crime: treason.
US Code 18, 2381
“Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”
2
my read is that these questions were drafted by Trumps lawyer , based on areas the special counsel discussed. Does anyone know the source of the questions? Did they come from Trump 's lawyer? Does anyone think why they would be disclosed by Trump's lawyer? Perhaps to publicly create an excuse for Trump to go back on his promise to talk to the special counsel?
5
Jay Sekulow drafted them based on Mueller's areas of interest. They're broad because none of Trump's lawyers are fully aware of what Mueller already knows.
Presumably, Sekulow released them or caused them to be released. I'm not sure why the Times doesn't cite the source of the questions.
1
The noose tightens.
4
Questions for the NYT Investigative reporters:
How much in taxpayer funds has been expended on the Mueller investigation? How much more is estimated to be spent?
Assuming Trump is impeached, what is the likelihood of his removal from office via conviction by 2/3 of the Senate? Do you see any way Trump would resign before expiration of his term?
What is the likelihood a sitting President would be indicted by the Grand Jury? Do you foresee a criminal trial where a convicted President serves remainder of his term in jail?
If the Mueller investigation has only revealed unwitting participation of American citizens in furtherance of Russian meddling in the election, why, after all this time is collusion still on the table?
Assuming Trump Campaign-Russian collusion, what was the quid pro quo? What did Trump either do or promise to do for the Russians in return for their help?
Turning to obstruction, with the Fibbies McCabe and Comey accusing each other of untruthfulness, Comey grandstanding in his new book, what is the hit to their overall credibility? Why would anyone believe their testimony?
Going back to the 1st question, unless you're just a Trump hater, is all of this really worth it? Or just a futile attempt to remove a President who is very likely to serve out his term?
4
Yeah, I mean who cares about the rule of law, the Constitution and selling out America to the successor state of the USSR. As long as your taxes get cut, that whole democracy thing can take a hike. Right?
4
You don't get it. As one president once said, "The American people need to know whether their president is a crook." For Trump, we also need to know whether he's a traitor, conspirator, law-breaker and perjurer, among other possible offenses.
We know that Trump doesn't care about the rule of law. It seems that you don't either.
6
"Is all this really worth it?"
Oh yes. Yes, it is.
1
As a former prosecutor I can say this: Trump is crazy if he talks to Mueller. No defense attorney would advise that he do it.
Which means we are headed for a confrontation over a subpoena, if Mueller issues one.
6
Second best reply of the day on the Trump matter.
Imagine trump under oath and any and all subjects would lead to perjury. He has a proven record of lying way more then ever being truthful, about everything. So you ask about the crowd he had at the inauguration versus Obama, whoops! a lie. Pick any subject, let him answer, and you have perjury.
8
These were not questions to be taken literally. They were subject areas aka topics to be explored. Done the same thing myself in dozens of civil cases. SOP for attorneys.
3
They were written by Jay Sekulow anyway. Client prep.
Mr Trump would not need command of a lot of issues to answer the questions honestly. He would need honesty, a quality that he lacks.
He would also need the humility to admit what he does not know, which in his case is quite a lot. He lacks that, too.
4
"Mr. Mueller’s questions are so broad that Mr. Trump would need a detailed command of a range of issues." LOL
6
All the president needs a command of is speaking the truth. If he can’t handle that, or refuses to do so, then he is unfit to be president of the United States of America.
8
“Trump will change. Honest. That one time he punched America and democracy in the face was an accident. He’s really a good guy. Promise. He’ll change. He’s better now.”
(Republicans: Repeat the above manta each time Trump punches America in the face, which is basically on a daily basis.)
4
Let's face it Mueller already knows the answer to every question that he has for Trump. It will take less than ten minutes for him to commit perjury. This will be the first time in his life that he will actually have to tell the truth. I don't think he understands that.
5
Cautionary Note: Trump has been through tons of litigation and been deposed many times. He knows he'll have to tell the truth.
What he doesn't want is for us to hear his answers.
1
These questions are so wide ranging that it would be impossible for DT to provide answers consistent with what he has said before and then the FBI will claim he lied to a federal officer and that we have all learned is a felony. But, now a subpoena to a grand jury is being threatened. I am not sure you can compel a sitting president to testify on these matters. He might just say no to the subpoena and then what? Eric Holder ignored a subpoena from Congress. Nothing happened. I am no fan of DT, but it would be foolish of him to voluntarily attempt to answer Mr Mueller's questions. Let Mr Mueller go the subpoena route. Maybe DT will then simply decline to testify. I believe the 5th amendment is available even in grand jury proceedings. The fact is Mr Mueller has nothing on Trump ( so far) and all the pleas and other charges against others have no direct or even indirect effect on DT. But, if Mr. Cohen knows something and is turned, then DT will have trouble. But, even that seems unlikely. Bottom line is DT should ignore the goading of Mueller to answer questions, that is, if DT wants to remain in office. If he wants Pence to be President, then go meet with Mr Mueller.
1
"Mr. Dowd...advised Mr. Trump that sitting down with investigators would put him in too much jeopardy..."
It is conspicuous how Team 45 has said nothing of national security concerns, etc as they attempt to build a firewall around 45. Time and time again Team 45 makes this matter about the jeopardy 45 is and will be in for any deposition/testimony for Mueller. If 45 can't handle sitting for a deposition with Mueller, how could he ever be expected to successfully execute his many duties on behalf of this country?
2
She situation speaks volumes. We're not talking about "what is the meaning of is", we're talking about a real problem. Clearly, the trump goose is cooked and we're all just finding a path out.
Are they Muellers questions or a list questions that the Trump team compiled after speaking to Mueller?
And did the Trump legal team leak them and for what purpose?
For anyone interested this is an interesting article
https://lawfareblog.com/what-can-we-say-about-muellers-49-questions
A compulsive liar will violate the law when he talks with the FBI. He cannot admit to making any mistakes. Everything that goes wrong is someone else's fault and we all know that isn't always the case.
He has attempted to intimidate witnesses, has implied the use of his pardon power to impede the investigation, was complicit in creating a false story regarding his son's meeting with a Russian agent in his own building; and may have violated the election law with his lawyer's hush payment...and that is just a start of the first layer of this complicated onion that is about to be unpeeled in public.
Mr. Trump has a hard time keeping his story straight from one tweet to the next, it will be next to impossible for him to openly answer questions for any amount of time without contradicting himself.
2
“Mr. Trump would need a detailed command of a range of issues.”
Isn’t that to be expected of any president, not only those under investigation?
2
I think that is the point.
Trump has no command on any issue except himself and even then it's debatable.
1
I love you guys. I really do. But this was a useless article. You state early on that the problem in sitting for the interview is that Trump will likely lie, and thus perjure himself. True. You then suggest that there's some other reason, and point to the fact that Trump can't know exactly what Mueller already knows. True, but that's just another way of saying there's a good chance he'll get caught in a lie. Finally, you suggest that these "questions" are dangerous because they are so open-ended. This is a silly point, as you then acknowledge, as these are not the questions he'll be asked, but, rather, simply the topics on which he'll be questioned. He'll get much more specific questions about these topics. But, even then, specific or general, there is no danger in any of these questions. Rather, the danger is that he is likely to lie. In other words, your whole article just states the obvious -- it is dangerous for Trump to sit for an interview because he'll have to choose between telling the truth and potentially incriminating himself, pleading the fifth and looking guilty, or lying and potentially getting caught for perjury. None of your readers needed any of this to be pointed out.
We seem to be looking at this drama from Trump's point of view, as to what he has to do to escape the crushing jaws of Mueller's investigation, as if we're rooting for him to beat the rap. We ought to be looking at this from the people's point of view, and how we can succeed in bringing this horribly corrupt and unfit president to justice.
2
You call them "Mueller's" questions without qualification here. As the ones who leaked the questions, perhaps you know for certain that this is a list of questions submitted by Mueller's team to Trump's team? There is speculation that these questions are what the White House team thinks will be the questions. Only you know who you got the questions from but if you are misleading the public by implying that they are actually Mueller's questions when you know they are not, you are doing a disservice to the public and to journalism.
5
So now Trump is complaining that the investigation is interfering with his duties.
Simple answer to that, let Mueller question you and you won't have any duties any more.
An if we're lucky there will be free room and board supplied for you afterward.
2
Honest or not, Mr Trumps problem will be communicating in a clear, logical fashion whilst sticking to the point.
It will be easy for any lawyer to trip him up.
"Trump would need a detailed command of a range of issues."
That would be desirable in a president, period, but why would he bring to an interview capacities he hasn't demonstrated in his job?
2
During Watergate, Americans understood what the investigation was about, what was at stake, and ultimately what that meant for the country. This was as true for registered Republicans as it was for Democrats. Back then, we had a fourth estate of vetted journalists empowered by an establishment who understand and honored their significance. Today we have Fox News, and the political blogosphere where choose your own reality persuades voters. We have political forums and comment sections where 35-40% of the voting population disseminates nonsense about Benghazi and emails and Pizza Gate and the deep state with a great sense of authority. Yet, we have the very non-conspiratorial reality of a foreign adversary influencing our election process, a slippery President with a variety of shady connections to Russia, and multiple criminal indictments coming out of the White House.
The American public deserves to have Trump answer questions under oath in front of the world. I know it's a pipe dream, but it would certainly open the window and clear the smoke obfuscating the truth which has been created by a slippery president and a pseudo-media that does his bidding.
5
That.
The Very Stable Genius will never go in front of Mueller's team willingly. He'll eventually be compelled by subpoena to testify, after a bit of futile legal chicanery by his Best People. And then "we'll see"! Klieg lights on, hand, bible, fishing in barrel shall ensue. Checkmate.
Trump was actually rather prescient when he stated . "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, okay, and I wouldn't lose any voters, okay?"
My question now is: if he were to actually shoot someone on Fifth Avenue would he still be dodging the bullet the same way he is now?
No, I am serious. If this president were to murder someone would he be able to take the same actions he is taking now to evade justice?
4
with this president I believe the answer is,regretfully,yes.
1
Subpoena Trump and let's get this "constitutional crisis" going.
The Special Counsel has a vast amount of enough to recommend charges against the whole Trump family.
Just do it.
The author asks "whether obstruction of justice can occur if a president exercises a constitutional power with a bad motive, like firing a subordinate to cover up a crime". Aside from the pejorative slant to the question, the author broadly raises the key issue that must be settled: whether obstruction can occur if the president fires a subordinate who does not listen to him, regardless of motive. Because there is no suggestion of any crime at this point, just investigations. And wanting to stop investigations in pursuit of a crime is what may have taken place here.
1
Why should we care? It’s a simple thing to do. It’s what we ask of everyone.
"If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear!" said every Republican always... until Trump was elected.
1
Trump himself has pointed out the utter fabrication of this entire "investigation". It was started only because of maliciously manufactured "evidence", and the entire premise of Russia Collusion is a hoax -- not a single piece of confirming evidence has been turned up.
Under these circumstances, why is "obstruction" even an issue? Why isn't Trump right to conclude that the entire "investigation" is meant as a trap for him?
Only a partisan demented out of any remaining judgment won't be able to see that this "investigation" is a stain on our democracy.
Blood lust on the left's part is not a crime on Trump's part.
3
There is no way Mueller could "trap" Trump unless there was something to trap him for... The GOP's lack of logical reasoning is remarkable.
1
We know how these matters Stenio handled
An advanced statement of exoneration is written up with a perfunctory Saturday interview without sworn testimony, recordings or notes made
It should be a snap for the president
It may be a minefield and I hope it is and we get this Reality TV star cancelled. The world would be a better/safer place if he is indicted
Mueller may deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for this achievement
4
It's a sad day for our republic when the president's lawyers fight to prevent Trump from Mueller's inquiries because he is both ignorant of the duties of his office and because they think he'll probably lie under oath.
But what's even sadder is that the machinations to keep him from testifying might work.
3
Imagining President Donald J. Trump's sworn testimony under questioning by (Republican) Robert S. Mueller:
"You got notin on me, you lousy copper! Dem (as in "those") lousy charges is a set-up. Come and get it, you filthy coppers!" This has been a message from the president of the United States.
3
"Why Answering Mueller’s Questions Could Be a Minefield..."
AND:
"Mr. Mueller’s questions are so broad that Mr. Trump would need a detailed command of a range of issues."
"A range of issues" Isn't that what we should expect from the president of the USA? Why should we expect anything less? In the last 60 plus years most of our presidents in both parties have displayed a whole range of interconnected issues. Why doesn't Trump?
17
Trump says "no collusion".
So, how could there be a minefield?
14
"How to tell if President Trump is lying . . . . His lips are moving" !
Mueller; "Please issue the Subpoena and let's see what our Supreme Court is made of" !
10
May be, just maybe, Trump is not a liar, nor is he a crook. His way of doing things maybe simply unorthodox to keen observers, and the Special Counselor Mr. Mueller may see through his interview a brilliant pattern of behavior to outfox his adversaries. If Mr. Mueller intends to seek absolute veracity in President’s answers, he would be missing the core of the issue: President’s approach to his universe is not to maintain conventional “vision” of it as we know, but to perpetuate a dynamic state of non-equilibrium for his opponents he can deliver through a deliberate set of contradictions keeping the world unsettled.
In a non-cooperative game with two or more players, nothing could be gained by changing moves if all the players are aware of each other’s strategy. To ensure that nobody can figure him out completely and manage to stay in their own perceived Nash-equilibrium state with reasonable certainty, the President has played an elaborate set of moves totally unpredictable a priori. And we see its success in Foreign affairs on North and South Korea, on NATO, on the domestic economy.
All those players who had to resign or fired from their offices misjudged the POTUS; they thought that conventional wisdom would suffice for their performance, and they were wrong.
5
Yes, it is arguable that someone is lying if they could just be delusional.
Nope, he's just a liar and a crook. It's Occam's razor.
Trump is a huge, habitual liar.
Somehow I am enjoying this snake, slithering his way around; trying so hard to avoid being captured and yet has opened our eyes to the truly evil part of America. My guess, they all go to jail - including the Family, EXCEPT Don "the con" Trump! Just like Nixon!
6
Con men are talkers, and Donald Trump is nothing if not a con man -- from all available evidence, the consummate con man.
So, by all means, talk away, Mr. President. Talk to your heart's content. Please answer "the 49 questions" from Mr. Mueller and, judging from your obsessive tweets day in and day out, at least 49 others that aren't even being asked. Maybe even 149 others.
It's the only speedy way that we can be sure of getting rid of you.
7
The last paragraph gives the show away. For Donald Trump this is just a game where he commands all the attention and asserts his superiority. Reality, the truth, the issues are of no interest to him apart from keeping the score.
3
Mueller should issue the subpoena for Trump to appear and let the Supreme Court decide if we are truly a country of laws.
4
I think nothing would dampen the enthusiasm of the no collusion, no conspiracy, no obstruction of justice crowd, than indictment(s) of Trumps inner circle soon...i despise Trump but this exercise is being dragged out and people are starting to tune out.
This is what Trump wants.
2
For those commentators who keep repeating that if you did nothing wrong, you got nothing to hide or worry about. Those commentators are extremely naïve and would be eaten up alive in the legal and corporate world. Just look back at the recent era of McCarthyism and you see plenty of innocent people whose lives were destroyed and who were criminalized for exercising their rights. The lesson we all know is never testify under oath when accused unless compelled with no other choice. Trump is well aware of this.
6
This isn't a common defendant caught up by the system.
It's the president and he won't get through the third question before talking himself into an indictment, and that's because he has done plenty of things wrong. He should be deeply worried.
I'm a lawyer. He's toast. You didn't see President Obama getting a subpoena, or being pursued by special counsel, or having to hide behind a group of made men headed by a Devin Nunes, and he was a black guy, and had a figurative target on his back.
Trump is a rich white guy, and he couldn't talk his way out of a wet paper bag. Toast.
2
The irony is, Trump basically made the claim that if you have nothing to hide it doesn’t matter...
1
I am amazed how a persistent liar like Mr. Trump, can get the media to believe every thing he says at face value. Why would you ever assume Trump was ready to be interviewed by Mr. Mueller ? In fact, if he has decided it would be damaging for him to appear to be interviewed, he would send out the message he was ready to be interviewed but either his lawyers prevented him from doing do or Mr Mueller was so bad that Mr Trump decided against it. That way he would have no responsibility and put the blame on others. That's how Mr Trump operates on every issue and its very sad to note that the media has not yet learnt any lessons. No Mr Trump would never agree to be interviewed under oath and you could have asked me 1 year ago and I would have told you so with 100 percent certainty.
5
Fro a skilled politician, Mr. Mueller's investigation would be a challenge. But, such a politician can maneuver around the most tricky, difficult, of questions. In the case of Trump, he is far from being a skilled politician. If anything, Trump will try to lie his way out; something that would be easily caught by Mueller, Congress and the press. If Trump survives a Mueller interview, and the investigation, it would be a miracle.
3
By now, the discussion is less whether Trump is guilty of collusion and obstruction of justice, but whether his lawyers and the Republicans in Congress will succeed in undermining our justice system in order to keep a law-deriding President in office and help him to evade justice. The Republicans, aided by Fox News, are dragging us into a constitutional crisis. They are a disgrace, and they are a threat to our democracy.
When this sad period in American history is over, a new generation of law-makers should have a sharp look at our constitutions and whether we need to strengthen the system of checks and balances so that no rogue President escapes the rule of law.
418
The problem is the Constitution. We'd be better served by a parliamentary model.
3
I do not think we should ignore the role of much of the "legitimate" press, including the Times, with its "fair and balanced" "reporting" of the President's and his minions' lies without comment or correction.
In this article, for instance, it is noted that Mr Trump denounced the release, but not that Mr. Sekulow, a friend, supporter, and former Trump attorney released them.
16
Youve got to be trolling.
Clinton was small potatoes. A slimeball, yes. But the process worked.
That robots like yourself continue to defend this embarrassment of a president it bewildering.
The GOP is dead. You will be thrown out of office come November. Best take a few of the towels and stationary on your way out, because it is the last stay.
1
Let's make a stretch assumption that Mr. Trump tells the truth if he receives a subpoena and is forced to in order to avoid a felony if he lies under oath.
Would the consequences be worse if he told the truth and nothing but the truth, or, worse if he behaves the way he usually does, which is to lie at every opportunity?
Either way, Mr. Mueller will make a fool of the president.
8
Trump has already done a good job of that all by himself.
10
the ultimate question here is not, what did the President know and when did he know it...
it's: can this President tell the difference between actual truth and the "truths" he momentarly believes to aggrandize himself or force an outcome he wants? is he infact delusional ir a garden variety liar?
the Republicans would do the country a favor (fat chance) if they just cut to the chase and removed him under 25.
2
If Trump decides to meet with Mueller it should be pay-for-view TV.
Let Mueller finally put his cards on the table. Enough with the orchestrated leaks, some of which are clearly designed to sway public opinion against Trump rather than actually let the public know what's really happening.
1
The leaks of the question seem to have come from the WH.
8
Then why were the leaks from Trump's side? Mueller's team is a black box--no light gets in or out.
1
I’ll hoping for the cage match.
"Lying to the FBI" is an easy crime to manufacture. Never talk to the police!
3
This isn't "Law and Order." In what world does a president duck questions from the FBI?
God, I miss Obama.
1
The President can handle himself just fine. He has nothing to worry about talking with Mueller. And in the event he's charged with a crime, he can always plead Insanity.
7
but - but -but - he has nothing to hide! Except, it seems his medical records and his tax returns. This is the most corrupt president ever. he is a danger to our country.
8
Not elected but she’s still running....
1
Interesting that these stories always seem to break just in time for Rachel Maddow to report on.
3
you're right - Rachael Maddow makes all this stuff up! shoulda known. never happened.
now, back to our regularly scheduled reality.
Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.
3
And to think we could have avoided this whole sorry spectacle.
Because certain people didn’t like the outcome of the Democratic Party nomination process, they decided to leave electing the President of the United States to the low-information, racist, ignorant portion of the electorate along with Vladimir Putin and Julian Assange.
As we are seeing, elections have consequences.
Shame on you all.
8
Hillary Clinton and the mainstream Democrats helped create the situation that brought Trump to power. I will never again vote for a war poodle for Netanyahu and the Saudis. As for financial market and healthcare reform, never stop halfway crossing the river.
These days I am angrier at the mushy Dems than I am at Trump.
1
The Clintonista rants about the people who preferred some other Democratic candidate to Clinton, a candidate who was selected more openly, without cheating on debate questions, without bought and paid for superdelegates, without "accidental" meetings between an attorney general and the candidate's husband during an investigation, are as boring and inane as are Trump's attacks against Obama and Clinton. You are becoming the deplorables that you abhor. You have nothing to offer in the way of candidates or programs, just the same Pavlovian rants.
No Problem. He always tells the truth. Ask Ivanka, Marla and Melania- they know.
5
Why are you warning the bad guy not to fall in the hole? Maybe the Times needs to curb its inner Howard Cosell and just let this match, Mueller vs. Trump, play out sans so much interruption and commentary.
3
This guy can't be warned. Trump rushes in where angels fear to tread.
The fact that Trump should not talk directly to Mueller because of his lack of forethought and control, suggests a lot about his potential guilt and incompetence for his job. We have the first con man in the oval office and he isn't a very good con man at that. We have no requirements for the position of President and it looks like even a subpoena may not be able to get him out of office particularly when the controlling party will do nothing to correct this Trumpian devastation.
3
Should not be a problem for Trump to meet with Mueller. Trump has indicated that he is a stable genius.
4
It is naive to discount the possibility, even the probability, of perjury traps in most of these vague questions.
Trump can answer truthfully, but if another witness offers a contradictory statement - even if that statement is unsupported by any facts - prosecutors can choose to believe the other witness over Trump and charge Trump with perjury.
The very definition of a trap.
2
Please stop being such a defender of Trump. He is guilty as guilty can be. Do you notice how anxious and scared he appears? There is a reason.
I need a good laugh. I think Trump, Pence, McConnell, Ryan, and every one in the GOP leadership should talk with Mueller's investigators. Maybe then we'll learn why these rich pretenders think so little of the public they say they care about. It's about time all of them were held accountable for the lies they tell us. Trump would be hard put to tell the truth anyway but getting him on the record would be worth the trouble. Besides, I think his supporters should know what sort of man they put into office.
6
I wholeheartedly agree, with the exception of the final sentence. His supporters knew they elected a xenophobic, racist, misogynistic liar. They didn’t care, but reality may finally set in when they realize the enormous future consequences of their actions- when they realize the permanent tax cut for the corporations and the rich may have temporarily put a few extra dollars in their paycheck. But as interest rates rise, partly to address the trillion dollar deficit, they may find to their great surprise that the extra $50 in their paycheck pales compared to the thousands and thousands of dollars more they’ll pay in interest when buying a home. If they can even qualify/ afford it. Or when they and their children personally suffer from the health risks that are a consequence of destroying environmental protections. You reap what you sow. Sadly, the rest of us will suffer, as well.
2
they know.
that's the problem.
Trump's supporters know exactly what kind of man they put into office---- and they love the chaos he is creating. They are blind to the real damage he is doing.
If these are actually all the questions Mr. Mueller has for Mr. Trump, it would seem that a written response to them should deal with Mr. Muller's desire for the answers while protecting Mr. Trump from his tendency to go off message.
One good thing from this Trump mess: we have learned a lot about Mr. Mueller. I hope he prevails and inspires a new generation of talented prosecutors adept at rooting out corruption. We will need them to clean up the slew of crooks Trump has emboldened.
2
Donald will refuse to testify or use the fifth amendment during questioning---he wants to stay out of prison.
1
Does anyone seriously expect Trump to tell the truth, even under oath? It’s simply not his style.
3
Trump is simply putting forth the appearance that he wants to speak directly with Mueller and his team, make no mistake, he has absolutely no intention of doing so. His lawyers can't allow his bluff to be called because the immediate back-peddling by Trump will once again stir the chaos crisis management his handlers are constantly waging. This is a man devoid of any authenticity and integrity; it would be quite the scene were he to really go before Mueller's team.
1
Putting the absurdity of Trump aside, isn't this concerning that a sitting president can largely be called to answer questions largely focused on innuendo and political traps, rather than any credible evidence. Think of the next Democrat in the WH being played the same way... Kind of implies perpetual public image destruction being the primary role of special investigations
1
This shows generally how bad prosecutors in our country are. They ask questions like these if they want to get someone. They look for any inconsistencies, and then charge the person they want to prosecute. Prosecutors have way too much power, and obstruction of justice statutes are way overbroad.
1
Lets slow this all down,, statements like "There is or is not collusion, obstruction of justice, etc., op-eds don't decide whether it is or isn't collusion, the legal system does. Take a deep breath, stop prejudging, and applaud the people who are working to bring, under the rules of the law, this sorry issue to conclusion.
The left and right opinion writers present their OPINIONS.
I am losing interest in the sometimes desperate search by reporters from NYT, WAPO, FOX, CNN or the op-eders to find a new angle on a fairly easy to follow core set of truths on this issue, and would love those core truths listed and repeatedly shown. Trump Jr.s Tower meeting is one, Comey's firing is another. Pound the core A level truths, offer B and C level truths or hypotheses, leaks as peripheral. The Faux news folks love the peripheral as arabesques. It gives a chance to retaliate on the less important B and C level issues.
2
A minefield of overdue personal accountability. Isn’t that what the GOP is all about?
Truthful Hyberpole won't cut it in front of a grand jury. How ironic: Trump owes virtually all of his success to his ability to not only bend the truth, but break it when it suited his bottom line.
And now that he has been elevated to the most powerful position in the world - and on center stage, a place he has craved since he was a small boy - his inability to discern truth from lies will prove his downfall.
Can't wait for the movie.
3
"When the American people is intoxicated by passion, or carried away by the impetuosity of its ideas, it is checked and stopped by the invisible influence of its legal counsellors, who secretly oppose their aristocratic propensities to its democratic instincts, the superstitious attachment to what is antique to its love of novelty, their narrow views to its immense designs, and their habitual procrastination to its ardent impatience. The courts of justice are the most visible organs by which the legal profession is enabled to control the democracy." So wrote Alexis de Tocqueville in 1835, in his book "On Democracy in America". The same tensions de Tocqueville observed then are being played out between the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and 45 and his defenders. Let us be reminded of de Tocqueville's keen observation "how eminently the legal profession is qualified by its powers, and even by its defects, to neutralize the vices which are inherent in popular government."
1
The day will come when all this too will pass. I once loved politics, and probably still do, but a certain point has been reached where a change is required to simply overcome the numbing effect of things as they have become. America is a great nation, but there is nothing great about what has occurred. This should not have come down to a sensationalized Mueller vs Trump title fight. We look silly.
4
Politics is the only lawful process we have to negotiate the master social contract that defines the framework to negotiate and enforce all our private contracts. We shouldn't treat it as a grade school playground.
If no one is above the law, why does the argument exist that a sitting president cannot be indicted? Doesn't this reasoning pave the way for future criminal presidents?
4
Many countries provide immunity from prosecution to sitting politicians on the rationale that many prosecutions of politicians are politically motivated for purposes of intimidation and/or initiated under controversial laws.
Get ready for the very same conservatives who argued in 1997 that the president was not above the law and should have to sit for a deposition in a private lawsuit to assert that it's completely outrageous to ask the president to sit for a deposition in a criminal investigation.
5
Not to worry, Trump will do fine.
I would demand to testify but not under oath, like Mrs. Clinton. I would demand an exoneration letter before I sat down like Comey gave Hillary. And then I would demand an exoneration letter after the interview.
And then I would demand that a bunch of my assistants and aides be allowed to sit in on the interview. And I want to be able to call them lawyers so that I have attorney-client privilege with them so that nothing can happen to them. And then I want it stipulated at the end of the interview — like it was with James Comey and Hillary Clinton — that whatever went on here, there’s nothing to it ’cause I didn’t intend to do anything wrong. If Trump could secure the same identical circumstances that were granted to Hillary Clinton, then why not sit down for the interview and answer the questions?
1
Comey's frustrations with Hillary began with his own failure to turn up any evidence of criminality in the Whitewater investigation. Behind all that sanctimony is a narcissist's narcissist.
1
Trump loses by lying, Trump loses by telling the truth, Trump loses by taking the fifth amendment. The country and the world is losing with him as President of the United States. So pathological about never losing has warped the man (Trump) since a young age, He is irredeemable.
8
It is only a minefield if you lie. If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear. What did The Donald so often say on the campaign trail in 2016 about Hillary Clinton? Only the guilty plead the Fifth. We should remember the old saying about those who live glass houses.
6
I continue to be amazed that those who support Trump are willing to consider the evidence that could absolve or condemn the President before making up their minds. Despite his being caught in so many obvious distortions of the truth, so many believe what he says without question. I realize they don't want to admit they may have made a mistake, and prefer to believe he is being attacked unjustly.
It reminds me of being on the school playground when we were 8 years old. Unfortunately the end result of being childish voters and presidents has much greater consequences than playground antics.
We can only hope that the grown-ups show up at the polls this fall.
5
The collective mental age of the US public is about eight years..
I agree with Mr. Buell. “The game is to appear to be interested and cooperating without doing so.” Mueller has his own minefield though. To issue a subpoena or not to issue a subpoena? That is the question. Most of the writing I've read on the subject suggests a Mueller subpoena would ultimately survive any legal challenge. The problem for Mueller is different.
First, McConnell is blocking legislation designed to prevent his untimely termination. If Mueller subpoena's Trump, Trump might go nuclear and fire Mueller seeing legal massacre as preferable to testimony.
Second, a challenged subpoena might have unintended political consequences. If Mueller moves too early to force the President's hand, this dispute could spill over into the 2018 election. Strategically speaking, Mueller might be better off waiting to see the election outcome before moving aggressively with legal action. If Republicans successfully defend, the investigation is probably toast anyway. If Democrats come through, Mueller will have more political cover to take whatever steps are necessary.
Third, there's an outside possibility Mueller doesn't have the evidence to get a grand jury subpoena on Trump. Maybe Trump needs to come willingly or not at all. I wouldn't expect this outcome but we don't really know for sure.
2
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law."
As a criminal defense attorney for over three decades, I can attest that it is pretty standard to advise a client to exercise their constitutional right to not talk to law enforcement. Any statement they make can easily come back to bite them, either by connecting them to some underlying crime being investigated, or by being false and thus obstructing the investigation. Their silence, on the other hand, cannot be used against them. Thus, unless there is an agreement up front about the end result of the client's case, most defense attorneys will advise their clients to not talk to the prosecutors or law enforcement investigators. The Miranda warnings are there for a reason.
Representing a public figure in Mr. Trump's situation is invariably challenging because of the optics of invoking the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. And Mr. Trump's lawyers have a particularly difficult path in dealing with their client, because their client is a demonstrable pathological liar.
10
What sort of truthfulness to you do you expect of clients?
The burden of lies is that a prolific liar cannot tell the truth and be believed by anyone else. Trump is way beyond that. He cannot believe himself even if he tells the truth. And the ripple effect: Those who want to support Trump know full well that, when they credit him with telling truth, they are lying to themselves.
Trump's entire life is built on lies. His family lies. His business lies. His lies to friends and others to whom he once pledged mutual support. His lies to his doctor and his lawyer and to all those with whom he prays out loud. His lies to his country are being toted up daily by the fact checkers.
Robert Mueller, in white hat and badge, is walking straight down Main Street, and he wants the truth. Bone spurs will not help Trump now.
9
If and when President Trump would spend the time to read through all the questions, he will surely realize that his own actions are largely responsible for landing him in hot water so early in his presidency, and that as the President of the United States, he cannot behave the same way as the President of a closely-held real estate firm.
Can he try to save himself by learning from his mistakes and learn to listen to his advisors for a change?
1
“And, complicating efforts to try to adequately prepare him for such an encounter, the president’s lawyers do not know everything that the special counsel has learned.”
Unmentioned, oddly, is that the president, and his lawyers, know what they know. And that is almost certainly the knowledge that this Russian collusion is nonsense concocted from whole cloth, DNC funded, and which subverted the FISA court.
The Steele dossier was commissioned and funded by a Republican presidential hopeful who dropped out of the race. You don't help your own case by lying about it.
Then why all the concern about testifying? Could have cleared this up months ago.
Unbelievable to me still that anyone would choose to believe someone who lies on an hourly basis of the unimpeachable reputation of Mueller and the ironclad integrity of the FISA court.
Are you stupid or deluded?
Because he couldn't tell the truth if his life depended upon it? All Mueller has to do is sit back and let Trump babbling on...he will contradict himself 20 times within 10 minutes.
4
Assume for a moment that these are the questions, and there will be no followup questions.
Assume his attorneys can come up with answers that are complete and show his overall innocence.
Assume that they can get Trump to memorize those answers.
Assume that they can get Trump to sit in a room and spit out the answers.
Each assumption is increasingly hard to believe possible.
8
The reluctance of the current WH occupant to encourage the Russia investigation brings to mind what we were told about the Patriot Act: if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.
12
It is ridiculous to think that Trump will ever tell the truth to any questions asked. Trump is a mobster who, unfortunately for us, was elected president. Mobsters write their own Drs. letters, pay off porn stars, pay to play, launder money and much more. Does anyone think Trump is capable of telling the truth?
17
Umm, aren't these questions those that Jay Sekulow, Trump's attorney, 'speculates' Mueller will ask?
2
Trump being Trump to the hilt ought to be able to throw so much dirt in the air that there would be way that anyone could make head or tails of such a bag of lies.
Answering the questions is really rather simple. You begin ever answer with - There were a lot of things going on at the time and I am not sure I remember clearly, but to the best of my recollection....Answer that way and you don't have to tell the truth, and at the same time no one can say that you lied.
1
Ah yes but one has to have a small modicum of honestly in ones self to be able to do that.
El Trumpo doesn't have that. His mendacity is part of his coping with childhood family dynamics. He chose to please father to avoid the emotionally crushing abuse he saw his brother endure which meant he had to deny/suppress himself. He stopped developing at that point in time and what he became is a shell of a person with slap dash constructed facades that collapse on a regular basis only to be replaced by another because no one has liked or cared about him enough to tell him to his face what the problem is.
He swore an oath to uphold the Constitution ... the law. Nowhere in that oath did it say he was exempt from it.
Subpoena his a... and let's get this done.
15
His attorneys know the megalomaniac is incapable of telling the truth and is always shooting his mouth off without using his brains (too much Propicia, I guess). They know with complete certainty that he will start blabbing and ranting to the point where his lawyers will be forced to plead the 5th on his behalf. The poor fellow doesn’t even understand the questions Mueller is posing him (no questions about collusion, he said). He was born a con man and a pathological. The sooner he is subpoenaed, impeached and prosecuted the better it is for the country and the world. Hurry up, Mr. Mueller!
8
If Trump does sit with Mueller for an interview, he most likely do what Alberto Gonzales did and assert "he does not remember" and "I do not recall". The biggest challenge for Trump in an interview as others have pointed out is resisting perjuring himself, so a "fake" faulty memory would serve him well. I have my doubts that there is a trail of misdeeds leading to Trump. The man who had a convenient bone spur that kept him out of the Vietnam War, lets others risk everything for him (thinking especially of Mr. Cohen). He has no compunction about kicking others off the troika (including in-laws) as the wolves close in. He is as ruthless as any mobster ever was.
If Trump is somehow removed from office, then there is the ultra-conservative, evangelical Mike Pence waiting in the wings. It is a lose-lose situation. The only thing going for Pence is that he at least appears to be sane.
I have been wondering if Mike Pence were really out of the loop in all this. He certainly is keeping a low profile these days. Maybe Mr. Mueller will eventually call him in for a tete-a-tete.
7
Whatever went down, Pence is up to his neck in it. He was the chairman of the transition team. Pence is smart enough to keep his mouth shut, and Mueller is savvy enough not to tip his hand as to his suspicions about Pence, but Pence is probably worried. Or he should be.
1
Donald - The New York Times claims that you should be afraid to sit down with Mr. Mueller. You know that's fake news from a failed newspaper! Your lawyers tell you to be afraid to sit down with Mr. Mueller. Show them who's boss! America and the world are waiting to see if you're too afraid to sit down with Mr. Mueller. You can handle it! You KNOW you can! Order your secretary to clear a couple of days next week and just sit down with Mr. Mueller and do your thing! From the gut. Maybe don't even bring any of those weak-kneed advisors who think the best strategy is to act like a pansy! You're not afraid! Your billions and billions of devoted supporters are counting on you to show Mr. Mueller that you're not afraid to answer his questions.
20
Since when was the New York Times role to give Donald J. Trump and his attorneys a detailed map of their legal jeopardy? I do not understand the purpose of the reporting on this topic.
The Democrats biggest problem is running against Nancy Pelosi in the 2016 elections. Tom Perez and his quest to make all younger more vital candidates drop out is not helping Democrats over come their dinosaur-itis.
3
When Nixon lied about Watergate at least there was a Watergate. Mueller is going to have to prove that Trump obstructed a non crime. Can you obstruct a murder investigation if there was no murder? If there is no proof of collusion then this whole process is ridiculously stupid. We can’t charge somebody for obstructing a crime investigation if there is no crime. Least of which president.
1
You should do some research into obstruction, as it is not dependent on any underlying crime, only impeding an investigation. Ridiculously stupid is anyone who doesn't see the clear collusion. Purely tribal!
3
"We can’t charge somebody for obstructing a crime investigation if there is no crime."
That's what got Bill Clinton impeached--perjury and obstruction of justice, relating to investigations of sleazy but non-criminal acts and a dismissed civil suit.
1
Bzzzt. Sorry, wrong answer.
Obstruction charges are not dependent on any other crime having been committed.
Like a true Trump supporter, you apply kindergarten logic to a complex legal question and will be amazed to find it doesn't apply.
Mueller won't bring a weak accusation or two that the simplton president can try and twitter away---no.
He will come with a crate of serious indictments...and trump will be just a bad memory in a month or two.
3
Dear Mr President,
You are a very stable genius with the best words.
As you say, you are innocent and there was no collusion with Russia.
Why are you so afraid to speak to the Special Counsel.
America wants to hear your truth.
5
If he answers the questions honestly and has nothing to hide I fail to see what he problem is.
4
"No Collusion" = lots of delusion.
8
I know I could sit down with 10 Robert Muellers, or 100, or 1,000 and answer any and all questions for 100 days and nights -- and walk out of the room unscathed and uncharged. Because I have done nothing wrong, and you can't trap an honest person.
Too bad the occupant of the White House and his henchmen can't say the same.
9
If you had not published the questions, Trump might have fallen for it. Now he will refuse to be interviewed. Publishing was a really poor decision.
2
The list was written by Trump's attorney, so this was no surprise to them.
2
Pretty certain it was Trump who leaked the Mueller questions to the Times. It fits his MO. He does something and then calls it outrageous and disgraceful, blaming someone else. It's what he has always done.
6
"truth is the best refuge of an honest man" (anon)
Don't his supporters wonder WHY IS HE SO AFRAID of talking about Russian interference with the election?
What is he hiding ?
Why didn't he release his tax returns ?
What honest person, let alone a POTUS (!) , brags that "my lawyer [Cohen] won't flip."
Seriously.This guy sounds like Tony Soprano
7
All this back and forth is ridiculous. We have become the world's biggest joke. If Trump is innocent and has nothing to hide, he would agree to be interviewed immediately to get this over with and behind him. If he's guilty, he will fight being interviewed tooth and nail with every legal gimmick at his disposal. What do you think the odds are that he's guilty? I think it would be a safe bet if you can find someone simpleminded enough to take it.
3
I remain stunned that this elephant in the room has not been captured and put in a zoo.
One only has to fear perjuring oneself IF one is a liar. Therefore, ipso facto, quite literally EVERYONE who knows or works with this man --including his closest friends, family, appointees, cabinet members, associates, and lawyers--knows him to be a liar.
Stunning. And still we're told, "nothing to see here; keep moving along..."
We've been reduced to one colossally sad circus. The tent has yet to be invented big enough to house this level of lunacy. We're not "the greatest show on Earth!" We are now officially a freak show.
11
I am beyond sick of the lies, half-truths, “alternative facts”, evasion, propaganda, boasting, arrogance, spin, covert and overt racism, nuclear warmongering, misogyny, temper tantrums, twitter tantrums, public attacks and insults, nationalistic exclusionism, and the pervading degradation of democracy that has infested this country to the bone.
This era of political discord and “partisan rage” is demonstrably a direct result of hostile foreign interference by actors like Putin, Erdogan, and others who openly or covertly (China) disdain US values, economic power, and benefit from its degradation.
The reason that seeds of divisive propaganda were able to take root on US soil is that the two party system has been tearing the country apart - Liberals have been too liberal and Conservatives too insular, neither acting in the best interest of the country but only in political and financial self-interest.
It’s time to reverse course and reject divisiveness, start valuing truth, facts, self-control, national unity and non-partisan balance in the best interest of the nation.
5
I am totally mystified as to what Democrats have done that is "too liberal" in the past 20 years. Please cite specific new programs, policies or platforms that you so characterize. Because it seems to me that since the early 80s the Democrats have moved to the center and the GOP has moved to the fringe right. Where are these radical liberals you speak of???
1
I was with you up till the "liberals have been too liberal" line. Liberals have rolled over and played dead since Reagan. What we see now is the culmination of years of an unbridled, increasingly fanatical right wing, which cannot claim the label of "conservative" at this point. Failure to see the existential danger there is nothing but a reflection of personal bias cloaked as moderation.
2
This is not a Liberal vs. Conservative debate, this is a discussion about how partisan ideas metastize over time and adversely affect the nation, and what we can learn and adjust so we can do better going forward. I have zero interest in trap conversations about political parties for sport.
Yes, the “right wing” has become a radicalized vehicle for foreign actors to stoke division and destabilize US, but the problems at the root of the division are real.
Economy: Free trade that outsources jobs and money, creates debt (2016 interest alone was $240B) and generates 450+ million tons of industrial waste over which we have zero regulatory control. Meanwhile, 52% of the federal budget go to Medicare and Social Services as even full time employees at US companies selling those goods qualify for Medicare and Social Services.
That’s just one very general example, there are many, many more - on both sides, like the Republican head of the FDA with major ties to the pharmaceutical industry and obvious conflicts of interest in management of FDA’s $5B budget.
It goes on and on. Our focus should be on solving real problems together, not bickering about political ideals.
Trump's best defense is to say "I cannot remember". As Nixon pointed out, this is better than taking the 5th. Also, in trump's case, it may be true.
4
The leaking of these questions is another blatant attempt by 45 and his laughably inept "administration" to obfuscate the truth and drive the narrative away from possible collusion and obstruction of justice to the absurdity of Mr. Mueller's investigation.
The truth always has a way of finding an avenue of exposure. In this case, 45 is a known liar and manipulator of the facts. His ego precludes him from ever admitting an error, or accepting responsibility for his actions, no matter how unintelligent or depraved they may be.
It almost doesn't matter what his answers are to these questions. We already know the truth: He needs to be removed from office. Our precious Constitution deserves to be upheld by someone who exhibits both dignity and integrity and values the people of our country over his own avarice.
4
It's extremely unlikely that the Mueller team drafted the questions in writing, much less leaked them to Mr. Schmidt. This kind of deceptive script reeks of Trump's new lawyer and does little more than provide another avenue to attack Mr. Mueller's credibility.
4
If his public pronouncements are any indication ,he will be unable to exonerate himself.
1
Mr. Trump is a stable genius who knows all the best words. What could possible go wrong for him?
8
I’m confused. It now appears that Jay Sekulow wrote these questions, at least according to the Washington Post. I recognize that, if this is true, it upends several days of NY Times reports and editorials, but it is also remarkably meaningful to a story like this, where Trump is seizing on the questions to discredit Mueller. Basically, the story is now as follows:
“Trump and his legal team complain that a list of questions they themselves wrote and then leaked show overreach by Mueller.”
In a real sense, the Trump administration is now deliberately manipulating the free press to discredit it. That’s a frightening story if true, and one The NY Times needs to follow with all available speed.
14
Thank You I hadn't look at the WaPo yet today.
Now do any of you see how wrong it is that this list being posted leads to asking what Mueller knows instead of what are the answers to these questions?!
Trump will break the law in any interview as described. He will misstate facts because he really has no grasp that facts matter if they do not contribute to what he wants to convey. He instinctively misrepresents anything that he finds inconvenient to admit, lying about having said or done things already fully documented and easy to present immediately after he denies them. He will commit perjury if he is interviewed under oath.
But Trump knows that he may solidify his infamous reputation as a liar who talks without considering the consequences and who keeps his word only when he feels like it but he will never be held to account for perjury when he is President and is not likely to be prosecuted after he leaves office, either. The Republican Party will protect him.
3
Mr. Trump, has repeatedly said that there is no collusion. That he has not done anything wrong. That this ongoing investigation is nothing but, a 'Witch Hunt'. Mr. Trump does not agree with the FBI, the Justice Department, or all what the Special Counsel is doing.
With all of this being the case, Mr. Trump must confirm to the people that he has not done anything wrong, and he has nothing to hide. He must prove that, and must have the confidence to do so.
No matter what the lawyers are thinking or saying, only
Mr. Trump will know whether attending an interview with the Special Counsel is the right thing to do.
It’s obvious that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to defraud the 2016 presidential election. Mueller has the goods and Trump is too afraid to answer to tough questions...
2
I’m not sure why there’s any question that Trump must answer Mueller’s questions – as long as we have a legal system in America. Trump is not above the law; however, this may come down to a battle over whether the President is because no other President has been so brazen about his ultimate authority.
Underlying all the legal questions is, did Donald Trump accept any support of any kind from anyone connected to the Russian government to defeat Hilary Clinton because of her well-established hardline with regard to Russia, in order to elect himself because of his stance on more friendly relations with Russia?
OK, that question is too long. Did Trump accept Russian support to get elected by promising to go easy on Russia if he won?
OK. Questions are not easy, yet, there are so many facts, such as the recent over-ruling of UN Ambassador Haley’s announcement to add sanctions on Russia, that clearly demonstrate a quid pro quo. Do we have to ask what the “quid” or the “quo” is? Maybe we are too frightened to ask because staring us in the face is the possibility of a negotiation between Trump and Putin deciding the fate of the world.
3
This seems like a lot of ado about nothing. Does anybody in their right mind think that Trump will admit to knowing anything, at all, at anytime ? Call it the “Mafia defense “ The underlings May take the fall, but the man at the top doesn’t know anything about what was going on. No doubt that Mueller is an extremely skilled litigator, but Donald has been lawyered up his entire life. About the only thing that I would put beyond The Donald is if he claims
Mueller's and the democrats purely political attacks are the best thing that can happen. It will ensure a second term in office for President Trump
President Trump's supporters know and don't mind that he lies constantly. Will they mind if he lies to a Federal Prosecutor? He can't get a 100% pass from them, can he?
1
"No Supreme Court precedent exists to guide Mr. Mueller on whether obstruction of justice can occur if a president exercises a constitutional power with a bad motive, like firing a subordinate to cover up a crime; Mr. Wisenberg counted himself among those who do not think it can. But Mr. Mueller’s questions, he said, suggest the special counsel has adopted a broader interpretation of the law."
This is potentially a very dangerous game. If Mueller provokes Trump into committing an impeachable offense, that is quite different from discovering that he has already committed one. If Trump is to be impeached, it had better be on very solid grounds.
2
This is a perfect case by which many will understand the subtle differences between "responsibility" and "accountability." Let's assume, for a moment, that Trump is telling the truth that he didn't personally collude with the Russians to rig the 2016 election. Let's also assume that associates of his independently did so, and that Trump was fully aware of those actions, or became aware of those actions. As such, he is fully accountable for the actions of his subordinates, especially if he knowingly ignored to correct those actions. So, while he wasn't personally responsible for initiating illegal actions, he would nevertheless be accountable for all of them. It goes with the territory of being "the leader."
Mr. Mueller will certainly discover "who did what, and who knew what, when" thereby establishing responsibilities and accountabilities.
241
Lessor persons have been put in jail for less.
15
But again: who will hold him responsible? The Republican-led Congress? The Republican majority SCOTUS?
Even if Trump gleefully admitted to collusion on National TV, he won't ever face any sort of consequences.
8
It's called "conspiracy". Forget collusion. Why do they use that word?
3
Why isn't the headline about the "leaked questions" coming from someone outside of Meuller's team instead? Forest or trees?
6
Exactly!
It might have been Dowd....who knows? I believe the "leakers", no matter who they are, are actually whistle blowers. We cannot allow this administration and it's cohorts to function in darkness. It's a team of liars extraordinaire, so nothing they say can be believed. Someone has to let the truth out to the people.
Kelle, The point is that the source of this leak matters because it is going in a very strange direction in the Press toward trying to find out what Mueller knows about El Trumpo instead of trying to find the answers to those questions.
That tells me this list and the "reporting" around it are an El Trumpo operation, not a real story brought up by an honest person leaking that list because the people should know.
Please NYT say it like it is: He LIES. He LIES all the time..it is not just 'untruths'.
He is a LIAR.
Off course it is a mine field..when one tells so many lies, it is hard to keep your story straight.
He is a LIAR.
Please call him that.
43
Trump's enablers accept all his lying as an unconventional but legitimate negotiating technique.
1
What is "collusion"? Gosh--wish I knew!
I THINK of it as--Mr. Trump (or one of his minions) sitting down with some bearded, bespectacled Russian--and doing a tit for tat. Quid pro quo. In so many words.
The Russian explicitly requiring this that or the other--a friendlier US foreign policy, a lifting of sanctions following their invasion of the Crimea--you name it! There's any number of things they might want. And STILL want!
IN RETURN (our bearded, bespectacled Russian might say): we will do our endeavors, Comrade Trump, to put you in the White House. Any number of things they could do. And (apparently) DID do.
"Here, Comrade Trump--sign on the dotted line. IN BLOOD, if you please--IN BLOOD. . . . ."
Nonsense! The Russians don't do business that way. Does anyone?
Which is the problem I have with "collusion." The Russians deal in MURK--twilight shadows where right and wrong mingle--blend--blur into each other. Just the way life does sometimes.
Especially, life as lived by Mr. Donald J. Trump.
Could Mr. Mueller make a charge of "collusion" stick? As opposed to "gross improprieties"--"massive failures of judgment"--"reckless and ill-advised behavior"?
I doubt it. I really do
Possible impeachment?
I doubt it. I really do.
I agree with Mr. Comey. Let the man serve out his four years--and may the good Lord guard and keep us all!
Then vote him out of office.
3
I think you should stop feeding Trump's head with the notion that his election by minus three million votes was an act of God.
1
Issue the subpoena!! This "POTUS" has already received too many mulligans!
8
The questions serve only one purpose: they underscore the activities where Trump’s actions could be pivotal and outline a sequence of dubious events - they form part of a public data base in the event the GOP tries to squelch the entire matter, as they already have begun to do.
6
The powers of subpeona are meant to provide evidence to a criminal prosecution. The department of justice cannot subpeona people to provide information they think is important to the populous. That job is for the legislative branch, and even then it lacks the power to supercede the powers of the executive.
Criminal Subpeona power cannot be used to bring forth information on events that are 'dubious'. They can only be used to investigate a crime. At this point Mueller cannot state the crime he is investigating.
1
Charlie Savage, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that President Trump will not enter the "minefield" of Special Counsel Mueller's questions. The President has no command of the English language or knowledge of world and American history. He can't be prepared by anyone for a grilling by Mueller. How long has the phrase -- "witch hunt" -- been in our vocabulary? Since Salem, MA in the Year Dot. How often has Trump iterated "no collusion!, no collusion!, no collusion!"? Trump can't remember diddly about what he said or did yesterday, let alone since he ran for our presidency in 2015 and won. No point counting all the eggs in Mueller's basket - they won't see the light of day as chicks. Mr. Dershowitz, Esq. is informally consulting with Trump. Need we say more about Trump invoking executive privilege to refuse to answer Mueller's questiions? Trump will just bark and the caravan will move on. Que sera, sera, or as DJT rants at rallies "we will see!".
2
This all-Russian saga is for Democrats what the Clinton's email server thing, or the Benghazi accusations, was for Republicans. Let's be very clear here: Trump won blue Wisconsin and Michigan not because of a Russian hackers charade, not because people cast their vote against their Facebook feed (we really have to believe this?), not because of fake news that do exists, but because Clinton was a weak candidate that, unlike Obama or other candidates, couldn't care less about these states and the working class.
Really hope we move forward talking about the real issues. Or let's move on to the Stormy Daniel thing, way more entertaining!
3
There is no way of knowing how much influence the Russian propaganda campaign had on voters, especially independents. In an election decided by fewer than 80,000 combined votes in three states, it's silly to categorically insist it didn't matter.
3
Anyone who really thinks Trump was the stronger candidate didn't watch the same campaign I did, where dignity, honesty, decency, competence were all cast aside in favor of a vulgar reality tv show. Anyone who thinks Trump really cares about the working class needs to look at his cabinet and advisors and who is really helped by the Obama-reversing actions they are taking. I hope this show is really amusing you.
2
How did Obama win twice in a row when Fox News was delivering, at a much broad scale, complete inaccurate and fake news on a daily basis? Why are we so obsessed at trying to explain this defeat with random reasons (I don't deny Russians messing with the US, but it's not new), instead of acknowledging that Democrats picked the weakest out-of-touch candidate they could have ever picked in the history of human history? Why?
I unfortunately watched the same campaign as you did, and I remember when liberal medias were laughing at Trump when he was campaigning and delivering his populist rhetoric in Wisconsin and Michigan, in these "solidly Democratic states" (quote from a prominent NY magazine that was explaining that Trump has no chance there). That Hillary took for granted. You're right, I'm silly and still amused.
Trump has brought about this investigation by simply being the combative TV personality he actually is, rather than being a truly thoughtful non-political President, The Mueller investigation, or "Witch Hunt" as Trump chooses to call it, is Trump's own creation because Trump was just being Trump. By behaving so crudely as President Trump himself has been the creator of his own defamation and eventual demise.
4
Trump can obfuscate and deny his way out of some of these questions and evoke executive privilege on others. He may never be found guilty of anything in a court of law. The question is, is this the type of man we want as our chief executive and head of our armed forces? Should this blathering pile of braggadocio, bluster, and divisiveness be allowed to continue as president? Sixty percent of Americans are appalled, but it is not up to us. It’s up to Congress, specifically the GOP caucus. They have shown their lack of principles. The only way we can make them listen is to vote. Your vote - in primaries and in November - is more precious than ever! Do your research, ignore FaceBook. Meet your candidates! Just do it!
13
And make sure your like-minded friends and family vote!
We need to send the GOP cowards a strong strong message.
1
Though I don't disagree with the contents of this article, I believe the answer to the question, "Why Answering Mueller’s Questions Could Be a Minefield for Trump" could have been summed up accurately in three words:
Because he's guilty.
12
If Trump refuses to sit down and answer these questions from Mueller he will have violated his solemn sworn oath to faithfully execute the duties of his office as President of the United States while preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution.
What is at risk is the Article II executive office of the President of the United States. While Trump's personal legal exposure should be a seperate issue, the failure of the Article I Congress to meaningfully exercise it's legislative checks and balances on the President conflates and confuses Trump the person with the office that he temporarily occupies.
1
Charlie Savage is too polite. Anyone can see that the man is a compulsive liar, incapable of presenting "nothing but the truth".
Trump's lawyers fear putting their client under oath because he's certain to perjure himself, regardless of guilt, and they worry about what Mueller knows because the truth will not be kind to Trump.
Season 2 is turning out to be far more interesting than Season 1. I can't wait for the finale.
1
I have questioned targets in the grand jury and I'll tell you how it goes. The target is trying to muck things up with irrelevant and argumentative statements. The prosecutor is trying to reel him in. There is no way Trump will be a docile witness answering Mueller's questions as best he can. He will digress and possibly even go on the attack. Mueller will get some of what he wants, but Trump will try to give as little as possible. It is true that Trump may lie. But it is more likely that he will duck and cover. He is not obliged to answer anything and so he is entitled to simply give his own version as long as he doesn't lie.
After the testimony, Trump will claim he has cooperated. Mueller may deny that, but the transcript will be secret. I think it is very important for Trump to be able to claim cooperation. That's what most of us expect from a President. If he goes in and testifies as I foresee, he can claim cooperation while withholding many answers. I think he has a lot to gain from that. The question i whether he can avoid lying for a couple of hours.
3
Trump can be accused of perjury even if his facts are right BUT MUELLER thinks otherwise. Mueller can indict a ham sandwich if HE thinks that HIS truth is the only truth.
Talk of caught between a rock and a hard place or a ...minefield! To be really fair, Special Counsel, Robert S. Mueller has disclosed the questions to Trump. Will there be a continuing video feed in real time to our country audience? I don't think so but I hope there is one, just for record purposes!
Because Trump will deny everything he has said in his next tweet.
1
This article came out before we knew that Trump's legal team composed and leaked the questions. They were generated from 16 general topics Mueller gave them. The purpose was to make Mueller's probe appear over arching. That bumbling tact failed miserably. The plan by Trump and his lawyers also could be construed as obstruction since it was contrived to impede or obstruct the ongoing investigation. Trump knowingly lied and committed a fraud by stating that the questions originated with Mueller. The NYT fell for the rouse as evidenced by headlines like "Mueller Has Dozens of Inquiries fro Trump in Broad Quest on Russia Ties and Obstruction". The Times should be more careful with evidence coming from connections to the President.
2
We are being asked to normalize the behavior of a man - the POTUS no less - who is openly acknowledged to be an inveterate liar. This is how far we've fallen since Donald Trump moved into the White House. We should be ashamed.
6
It's hard to understand why the NYT would flag the comment of Jesse the Conservative as worth reading, unless it is to show how out of touch with reality he is, and, presumably, others like him. I don't want to "dirty up" the President - I want him removed from office. Failing that, I want him hamstrung in his efforts to undo the rule of law, the social safety net, the effort to preserve the environment, and the effort to achieve lasting peace. It's not clear where Clinton would have come out on some of those issues. She is no longer the issue.
Proud Member of the Eponymous Resistance Movement.....
2
Trump was all gung ho to talk to Mueller because he was confident he can outsmart Mueller. Wants another big ego trip except this time it'll be all the way to jail for perjury and lies during talk.
2
Absolutely no attorney would ever advise the President to speak with Mueller. There is no upside at all. Haters are going to keep hating Trump. His supporters are more and more looking at Mueller's actions as total bush league. Hillary Clinton's folks destroy 30,000 subpoenaed emails with Bleachbit and hammer cell phones to destroy them during the investigation, but there is not one word of "obstruction of justice?" Meanwhile, Tump, love him or hate him, is actually trying to denuclearize the Korean peninsula making the world an infinitely safer place for everyone on the planet. Yet Mueller, having failed to find any Russian collusion, is threatening an "obstruction of justice" charge against this president, mainly because Trump fired his buddy??? Please!!! Pull the lens back and see how ridiculous this all looks to most Americans outside the corridor.
2
I live well "outside the corridor" (like, 2000 miles), and I don't think it's ridiculous at all.
1
Trump is fighting for you, so you are fighting for him. Or so you and all of his supporters want to believe. Like him you only want to see what you want to see. Trump is not a person who has the ability nor the will to stand up for anyone, including himself. He can not accept a difficult task and work through it. You will come to know that that is true.
2
Why should Trump get a pass just because he’s a known liar and prevaricator who might incriminate himself?
4
Jay Sekulow wrote the 48 questions.
Yesterday we learned that Jay Sekulow wrote the questions based on an interview with the Mueler investigation where broad areas of interest were proffered.
It is rather ridicules that the Times is not up to date on this important distinction.
3
It did invite Mr Trump to rant about how "disgraceful" it was that the questions were leaked...
Of course it was his own disgraceful people!!
Obviously the "leakers" are staff within the WH or outside people who Trump calls for advice throughout the day!
It is not clear to me that the Times has verified that these points were a reflection of the intentions of the special prosecutor and not an inventions of the attorneys who directly or indirectly seem to have given them to the Times.
3
Trump + “detailed command of a range of issues” = Oxymoron.
5
Don't talk to the cops. Basic advice we give to black men (and should give to all young adults) and then we claim Trump's a crook for not talking to a guy on a witch hunt.
1
NYT is doubling down on a dubious premise: "Mueller's list of questions."
Washington Post reported last night that Mueller outlined topics and "Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow compiled a list of 49 questions that the team believed the president would be asked..."
Leaks that become WH sources are not coming from Mueller; they're coming from Team Trump.
Don't you wonder why? You should.
4
Pretty obvious Trump's own staff are working to build a case against Trump as well.
SHS must be looking for a way out without ruining her career.
if trump didn't do anything wrong - why not talk to mueller to 'clear the air'?
1
Having completely abandoned the quest to find evidence of collusion, Mueller is reduced to rank amateur Prosecutor tactics of trying to trap someone into perjuring themselves with open ended question about evens that happened more than a year ago. A situation that would ensnare almost everyone.
Odd are that Michael S. Schmidt would also find him self recalling something incorrectly and end up getting charged with "lying to investigators" were he subject to the same scrutiny.
Mueller has come to the end ofg his game and has nothing left but cheap tricks. Sessions needs to tell him to put up or shut up.
1
Aphorism attributed to President Lincoln, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt." It’s doubtful than a person who thinks he has a great brain and is really very smart will be able to remain silent in the face of any questions.
1
"Many of Mr. Mueller’s questions, obtained and published by The New York Times, are so broad that Mr. Trump would need a detailed command of a range of issues." The fact that Trump's lawyers find him unfit for an interview reveals that he is unfit for the presidency. Any candidate for the most powerful position in the world should possess this capability. Trump has diminished this once-revered office beyond my worst nightmares.
1
With all of these legal experts weighing in it appears that, like any other person going before a Prosecutor or Judge, Trump may or may not incriminate himself. If Dowd quit because Trump would not take Dowd's advice, to me that points to something in Trump's background that could prove obstruction of justice.
But Trump is a shrewd guy. His tweets are for his base and I bet that would be the explanation for all of the false information he sends his followers. He would explain it as keeping his base happy and hopeful. Just another politician playing to his base.
Time will tell.
1
"Mr. Dowd had argued that Mr. Trump was too busy running the country to sit for an interview"
Let's amend that: Is too busy wasting tens of millions of taxpayer dollars playing golf.
It is said that you can't cheat an honest man. It might also be said that you can't indict and convict and honest man. That said, it does happen 1/100 of 1 percent of the time. But for a sitting president the bar will be very, very high. In trump's case, he is a demonstrably inveterate liar and fabricator. trump also has a massive ego that will force him to engage with Mueller. Given his literally dozens of lies under oath (those lies are well documented) in one of his many lawsuits (if not others as well) it is highly improbable that he will be able to testify without telling a few whoppers. He and his team will try to keep him out of the fray, but if questioned, impeachment and/or criminal charges are a very high probabilistic outcome.
2
In language of the criminal law the word is not collusion, it is conspiracy. Conspiracy is one of the crimes for which Trump will be incarcerated. Moreover, because it is a conspiracy with an enemy State, another word one should become familiar with is treason. Treason will be said repeatedly in the near future.
PROSECUTE RUSSIAGATE!
1
If 'they' just let Trump be Trump he will certainly perjure himself. Anyone who has not been brain-dead during the past two years has seen Trump contradict himself innumerable times. He may not even be intentionally lying when he changes factual information to fit his momentary perception of his imagined world view. Nevertheless lying is perjury, regardless of intention.
The real question is whether a sitting president can be prosecuted for lying to a "special counsel"? Can Trump, as POTUS, pardon himself (and all his minions) accused of lying to the FBI before he is indicted by a grand jury?
If he goes before Mueller and they discuss anything beyond how the Yankees are hitting the cover off the ball, it's all over. The most intelligent,
healthiest, most popular, biggest-draw-ever POTUS will fall flatly in his lying face. I'm praying his ego will win the power struggle with his attorneys.
To me, it doesn't matter what questions are on the list. If you even ask him "Is the sky blue?", as the old saying goes:
"If he had the choice between telling a lie and telling the truth, and both would serve him equally well, he'd tell a lie just to keep his hand in it."
I do agree with the conventional wisdom that says Mueller needs more than simple obstruction of justice to seek an indictment. Trump has clearly colluded in so many different ways with people connected directly or indirectly to the Russian government, but even those do not amount at this moment to a willing attempt to ensure Russian influence in the election's outcome.
Still, how many instances of obstruction of justice must one amass before the charges become more than a mere technical violation ... and something more akin to conspiracy? Trump is racking them up like a pinball wizard.
You ask "how many instances of obstruction of justice must one amass before the charges become more than a mere technical violation?"
Let's start with ONE. If Mueller could prove in court ONE single act that anyone in the Trump campaign did to conspire with Russian meddling, he'd have a plausible case that Trump obstructed justice to avoid investigating his campaign's conspiracy by firing Comey. Unfortunately we are still sitting at ZERO.
1
If Mr Trump wasn't such a sociopath, I'm sure telling the truth WOULD be easy. But as we ALL know, Mr Trump "practices to deceive". He weaves the BEST webs of lies. The best.
Asking Trump 49 basic questions would take forever. Trump has already answered some off these questions with 100 different answers per question, it would be an excruciating process for the investigators and especially Trump. Many of the investigators are used to dealing with lying Mob Weasels and they are skilled at pinning people down but Trump is a huge weasel with the power of the Presidency , he would be a challenge. It would be very entertaining to have the interviews in open session under oath, the public would learn a lot and it would probably take a year to get through the 49 questions.
This is what it's like to work for Trump:
"Mr. Dowd quit in March after he advised Mr. Trump that sitting down with investigators would put him in too much jeopardy, but Mr. Trump signaled that he was prepared to ignore Mr. Dowd’s advice."
Trump reminds me of the obnoxious Brock character in Garson Kanin's "Born Yesterday", played by the great Broderick Crawford. Brock pushes his lawyer around to perform seedy, criminal practices.
Dershowitz is probably in there because of Trump's stance on Israel. He better watch out. Trump doesn't pay.
And right, the great white founding fathers wanted to avoid having a king, but then we have this, which could allow a megalomaniacal crook to stay in office:
"No Supreme Court precedent exists to guide Mr. Mueller on whether obstruction of justice can occur if a president exercises a constitutional power with a bad motive, like firing a subordinate to cover up a crime;"
It's the Gödel's proof for the Constitution that shows the theory is not absolute. We could lose our democracy due to its flaws.
His hair is fake.
His wealth is fake.
His marriage is fake.
His Birther Lie was a fake fact.
His election was fake.
He acts like a fake President.
His testimony would follow the fake pattern perfectly.
Donald Trump: Fake-Phony-Fraud 2018
Hail to the Faker-In-Chief !
15
Compel him to cooperate in the "interview" or face the consequences of contempt of court, which will be the legal step after he would have ignored the subpoena. LOCK HIM UP. If his job is so critical, make the next one in the provcession serve. We're paying Pence top be available. If he won't, IMPEACH HIM.
I hope my response to this intransigence Trump has displayed is the response that someone in a radical conservative movement, such as those in Congress who are inspired by their own agenda, or as the ones embedded in a local "militia" would respond to this impediment to our system of Justice. Just as he considers the 5th Amendment to be an acknowledgement of guilt, let his abuse of not following a subpoena (once it has been issued ).
2
“President Trump has insisted he is eager to make the case . . . that he has done nothing wrong.”
That may be so, but just yesterday, Trump was squawking that Robert Mueller’s questions in the Russian probe were ‘disgraceful’. I think what is disgraceful is this undignified and deliberate dance of deceit Trump insists on performing via his plethora of denial tweets or passive aggressive behavior about “wanting” to meet with Mueller but then never following through (another sort of mistruth) or suddenly hiding behind his lawyers while they boast “interview would be a minefield for Mr. Trump.”
What innocent person wouldn’t be inclined to meet with the Special Counsel and excrete the truth, once and for all? For someone who habitually claims to have done nothing improper, illegal, inappropriate, or wrong, Trump is all mouth and no chops. It’s pretty simple to me – if Mueller’s questions have no merit or basis, then meet with the man and tell the truth or remain mute while the aura of guilt continues to grow brighter on a daily basis. Put up or shut up Mr. Trump.
14
Answering is never a "minefield" if you have not done anything wrong.
Never lose sight of that.
11
Ask Scooter Libby how that worked out for him.
1
Why can't Trump give written responses, overseen by his own lawyers?
I think President Trump should do the sit-down interview. He has the best words after all, what could go wrong? Do it, Mr. President... don't listen to your lawyers. What do they know? They are not as smart as you.
20
If Trump is successful with North Korea I think he will resign before testifying because he knows he is guilty and can't survive this. He will be indignant, blame the democrats, Comey, Clinton, the media, the deep state for the 'witch hunt' and he is above that. He will declare victory, that in one year plus he has accomplished more than any President in history.
2
It is well established that the President maintains a close watch on news about himself. It must gall him considerably that many colleagues, legal experts and media commentators regard him so intellectually inferior to Robert S. Mueller.
Mr Trump will sit down with Mr Mueller; his ego will not permit any other course of action no matter how risky.
4
The Starr investigation of President Clinton set the precedent for the Mueller investigation of President Trump. The Republican Congress during Clinton's presidency gave us the spectacle of Clinton lying about a consensual sexual encounter in the White House leading to impeachment! Hypocrisy reigns in the U.S. Congress. Surely anything Mueller knows about Trump will be much more impeachable.
13
Subpoena Sarah H. Sanders, who lies on behalf of the president.
Get to the bottom of who directs her to lie to the American people. The lying must stop, we are being played as fools by the highest office in the government. Set an example.
12
It now appears that the leaked questions were actually written by Trump's attorneys based on meetings with the Special Counsel. What Trump calls the "disgraceful" leak of these questions could only have originated from his lawyers. Will he fire them for leaking or does he only oppose leaks from his critics?
60
So the law allows that a public employee does not have to disclose his reasoning and intent supporting an action that he is legally authorized to do? So Trump can invoke executive privilege and not explain why he fired Comey? Remember Mr. Trump is a federal elected official; a public employee.
If this is allowed along with an unlimited ability to pardon we may as well learn to begin referring to him as Chairman Trump.
19
Trump's Twitter posts show us how much Trump doesn't know what he doesn't know. So sad!
8
The very stable genius with the best words is incapable of enduring a couple of days of questioning to clear up incidents that have torn our electoral process and governance?
If he is unable to cognate well enough to orally answer the question written by his lawyers based upon a briefing with the Special Counsel, then it is time for Article 25 proceedings.
This isn’t some closely held criminal family laundering money, this is the US Executive Branch.
24
You need to hold Pence accountable as well as he has SURELY watched and seen the criminal activities around the President and Himself to the point that his NOT Reporting them is tantamount to treason in and of itself. Certainly aiding and abetting a criminal in an ongoing conspiracy by withholding one's voice and evidence, especially during an ongoing investigation.
That gets you the same penalties for Actively Participating. So, if Trump goes, Pence needs to go as a Co-Conspirator as well, and NOT be seated as the next Pres. This would seem to hold for nearly ALL of the Repub Party as they refuse to condemn him for his literally insane antics. They also won by way of Russian Meme Forcing, and so are guilty of collusion by withholding of due process in dealing with a high level malefactor in Govt because they share the same crimes.
In a proper world the bought and paid for lockstep Repub Party would be investigated and broken up under both RICO laws and Anti-Trust Laws, the Dem Party being no better that way would tend to preclude this outcome.
1
The President could approach an interview with the Special Counsel as an opportunity to exonerate himself. But, I guess he fears that telling the truth will be admitting to conspiring against the United States and obstructing justice. Or, he can lie, be charged with perjury and still be charged with obstructing justice to cover up a conspiracy against the United States.
Surely a sitting president ought to be indicted for the above; otherwise, there is no real check on executive power.
As an aside, I’d like to see him charged with abusing the office of the presidency, of which there is ample evidence. Overall, the parallels with the articles of impeachment drafted against Nixon are too numerous to recount here, but Congress could pretty much cut and paste.
14
The leaked Mueller "questions" were actually prosecution questions transcribed by the President's lawyers, and therefore they are paraphrased from the actual questions.
8
If I were Trump, I would take a simple position: yes, Congress can impeach me, but no other person or institution can interfere with an elected President.
2
Correct and in addition the Cabinet can remove the President for manifest physical or mental incapacity.
No more Special Counsels. No more 4th branches of government. Let the Constitution work. Every executive branch officer must be accountable to the President.
3
@JM Baltimore
Special Counsels are part of established law, sir. They are not a "4th branch of government" in any sense of the word, and were authorized by Congress
28 CFR 600.1 - Grounds for appointing a Special Counsel.
§ 600.1 Grounds for appointing a Special Counsel.
The Attorney General, or in cases in which the Attorney General is recused, the Acting Attorney General, will appoint a Special Counsel when he or she determines that criminal investigation of a person or matter is warranted and -
(a) That investigation or prosecution of that person or matter by a United States Attorney's Office or litigating Division of the Department of Justice would present a conflict of interest for the Department or other extraordinary circumstances; and
(b) That under the circumstances, it would be in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to assume responsibility for the matter.
2
Without a named source for the list of questions, and since Mueller has kept his nvestigation virtually leak-free, we are left to assume the list was leaked to the NYT by the White House. If that's the case, what guarantee do we have that these are actually Mueller's questions, or even an accurate paraphrase of them? I hope The Times hadn't been suckered in on this one, and would like some assurances that reporters have verified the authenticity of this list!
5
The Washington Post suggests that the NY Times has got it wrong - that these are not Mueller's questions but rather potential questions drafted by the Trump team from general categories described by Mueller. If so, the statement that the questions were not leaked by Trump's legal team is at best misleading as they could have come from nowhere else. The Times owes the public more investigation and probably a correction and apology for yet again acting as a credulous stenographer for the Trump administration.
6
'...Mr. Trump would need a detailed command of a range of issues'....or perhaps he could tell just tell the truth.
9
Don't know if you have children but if you do, you will undoubtedly recall there is a time in their life when they don't know the difference between what they did and what they should've done. Teaching the concept of truth to a three-year-old is part of every parent's child rearing experience. Trump missed this lesson.
I spit my coffee when I read “...a detailed command....”
I hereby challenge anyone associated with the NYT to identify a single instance in which virtually every detail of a non-public federal criminal investigation -- including the questions for the target -- has been leaked to the public. THIS NEVER HAPPENS!
Everything about this investigation shows that its real goals are political. And we all know that peripheral charges like obstruction of justice are prosecutorial traps for situations in which the central matters under investigation fail to materialize. The grand slam would be to unseat Trump, but most of the Trump antagonists would settle for disrupting and delegitimizing his Presidency.
Mueller, the FBI and the DOJ are embarrassing themselves and our country. Trump should simply ignore them and get back to appointing judges and deregulating the economy AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.
5
Except that these have been both prepared and leaked by persons associated with Trump - not with the Mueller team. Try again.
8
Are you kidding us, AR? It was Trump's people who leaked this information, not the Justice Department.
The ability of some people to see things that are 180 degrees from reality is truly frightening. The knowledge that there are about 65 million of them in this country is terrifying.
4
I'm sure you felt the same way about President Clinton's investigation/impeachment.
1
The "minefield" is of Trump's creation and his alone. No one "did this to him" and no, it is not "unfair" that the Special Counsel has questions. That is why Special Counsel Robert Mueller was put in place - to get to the truth.
For some, this may seem like a very long, drawn out process. However, Americans want the truth and to know exactly what happened with potential Russian electoral interference, etc. As citizens, we require nothing less than the truth and it is exactly what will be done. Robert Mueller, a registered Republican, is a patriot in service to all of us at a most critical time in our history.
This will. ultimately, be a precise, direct, and clear compilation of all the circumstances surrounding this investigation and, perhaps, Trump's role in all of it. Special Counsel Mueller will be issuing subpoenas, etc. as soon as all of the elements to do so are in place.
22
The body of this article could have just been “Because he lies uncontrollably, and lying under oath is against the law.”
15
Trump needs to find a AI techie to figure out some algorithm which can produce correct answers to the 49 questions..
Trying to wing it is hopeless..
Anyway he'll never testify..he'll take his chances wit impeachment..
2
Cedar Hill Farm asks (below):
"I am not fan of Trump, but am puzzled about the seeming obsession with Trump's state of mind when he made certain decisions. Can "thoughts" make an act illegal?"
Yes, thoughts can make an act illegal. In fact, in some areas of law, understanding the alleged perpertrator's thoughts are *required* in order to find a person guilty of certain types of crimes.
However, the law uses the word "intent" instead of "thoughts." But in cases in which the criminal hasn't explicitly exprerssed his/her intent verbally or in written comments, prosecutors piece together evidence of their unspoken intentions/thoughts, such as observing patterns of behavior, contextual understanding of ambiguous comments, etc.
For example: You can't be guilty of discrimination just because you don't rent an apartment to a Black person, if there's no evidence of discriminatory animus (intent); however, if you say "I don't like certain types of people," or you've shown a pattern of not renting to Blacks, then your thoughts/intent make you guilty.
Obstruction of justice is another type of law in which the intention to obstruct justice is necessary for a conviction. Thatr's why Mueller needs to find out what Trump was "thinking" when he did certain things.
4
The folly in your argument is equating discrimination law and our constitution. The president is bound be the constitution. The constitution puts him in charge of justice. It does not describe how he must act in doing so. He is well in his right to have fired Comey for insubordination in not stopping the Russian collusion probe. You may believe that was something we should have investigated, but he's the exec, not you, and not Comey. As the facts have borne out (bolstered by Mueller not prosecuting anyone for conspiracy or anything election meddling) his campaign had no involvement in the meddling. So there is no plausible case to suggest in firing Comey to shut down the Russian investigation, that he was obstructing discovery of crimes by him and his staff.
If Mueller wants to pursue an obstruction of justice case, he must prove the crime that Trump obstructed the investigation of. Trump need not provide justification for firing Comey. Rather, it is on Mueller to prove Trump did it to cover a crime. He has no crime to hang that hat on.
3
There is plenty of evidence that Mr. Trump's campaign did indeed conspire with Russia; and apparently his administration is currently ordering countries (Ukraine) to not cooperate with Mueller's investigation. It is also pretty well accepted truth that Mr. Trump fired Mr. Comey for not swearing loyalty to him instead of the Constitution. Mr. Trump has lied, cheated and stolen his way into this presidency.
If there is plenty of evidence of conspiracy, wouldn't we expect to see an indictment from Mueller on that charge?
Your belief that there was a conspiracy seems wishful thinking. Mueller has had a long time, long leash and unlimited budget, and produced zero indictments on the Trump campaign on conspiracy. If he cannot indict on the charge, there was no conspiracy.
Does anyone not think that the real objective of Mueller's investigation is not about collusion at all but to keep digging into President Trump's business dealings which he is now pursuing in order to obtain his tax records? Mueller's investigation has far exceeded its purported original objective which was to determine collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians.
This will go on until the midterm elections and will be used as fodder by the opposition party unless Mueller or the IG's investigation of DOJ and the FBI "successfully" closes it.
6
Watergate took two years and was not remotely as complicated as this. Whitewater led to much more than it's original intent. Mueller is following the money. The American people have a right to know if Mr. Trump is a crook in one way or another.
16
If you read the letter that gives Mueller this assignment, it enables him to go far beyond Russian "collusion."
In other words, if an investigator goes to someone's home to investigate a burglary, they don't ignore the dead body they see lying in the middle of the kitchen floor, or the meth lab they find in the basement. They pursue whatever leads the investigation turns but.
Also - you can bet your entire nest egg that Director Mueller has had rump's tax returns for a long, long time and has a team going through them with a fine-toothed comb. If rump broke financial laws or conspired with a foreign enemy, I and millions of other citizens want and deserve to know the truth about it.
If rump didn't want his personal and business life scrutinized, he should have stayed out of politics. He still hasn't figured out that a) he is not above the law and b) he works for us, not the other way around.
1
I may have lost count here, but as a result of the Mueller investigation, five people have plead guilty (Papadopoulus, Flynn, Pinedo, van der Zwaaden and Gates) with Manafort going to trial, in two jurisdictions. And you may be right, Trump may not be colluding, but an awful lot of people seemed to be doing something that sure looks like it. Plus by objective standards, you'd look for reason and motive, which would readily get you to Trumps financial deals. Mueller is a Republicans and we should not descend into thinking that if someone is of the opposite party, they cannot do a credible job. Just to round it out, if you hang your hat on the belief that lying to Federal prosecutors is not a real crime somehow, remember you can lie to your spouse, you can lie to yourself, but never lie to a Federal prosecutor.
Mr. Mueller and his team are operating at the level of a chess grandmaster, or let's say Tiger Woods at his prime in golf. The problem is the DOJ and congress have given him but a wiffle ball to play with. His authority seems to be punctured by many holes, and this article reads as a cautionary tail that Trump is not likely to suffer any serious legal consequences for his treason, conspiracy, perjury, misogyny, money laundering, sociopathology or tonsorial offenses. He has, and likely will continue to strike deals and obtain convictions, but will fall short of harpooning the great white whale of his career. There is a glimmer of hope in the area of finance/tax fraud/evasion, but only if that (and some of the other charges mentioned) is mirrored in state charges, against which Trump has no authority, pardon power or obvious influence. His abuses and offenses pile up daily as he careens thru government like a bull in a china shop. The process may, however, have a side effect of exposing the house of cards that is Trump world, showing exactly how shallow, vindictive, penurious and parsimonious he really is. Should we get to see his involvement with and dependence on Russian money and influence, his stature would shrink in the eyes of every american, rendering him far more susceptible to the justice he so richly deserves. We elect a leader to act like a leader, not a paranoid, semiliterate 10 year old addicted to his own reflection.
8
Actually, Mueller is playing the way Tiger Woods play now - no way he can win, because this is a political attack, and everyone knows it.
If it was actually an investigation of foreign influence in elections, they would be investigating Clinton's International Slush Fund as well.
Yes, Trump is very bad, but this type of Witch Hunt is a terrible thing, because of the precedent it sets. It is very unlikely that the next Democratic president will be a clean as Obama was.
2
You forgot “Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi!”
Once again Donald Trump is letting his massive ego get in the way of his thinking. Trump always seems to think he's the smartest guy in room and he is not by any stretch of the imagination. The WaPo reported that to date Donald Trump has told 3,001 lies. If he thinks Mueller is going to fall for his lies, he is deluded.
11
There's something seriously wrong with our society when we have to worry about whether the President of the United States will commit perjury. Trump is a known fraudster and liar; yet he is exalted. At the same time, honest patriotic prosecutors and law enforcement officers are revealed and attacked for attempting to determine the truth about a foreign power attacking the integrity of our elections. What has this country descended to? The Founding Fathers would feel that they sacrificed in vain.
33
The president should not testify. Mueller at this point is after nothing but rope to hang the president on.
The collusion/conspiracy angle holds no water as Mueller appears to have no evidence of such from any other party. Rosenstein stated that no American wittingly participated.
Mueller appears to be trying to hang a perjury or obstruction charge. The obstruction charge is entirely bogus because there was no actual crime on behalf of the campaign so what exactly would the President have been obstructing? The President as the boss of the FBI chief is entitled to advise where and how the FBI pursues justice. It there appears no charges against his campaign in the election meddling, he was not obstructing the investigation of crimes by his campaign.
So He had every right constitutionally to fire Comey for the Russian collusion pursuit against Trump's request. That is called insubordination and is plenty good reason for dismissing Comey. Comey's later admittance that he failed to disclose to Trump that the dossier was funded solely by the DNC further supports that the entire criminal investigation was based on zero evidence of criminal activity.
Trump will take heat for not agreeing but in the end will survive.
3
I'm in agreement with Comey. Trump should not be impeached. If he were to be impeached we would be left with his administration led by a religious zealot. We need to wait a little longer and watch as he is moved from the WH after his defeat at the polls, becoming nothing more than a footnote in history.
8
I don't agree that Pence is a religious zealot. In college, I think he made a calculated decision that to better seek his ambitious goals as a republican politician, he needed to be aligned with the religious right and not remain a catholic. Like Rep Ryan, his religious beliefs are molded to his ambition.
It is becoming very clear that Mueller is trying to build a case of some type of crime against Donald Trump. An individual American Citizen who is the Elected President. Whatever he says to the contrary eg. only a person of interest, the questions posed are mostly centered on intent. Nothing Trump can say will change or rebut that which Mueller believes he has. No lawyer who has any pretense to knowledge of the law should permit his client in any way to testify There is no win for Trump. Trump's public response is in effect Not Guilty. He should stand fast and implement his agenda. There is too much going on for him to be sideline attacked by this. If he is just a one term President. So be it. It has reached the point that nothing Trump can say will satisfy the Prosecutor or the Media.
4
The prosecutor and the media represent tens of millions of honest, loyal American citizens who deserve to know the truth. No one, not an elected president certainly, is above the law or absolved from the penalties of breaking the law.
Rump is a known scamster, cheat, fraudster, liar, blowhard - ask yourself why you are so ready to accept his claims of innocence?
The country seems to be operating on two parallel tracks. The first is Trump's: "I can say anything to anybody about anything, call it the truth, say that whatever anyone else says is a lie; my base will love me, the Liberals can't do anything about it and, and we'll just keep going because I have normalized the new crazy." The second relies on the Constitution, the rule of law, honesty, facts, and the traditional standards of America. I look forward to those two clashing and, hopefully, to Mueller and Company being the winners, because if they're not, it's the end of America as we knew it.
8
Well and succinctly stated, CP.
1
Trump's problems are entirely of his being or his making. One, Trump tells lies simply because they articulate his wishes about himself, not truths about the reality shared with others. Two, Trump has no interest in details, either in his lies or in any truths which he might know, so he cannot master them or be prepared with them. Three, Trump, like all serial liars, has problems remembering all his lies, so new ones are less likely than truths.
The White House aide who released the list of Mueller's question has performed an act of service to the nation. He or she has shown the questions to be reasonable--ergo: the investigation to be responsible and restrained--and more than fair to Trump, in giving him the chance to prepare his answers. He or she has also set the bar for Trump's response: refuse and lose.
7
There are several reasons why Trump can't answer Mueller's questions without putting himself in serious jeopardy. He lies so constantly he can't stop himself. He doesn't do his homework, ever, because he's too lazy to read or work. He'd much rather spend his time watching cable TV, throwing temper tantrums on and off Twitter, and playing golf. He is thoroughly undisciplined, unwilling to follow legal advice, ignorant about how the system works and arrogant enough to believe he can just "wing it" because he has a "very good brain" and can outsmart people like Mueller with no preparation.
6
The time will come when a Democrat will be president once again. And based on the non-stop excoriation of Trump, it will be interesting to observe the old saying "What goes goes around, comes around". The endless ranting against Trump and Republicans will be turned around against the Democrats, liberals and progressives who always believe they know what is best for the American people. Even if the American people do not agree.
4
If there was no collusion during the election with any foreigners, if Director Mueller was fired for a valid documented cause, if all dealings with Advisor Flynn were direct and legal, as the Administration claims, then this is a simple interview which shouldn't take more than a few minutes a question. Any effective executive administrator should be ready and willing to competently interview with government investigators, without pleading the fifth, like a certain 'bad' lawyer just did, right? Imagine how strong the administration will be after this interview is done and set aside, just think of it, how we'll be able to put this aside and get on with running the country, making America great.
1
The President of the United States has essentially unlimited administrative powers which many seemingly at odds with Mr M's work. So be it because our constitution was written to allow unfettered decision making by the chief administrative officer - the President. He can ponder, dither, think, change his mind etc etc etc. no one gets to decide which of these mean anything other than pondering, dithering, thinking, etc. On review of the ideas behind the suggestions of the questions they mostly seem to inquire about pondering, dithering, thinking, etc. No one gets to decide for the most part what any of these mean or are they even real, no one. The Presidential idea is just that "no one else gets to play in this arena". No one gets to kibitz. In addition the Presidential office is protected from, for me at least, Mickey Mouse kibitzing by anyone because it wastes his time. Constitution first and last. Unsolicited advice - please tell Mr M to take a hike with the idea of any interview and let him see, and the country too, if a federal grand jury is more important than 250 years of constitution. Then let Congress and senate do their thing if they have a problem with that.
2
Here are a couple of principles for you to ponder. "A country of laws, not men." "No man is above the law." These are principles that Trump has set himself firmly against and that Mr. Mueller is working to uphold.
Trump is the type of witness that must keep his lawyers up at night. He is a pathological liar, he adores the sound of his own voice, he is incapable of regulating his emotions, and he (wrongly) thinks that he is the smartest person in the room. Should Trump either decide to, or be forced to, speak to Mueller and his team, these traits will hopefully seal his fate.
7
"Mr. Mueller, who has less power than Mr. Starr enjoyed."
And why does Mueller have less power than Starr, I thought they were equals.
1
The questions Robert Mueller would be asking would in legal essence be asked on behalf of the American people. The answers Donald Trump will give will be on behalf of himself. Mr. Trump should certainly be presumed innocent, however, he should not be permitted to circumvent the legal process in order to simply serve himself. He swore to preserve and protect the Constitution at his Inauguration, and that he must. Article II, Section 4: Standards for Impeachment are an implicit part of the Constitution. The American people are entitled to the truth from their president. It is not a ‘witch hunt’ for us to inquire when evidenciary facts may be present. I fear for the meaning of the Constitution if we don’t.
1
I love the fact that Trump's former lawyer, Dowd, claimed that Trump was "too busy running the country" to sit for an interview. Trump spends HOURS each day watching FOX news. I think he can spare a few hours to answer some questions and put to rest the legitimate concerns that we, the people, have about the way he got elected.
4
Part of the implication of this article is that Trump is incapable of answering the questions. This means that he is basically mentally deficient and his handlers know this. Just great, once again we have to remember that this person is our president, someone who is incapable of giving a straight answer to a question.
3
It's a simple risk assessment for Trump and his attorneys. Which is the lesser evil: cooperate with Mueller or firing him? Either way, his choice puts him in a precarious position.
1
Putting all of or eggs into Mueller's basket may not be a good idea.
When I hear “it is a witch hunt” I hear Nixon in the background whispering “I wasn’t a crook either.”
25
"No collusion, no collusion, no collusion...."
OOOps....obstruction of justice and collusion!
Trump decrees himself the witch.
45 is so arrogant that he'll give Mueller what he wants. I want 45 to do exactly that. Only then, in my opinion, will inroads be made into 45's appeal to the 41% masses who don't use their heads for anything but a hat rack.
13
A large percentage of inmates simply talked their way into prison. The absolute dumbest thing Trump could do would be to submit to an interview by Mueller. Personally, I think that Mueller's main goal in seeking an interview would be to catch Trump lying to authorities. He has already busted several Trump cronies on that basis.
5
Speculation over whether 45 will sit for an interview or not, whether he can focus enough to make it through 12 hrs. of questions or not, whether he will lie or not, or whether he will pardon himself and his sycophants or not, doesn’t address the essential question. If he becomes a target of Mueller’s investigation, is implicated in crimes, or impeached by Congress, (or loses in 2020) what happens next? Will 45 leave the WH on his own? Ok...let’s speculate, but no matter what it doesn’t bode well for our democracy.
5
Ousting corrupt politicians is the best thing we can do for our democracy...what are you talking about?
Look at all the other countries who do not have the capability to do so. Their citizens would welcome just the idea of independent oversight of the powers that be.
2
Can you imagine how much better off we would be with the lady who endured the marathon public grilling by Trey Gowdy in the presidency today?
Trump is the biggliest stable genius ever. AND he has nothing to hide so I am sure he will meet with Mueller and Mueller will be really impressed. So please, Mr. President, meet with Mr. Mueller and show us how smart and cunning you are. Pretty please?
19
Nixon was a crook, but he wasn't stupid.
trump's smart move would be to resign, knowing that Pence would pardon him for his numerous crimes. I'm guessing trump's ego will lead him to reject the smart move, foolishly believing he can out-maneuver Mr. Mueller. Those poisoned by Fixed Newz propaganda have no idea how close trump is to facing imprisonment. Obstruction of justice and money laundering are slam dunks. At least the Baby King's orange face will go well with his new orange jump-suit.
The Baby King is not above the law. Lock him up!
12
Trump demonstrated how incorrigibly stupid he is when he failed to call for a run-off election to resolve the legitimacy issues raised by the 2016 election. Win or lose, he would have made real history. Had he won, he would not have the legitimacy issues that dog him today.
1
Pence might not pardon Trump. Remember what happened to Gerald Ford?
Whether or not Mr Trumps sits to answer questions is now less important than dealing with the mess the NYT created yesterday with that alleged list of questions from Mr Mueller.
The facts of how this investigation team have operated thus far say that list is not from them. The grammar of the alleged questions on it do not pass as the legal grammar a lawyer would use.
So before we start talking about what it is Mueller may know, which can only benefit El Trumpo, how about we deal with the provenance of that list?!
I am pretty sure it was released by El Trumpo's team for the purpose of ferreting out what the Mueller team has on him.
Collusion is not a crime or a legal term so of course "there is no collusion", how could there be? It isn't a thing. That is why El Trumpo keeps saying it like it is a thing. No matter what dirty tricks he is guilty of from the election he is absolutely right that there will be no collusion proven. Again because it is not a thing! You cannot be found guilty of something that does not exist.
Collusion-1. secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy, especially in order to cheat or deceive others.
2. illegal cooperation or conspiracy, especially between ostensible opponents in a lawsuit.
It is a word that can be used to describe a criminal conspiracy but it is not a word that describes any of the crimes the deceptive answers of El Trumpo's campaign staff (and our current USAG) indicate may have taken place and directly lead to this investigation.
4
Rewrite- It is a word that can be used to describe a criminal conspiracy but it is not a word that describes any of the crimes involved in a criminal conspiracy.
Sheesh he's even got me focused on him....
Conspiracy to commit a crime (e.g., accepting things of value from a foreign power/utilizing stolen emails) is a crime. BTW, we already know his campaign colluded. What do you think the meeting (that we know about) in Trump Tower was about?
rms- Collusion is not a crime is the point I am making. You seem to be caught in his trickery and flash. When he is charged for the crimes that amount to collusion not one of them will be "collusion" it will be conspiracy or something else that specifically designates the criminal act.
T: No, I didn’t say that. But if I did say it, I really didn’t mean it.
G: That’s much better. Now practice that until you can say it without thinking.
T: That’s not necessary. I use note cards.
7
Just tell the truth, the whole truth, Mr. President. If this is a witch hunt and you are an innocent man, this should be no problem for you. Trumps lawyers admitting this interview will be a minefield is an admission that Trump will need to tell a self consistent web of lies to a federal prosecutor, or else admit to committing crimes.
10
Subpoena! Let’s have the oaf under oath.
28
I’m just a simpleton, yet just plane old common sense tells me Trump is hiding something. Something big. Something bad.
Ya think ?
14
Being honest with anyone, especially the American public is a minefield for Mr. Trump.
10
I know where Mr. Dershowitz is coming from. Dershowitz, a liberal, saw the way Bill Clinton was hounded by TWO investigations into a real estate deal that happened before he was president - and of which he was ultimately cleared. But the Republican fishing expedition finally landed a big one when they got Clinton to lie under oath about an unrelated matter.
This is not that.
The Russia probe is about fundamental questions involving our national security, If Dershowitz is right, then basically a president, with his party in control of congress, can conspire with a foreign government to do almost anything. The interests of the American people be damned.
If this were the case in the run up to the US entry into WWII, Japan could have put it's Manchurian candidate in the White House (Japan actually had control of Manchuria at that time) and gotten everything it wanted in a conquest by democracy. No Pearl Harbor would have been necessary.
18
And think of Poland. Our founding fathers lived in the wake of the Polish Partitions. It was a present day example for the constitutional convention of the perils of leaders being subject to foreign influence. Russia securing influence in the Polish political system was a fundamental component of that historical episode.
1
Trump has been relying on and gotten aways with lies and fabrications for so long that the process is second nature to him. Meaning he considers it as ordinary normal everyday practice. I don't believe for a moment that Trump is not guilty of some sort of wrong doing. At the very least he and his campaign entourage are guilty of conspiracy to meddle in the election process.
It seems that he expects us all to simply accept the word of a proven serial liar when he proclaims over and over again that this is all just a witch hunt directed at an innocent man. Maybe innocent in his mind, but then his mind has little in common with law abiding people.
15
So Trump is too busy running the country to meet with Mueller. It takes approximately 4 hours to play a round of golf. So may I suggest that he give up 4 rounds which would free him up.
103
"So Trump is too busy running the country to meet with Mueller." I think he meant to say he's too busy RUINING the country. #meetwithMueller #showyourtaxes
1
Not to mention the hours Trump watches Fox everyday instead of doing his job. He can’t even bother to read a full intelligence briefing that every other president read daily.
1
"Could be" a minefield?
The man is literally incapable of telling the truth about anything, not even something as banal as "Trump Steaks" during the campaign. Getting Trump to answer a question honestly is harder by a factor of 100 than pinning a jello mold to a wall.
He will never willingly agree to a "sit down" with Mueller.
He knows he will never be impeached or indicted, and if he is he will pardon himself and everybody involved that he believes will be able to hurt him in some way.
Trump got to where he is by lying about everything, so why does anybody think he's going to stop now?
24
If the President were not guilty of anything, he would have no qualms at all about talking freely to anyone. But he is so delusional and paranoid that there would be great danger in going before Mueller. BRING IT ON.
9
A perfectly innocent person would answer these questions with the best intents and in good faith, and rather swiftly find himself in the penitentiary for a very long time if he went in without an insanely well rehearsed script, and the delivered a monologue without interruption. Innocent people trip up like crazy.
I smell toast.
I hope this session is televised.
I started watching the Hillary-eleven-hour witch hunt by a team of drama queens who had served as public prosecutors, and eventually was exhausted (not Hillary, she stayed calm).
I breathlessly wait to see the same performance from president Trump. This time, I will stay glued to the television.
12
These questions are not a minefield for trump. Why? Because first you have to have a mind! The best thing that could happen at this point is for trump the clown to answer the questions.
4
No, it's not a minefield for Trump, but it is for Mueller and his team, and they're already standing in the middle of it. There was no significant collusion, there was some obstruction of justice. There was a bunch of tax evasion and money laundering, but none of it rises to the level that we prosecute wealthy white people for. Trump will incriminate himself in the interviews, but he's the President, and white, and wealthy. He's bulletproof. He will claim total vindication, regardless of evidence to the contrary, and his base will believe him (sort of - nudge, nudge, wink, wink, who cares?...) Congress will look the other way. When the FBI concludes the investigation, Trump will demand an apology, and fire every government employee that was involved.
The other possibility is that Trump never had any intention of talking to Mueller, and still doesn't. Even the bulletproof hesitate to walk into a minefield. I find it more than likely that Trump's team leaked the questions in order to discredit the whole process. They're crafting a way out. "Disgraceful."
Either way, the most significant result of this investigation will be the firing of Comey, Mueller and Rosenstein.
2
"I don't recall"
"I don't recall"
"I don't recall"
No mine field there.
1
Time for the 25th Amendment!! The man has amnesia!!!
“I don’t recall” does not sit well with anyone especially if a witness is known, or claims a great fantastic pretty smart memory.
And even during a coached deposition, picking away at Trump ‘s thin skin will be enough to cause him to go off-script, even ignoring counsel’s advice.
I once got what I wanted out of a guy his own party couldn’t take because of his paper-thin skin, “The Torch,”, former NJ Democratic Member of Congress Bob Torricelli (pronounced Tor-i-selli) who had a specific question he refused to answer for anyone. During a 1 on 1 interview I hot the info by repeatedly referring to him as Mr, Tor-i-chelli. He only corrected me 3-4 times, demanding I use the Americanized pronunciation, but he never realized he answered the exact question every other reporter had failed to get an answer to. He just blurted it out, and a few minutes later I wa pronouncing his name as he wished.
READ some of Trump’s speeches - they are incomprehensible ramblings, winning applause only when he tosses in .a line like “and that is what we have to do to make America great again”.
Pick, pick, pick, Mr. Prosecutor and he’ll tell his own lawyer to shut up so he can answer. It won’t be the truth, but, as he rambles on, thrilled by the sound of his own voice, the revelation will either come out or he will make up a lie on the spot, an obvious lie, contradicting three other answers or tweets on the same point
To put it succinctly, file this entire event under the heading "Poetic Justice."
1
Mueller is just another anti-Trump government hack who is on a fishing expedition. The White House should give him 60 days to report what he has found, or shut it down. It's a distraction and a waste of taxpayer's money.
The liberal Russia collusion impeachment fantasy was created by Democrats as a roadblock for the administration, it hasn't worked, time to throw in the towel. You can hate Trump all that you want, but he's getting the job done and will be elected again.
3
The House cannot shut down a Special Prosecutor, only its own investigations, which it has already done with its cherry-picked reports.
He is a well-respected lawyer - and with his record extracting guilty pleas from Trump sides, he is obviously not just fishing.
When it comes to the truth DJT is in his own universe. If he goes to jail he won’t be the first person to scratch his head wondering why and thinking it was a huge plot against him. Americans are getting to see first hand what mental illness looks like and why we need more coverage in our health insurance policies. This type of mental illness is exhausting for everyone around it.
7
Agree. If most of us worked with someone like Trump, we would have asked HR to get him treatment. People are sidelined for less. Their jobs are held - at least that is the law in California - but everyone suffers when the person needing care is not given the treatment he needs.
Even on the home front, you know when your kid or spouse is sick. You take hum or her to the doctor for a diagnosis but the fact that you are not an MD does not mean you don't recognize when someone is ill.
1
Protect the inquiry (of facts) and prevent an inquisition (of beliefs)
Unfair: What did you know about [anything] two and a half years ago?
Fair: What did you read or hear about [anything] two and a half years ago?
The second version is fair because it gives the responding witness the clear option of describing an uncertain memory of the facts and does not infer that information about the subject with a belief that the information is true or reliable.
Unfair: What was your reaction to [anything] eighteen months ago or that day?
Fair: What, if anything, did you say or do after [anything]?
The first version seems to call for internal feelings that may not have been acted on while the second question allows a witness to answer “Nothing” without providing why. The second version also focuses on the timeline without assuming any cause and effect.
Unfair: How was the decision made to [anything]?
Fair: What factors supported or opposed the decision that was made?
A listing of factors will quickly provide a description of the scope of issues, persons and facts involved without asking for an impossible narrative regarding the decision maker’s mental operations.
Unfair: What was your opinion of [anyone] at a particular time.
Fair: In your position and role as [be specific] what, if any, opinion had you formed of [anyone] at the time.
The second version does not conflate politics, religion, government, family, etc. and does not assume that any reliable judgment had been formed.
2
Mueller already knows the answers to the questions on his list. Law students have it drummed into them to know as much as can possibly be learned about the answer to every question asked...before it is asked.
All Trump has to do is dissemble and Mueller has him in the bag. And this president cannot verbalize two truths in succession without a teleprompter. I don't believe he will have the benefit of that device when face to face with Mueller.
7
“At this point, what difference does it make?” seems like a satisfactory answer to every question.
1
It’s a long column when essentially all that needed to be said was: Trump will need to open his mouth.
Trump hasn’t lied on average more than 6 times a day over the 446 days he’s been measured. That’s in the absence of a formal setting where answers are required.
There’s no way he can speak the truth over 6-8 hours.
Yet another example of Trump not measuring up to the Clintons, much that he likes to evoke them for political gain at his rallies.
One must concede though that we haven’t seen the application of Goebbels strategies done as effectively in recent times as by Trump (no one should underestimate his political genius). He’s been saying: no collusion. No collusion at every opportunity. And Gaslighting all along. “No collusion but by Democrats. By Hillary. Fake Dossier...” and other untruths.
I’ll give him that. I don’t know how to define “collusion” legally nor am I interested in it. I’d just charge him with Conspiracy against the United States (yup)... and let him defend that charge. There’s no need even to debate that his campaign worked with the Russians (and then kept lying about it)
7
Hillary testified in an open congressional hearing. For 11 1/2 hours.
She did that because she had nothing to hide, and had a firm grasp of the facts.
He cannot testify because
1. He is guilty of many crimes
2. He lies constantly and would add charges by lying to investigators
3. Is untethered from reality and has no grasp of facts
It is as simple as that.
12
Minefield not with standing because the President has a detailed map showing him where all the mines are. unless there is a sea change involving the control of congress the GOP will not under any reason impeach their guy. maybe 30 plus years ago there were some that would stand up for the country but we have been shown a different ilk of political leader this century. all senior citizens see daily not one iota of the nation we were taught we were as children. President is an honor placed upon certain individuals by the voting populace of this nation. well due to an outdated form of electoral obfuscation the populace is no longer required to select our own leaders any longer. both national parties are almost irrelevant with regards to democratic values regarding the vote. Gerrymandering has ruined the nation and never. Interesting times indeed.
the Map will not help this president. his sense of direction as a human is wanting. his actions through life show him to be a very profitable STREET ARTIST. yes an artist but now this artist has a venue he cannot hide in. lucky him and luckier us.
3
Trump may very well be guilty of several serious crimes and is in grave legal jeopardy. This isn’t some NY real estate deal he can blast hs way through with bluster and stomp out of the room. Not a deal he can close by sending his lawyers or goons out to threaten and bully to move negotiations along.
Trump is no match for Mueller and his team. How cavalier of Trump to assume he is above the law now that he is a public servant like he operated for years as a private citizen.
2
Trump was supposedly going to be called to task for the many lies, fabrications and incompetent criminal types with whom he has surrounded himself. Didn't happen. Mueller and his staff had better be super-human if/when they get their chance with him. I truly believe that the country's survival depends on it.
This article states, "Several legal experts said it was unusual for prosecutors to give Mr. Trump a preview of the questions, speculating that Mr. Mueller was bending over backward to defang any accusations of overreach."
This needs updating. We now learn that it was Jay Sekulow, Trump's attorney, who drew up the list of forty-nine questions by extrapolating from negotiations with the Mueller team. It's somewhat misleading, in other words, to state flatly that Trump was "give[n]... a preview of the questions."
Moreover, it seems likely that someone on Trump's legal team leaked Sekulow's list in order to provide Trump a basis for whining, as he does so well, that someone revealed information about him, tweeting this is further evidence of his unfair treatment in a "witch hunt."
Trump's legal team, along with his Congressional Republican claque, is not fighting the Mueller investigation primarily with legal tools. It is now an all out war to shape the political image of what is going on.
In this regard, Trump employs a plenitude of spinmeisters, shysters, and thugs (like his "bodyguard" and Trump Organization attorney who raided Dr. Bornstein's office and stole Trump's medical records. And like those who later justified the break-in as "standard operating procedure"--Sarah Hucklebee Sanders, this means you.)
Were this a normal legal show-down, Trump would already have lost.
2
It seems that Sekulow rewrote the questions to serve as a pinata for the Trumpsters to use to score political points. And as always, when Trumpsters "color outside the lines," it's working so far. Sad (he said in Trumpese).
It is my understanding, based on a number of reports, that the Whitehouse resident’s attorneys wrote the questions that were “leaked” last night, and that those questions were based on the meetings with Mueller. It was stated that these were not given verbatim by the special council. It was also reported that they were not released by Mueller or his team, but were released by someone who was not a part of that one’s legal team. The speculation is that it was Dowd who released them.
2
As Admiral Ackbar says: "it's a trap!"
3
Trump talking is a minefield period. Within three hours of Trump answering questions on Michael Cohen, the feds were using Trump's words against him in court.
27
Just because he's a serial liar doesn't mean he's any good at it.
56
trump is a walking, talking mine field. he lies about the significant and insignificant alike. he is averse to truth.
15
Sheesh, this article could just answer it's own headline and be one sentence long.
Because he's guilty of countless crimes and lies so often it's impossible to keep all those lies straight, and Mueller already knows the truth.
14
A minefield, indeed!!! Since the president lies all the time, he won't be able to get his stories straight. If I were him, I would not testify. However, I hope he does so he get caught in his lies.
14
Why anyone should worry about this "stable genius". He should be able to answer these question with ease, unless, he know that he and his cohorts are guilty. Trump should be encouraged to talk to Mr. Mueller's team. It is important to have Trump under oat.
4
We need to stop saying that these are "Mueller's questions." They aren't; they're questions created by Donald Trump's lawyer, Jay Sekulow, based on a conversation with the Special Counsel. They are really topics to be covered. They reveal the long, multi-faceted history of all the possible points of collusion and obstruction. And, they clearly were then leaked by the Trump legal team through a subordinate or an associate to start a public campaign by Mr. Trump to resist meeting with Mr. Mueller. The litany and scope of the "questions" in themselves are damning of Mr. Trump and his staff, and it is obvious why he won't answer them in person. So, a confrontation is looming now between the "rule of law" represented by Mr. Mueller and the man who believes he's above the law and can refuse to comply with it.
11
Mr. Savage's news analysis doesn't touch on a most interesting point concerning the Mueller investigation--it makes no mention of the evidence before our eyes. I mean, look at that photo of Mr. Trump. Just look at it. He's quite visibly aged. He seems to have aged three years in his first year in the White House. Perhaps the pressure of the Mueller investigation is actually making the man a bit world-weary? Or more adult, or more resolved? Trump, in the photo, for the first time, is actually showing something like the dignity and reserve of a man in his seventies. Trump's much-mocked, absurd orange combover has here been dialed back to something more appropriate to an elected official in his eighth decade. Granted, he still has those reverse tan lines from tanning-booth goggles around his eyes; but a growth process to maturity can move forward in small increments. Behind him, we can see Chief of Staff John Kelly, who almost seems to be raising an eyebrow in surprise at the deepened gravitas of the chief executive. Trump's lawyers should give him the license to speak freely before Mueller. It looks like, at the very least, Trump will be able to appear a tiny bit more presidential.
1
Certainly it's a mine field. Trump has no relationship to the truth. He lies all the time. His lawyers must be in panic mode. After all, they have no control over him or any control over what he'll say to Mueller.
7
There wouldn't be enough time in the day for Trump to explain all of the baseless accusations he's made about people. I would love to hear him try to explain under oath what evidence he has to support any of those claims.
5
Whether he agrees to the interview or not, 45 is toast on this. Mueller knows he does not need DJT's input. But if he gets it, game, set, match.
7
I tend to agree. I am not so sure that Mueller will subpoena Trump either.
Trump will litigate a subpoena all the way to the Supreme Court where he will lose. It will also add months to the investigation while more indictments and convictions accumulate around him.
I don't think Mueller sees any benefit in prolonging the investigation and postponing the inevitable. Trump certainly wants to buy time but the subpoena is not his call.
To your point Mueller has enough evidence to indict Trump on Conspiracy and Obstruction of Justice. New York AG Schneiderman has virtually a library of evidence to indict Trump on Money Laundering, Tax Evasion, Wire Fraud and Racketeering. Prosecutors of financial crimes do not alert or interview targets otherwise they may destroy documents. These crimes are also beyond both the contaminated GOP Congress and Executive pardons.
Mueller has it all gamed out.
1
Don't worry, Don. As brilliant as you are, you can match IQ's with this corrupt Justice Department dupe that should never have been appointed in the first place. Get in there and show him how it's done in the business world in which you were so successful. Stare him down, answer his ridiculous questions, and prove once and for all that there was no collusion, and that Mrs. Clinton should be the one in jail because of her emails.
We are all behind you. If your lawyers think it's a bad idea, they are bad lawyers. Show them your true self. Throw in a lie or two. No one will be the wiser, even you. Finally, a chance to put this trumped up Russia business to bed.
I can hardly wait.
6
You should get prepared for the coming housecleaning in 2020 after Trump is reelected.
A lot of people believe that the questions would have had to be leaked by one of Trump's people. It seems rather doubtful that Mueller would leak anything based on his record.
Trump leaking the list allowed him to control the way in which the questions were presented to the public. Noticeably absent are items that Comey has brought up about lying about his trips to Russia. No questions mention of the questionable loans and other financial arrangements he may have with powerful Russians.
In fact the questions presented sounded strikingly familiar in that they all have been answered by Trump publicly repeatedly. None of them speak to the loans, money laundering, prostitutes, constant lying, illegal nepotism, ethics violations etc that surely will be uncovered by Mueller if he has had access to the financial records.
Wonder what Mueller's real list looks like...
6
NY AG Schneiderin has all the questions about finances.
Why? Well...since the man lies constantly it seems quite possible that he would perjure himself. That would present a problem, no? For him, I mean..... & maybe a few others? Sorry...I'm being snarky.
5
Just telling the truth won't work.
Trump is clearly busy being President, maybe too busy for a session with Mr. Mueller. Perhaps they could meet on the golf course at Mar-a-Largo?
7
Trump should submit to the interview with Mueller. And, if he simply tells the truth, then, of course, all will be forgiven and the "Witch Hunt" would end. Go for it Mr. President. You have nothing to fear. That I can tell you. Believe me.
13
I am not fan of Trump, but am puzzled about the seeming obsession with Trump's state of mind when he made certain decisions. Can "thoughts" make an act illegal? If so, what if said "thoughts" change from one minute to the next?
Also, the concept of "perjury" becomes fascinating in the case of Trump. He seems unable to differentiate between truth and whatever comes out of his mouth at the time; he is a genius at lying because he believes himself. Being presented with physical evidence (e.g., a videotape of himself) bothers him not a whit. Perhaps he will be found not guilty by reason of insanity; ie., incapable of understanding the charges against him.
5
"Can "thoughts" make an act illegal?"
Yes. It's a matter of criminal intent. Firing Comey because he was trying to investigate the Trump Campaign is a very different thing from firing Comey because Trump believed him to be incompetent. For similar reasons, there's a huge legal difference between manslaughter and first degree murder. Thoughts can't just be waved away.
2
The concept of perjury is fascinating because truths can be inferred from elliptical statements. People are not guilty of perjury simply because other people act stupid and deny such inferences, as when Bill Clinton truthfully denied having "sexual relations", which obviously meant "intercourse" in the context he uttered it.
2
Intent is a legally actionable concept. I'm guessing but I think it is called "State of mind". Thus the difference between murder and manslaughter if you kill someone with your car.
He is not a genius at lying and he does not believe himself. He believes nothing because he believes that everyone else is also lying. A subtle difference but it matters.
2
There is clear evidence of collusion between the Russians, who illegally intervened in the election to hurt Clinton, help Trump, and deligitimize the US election, and the Trump campaign, which met with Russians to obtain negative information on Clinton and knew in advance (Giuliani) of the release of this information via wikileaks.
There is evidence of a quid-pro-quo in changing the Republican platform to benefit Russia and mitigation against sanctions on Russia (continuing by Trump).
Thus there is a prima facie case of conspiracy to commit illegal acts by the Trump Campaign.
It remains to be seen whether Don Trump Jr and Jared Kushner will be indicted.
There is also evidence that the Trump Organization was involved in money laundering, with Russian oligarchs before the campaign.
The major issues to be determined are whether Trump himself was part of the conspiracy, and his possibly involvement in money laundering before the campaign.
He should be questioned, or this country will devolve into one where certain people are truly above the law.
36
One thing that Trump has indeed accomplished is that the rules and statutes governing a Presidency must be changed. No President, not this one, nor the next, nor the one 20 years from now should use the Presidency to avoid and shield himself from examination and accountability for his acts or for criminal behavior simply because he is President. If a President commits a capital offense, should he be immune to the full extent of the law and prosecution? It is the height of Presidential abuse when this man can think he is not subject to the rules of law and/or to be held accountable in a criminal proceeding. He is NOT a God. He was subject to the law before he was elected, he should be subject to the same laws after being elected. The nonsense that impeachment serves that role is simply disingenuous as we clearly see this Congress will NOT do that or hold him accountable as they serve him faithfully. There has to be a better way than this system we now have to severs to protect him rather then hold him accountable.
279
We had a Special Prosecutor law passed after Nixon. Because Republicans so badly abused the power of the special prosecutor law during the Presidency of Bill Clinton it was allowed to lapse.
Now we have a person far more dangerous, criminal, and dishonest Republicans than Nixon and we are back to square one because of Republicans abusing power in the 1990s.
Guess an object lesson is that Republicans always abuse the public trust whe they have the opportunity
41
The law already applies to him. No man is above the law.
the problem is the republicans in Congress and Mr Sessions ridiculous and wrong assertion that I heard on some news channel yesterday that a sitting president cannot be indicted.
16
The investigative role should be in the Judiciary, a fully independent branch of government, instead of the Executive, as it is in many other countries. That would prevent many of the Republican abuses we are seeing now. And the Constitution should include explicit language to the effect that the president has or may be given no rights in a criminal investigation beyond what other citizens have, including executive privilege or the right to pardon.
Virtually all of these questions cannot be asked a sitting president. Questions about why did the President fire someone, what he was thinking, or that others could answer, are objectionable and inappropriate. Clearly, the questions are intended to trap the President on any basis and have little to do with Russian collusion. So far, Mueller has not one single bit of evidence of any collusion between the Trump Campaign and Russia, just evidence of Hillary buying the Steele Dossier. Rita and Gene's comments indicate how ridiculous the obdurate left is. Check the law on what a president can be asked.
3
Russ, which law is it that limits asking questions?
2
Isn't this all window dressing so that Trump has enough time to bankrupt the country in order to justify destroying all social service programs, like social security, medicare, VA, HUD, public education...?
5
Trump would have trouble talking to a hydrant.
157
@Liberty Apples Providence:
Best post of the day and difficult to top this one! Well done.
5
I disagree; he loves a silent audience
2
@ JoyceeO Pittsburgh
I thought he loved an adoring and compliant audience.
4
Time to subpoena Trump and his children plus Jared to appear before a grand jury. Testimony is secret so Trump and family should be highly cooperative.
Also grand jury should have access to all tax records and loan records of the entire Trump organization.
7
As an American citizen, I believe strongly that Mr. Trump should answer these questions on the record, and if he lies then those lies should be exposed. But if I were his lawyer, I would do everything in my power to prevent him from being interviewed. The lawyer's job is to protect the client even if he believes him to be guilty.
3
“Mr. Dowd had argued that Mr. Trump was too busy running the country to sit for an interview.”
This really made me laugh. When Trump isn’t wasting millions of dollars golfing or holding his monthly Nuremberg rallies, he appears to put in about a 25 hour work week, not counting Tweeting and “Executive Time.” That phone rant on FoxNews alone took a half hour.
This guy seems to be the least busy president in history. You’d think it wouldn’t be that difficult for him to find a little time to grace Mr. Mueller’s office with his presence.
56
Everytime Mueller and the ongoing investigation is mentioned by the press, Trump throws a tantrum. Just as a spoiled child would throw when they don't get their way. If, as Trump claims, he's not guilty of any collusion or hasn't tried to impede or obstruct justice in any manner, why should he have any problem at all. He should be glad that he's finally being interviewed and hopefully the issues regarding Russia, brought up by the cross purposes between his business and Presidential duties, will finally be resolved and put to rest. The obstruction of justice questions, which seem to revolve around fired staff members, were brought on by his need for immediate gratification. He has no one to blame but himself. President Obama warned Trump, several times, not to give Mr. Flynn a place at the table. So why did Trump give Mr. Flynn the position of National Security Adviser? Mr. Comey certainly made a name for himself. Whether Trump liked or disliked him isn't important in the scheme of things. He should have left matters rest for several additional months before firing him. The one person I feel sorry is Assistant Attorney General Yates. The White House Press Office memo regarding her termination was written to try to inflict as much damage on her reputation as possible. In that memo the WH Press Office states that Trump's vetting policy isn't extreme. Yet, Trump, stated he was implementing extreme vetting measures. You can't have it both ways Donald.
3
Talking to Mueller is a minefield for Trump simply because he has publicly made many statements that contradict each other, as with the firing of James Comey.
Question - Mr. Trump, why did you fire James Comey.
Trump - I fired him because of blah blah blah.
Question - If you fired him for that reason, then why did you publicly state on [date] that you fired him for a different reason?
That's just one example. Mueller will also ask Trump questions that have already been answered, and perhaps proven, by others. If Trump lies under those circumstances, he's a perjurer. Gee, what a surprise that would be.
3
It seems like the Trump Administration is buying time until the mid-term elections. If the Republicans hold on to both houses, particularly the House where impeachment is begun, then it all won't matter, since over 80% of Republicans still support Trump, and the GOP in Congress gets what they want with him in office. In the latter regard, a Pence Presidency wouldn't make much difference to them. So it could be possible, even probable, that Trump is guilty, but it all won't matter, except to history, but hopefully, at least some of the GOP voters will wake up to the fact that we have an unqualified liar as president.
2
It’s too treacherous for Trump to answer questions like why he fired the FBI Director and why he taunts the Attorney General? Please. The only reason they would be beyond Trump is that the real answers are incriminating.
4
Too busy running the country. Well, if the “president” could take some time off from golf and holding “I love me” fests there could be time to hangout himself with Mr. Mueller.
But, I need the statement that Trump is too busy running the government, it should have been finished by adding this-“into the ground”.
2
Mr. Mueller doesn't need answers to these questions. He and every thinking citizen already knows the answers. Donald Trump made sure of that.
It seems that Comey and Muller are simply making sure that everybody knows what they know. Ultimately, it will be up to the voter to decide who rules the roost.
People are stubborn. Many of them have to learn the hard way. Oh well.
1
Mueller could subpoeana Trump to testify before a grand jury, and the grand jury probably would return an indictment for obstruction of justice. Then we would hear how “the deep state” extends even to the grand jury. It seems the anti-Trump conspiracy keeps getting wider and wider. Pretty soon it will embrace the known universe.
2
The folks here who are confidently predicting that Trump will run circles around Mueller (a) aren't reading the questions very carefully and (b) are apparently unaware of a little thing called a follow-up question.
The main questions alone--not to mention answering them in front of seasoned law professionals with perfectly blank expressions--should make a person of normal intelligence with absolutely no skin in the game sweat buckets. Even the shortest, simplest questions demand a carefully thought out response, just to avoid a poor choice of words that could raise further questions.
And oh, those further questions! Each of the original queries is accompanied by a "question tree" with a separate line of questions for each possible response. "IF Subject answers 'yes,' THEN ask A, B, and C. IF Subject answers 'no,' THEN ask D, E, F. IF Subject claims he can't remember, THEN ... " etc.
Again, a normal person who is absolutely innocent is likely to stagger under this polite but relentless interrogation. Trump, who never listens to lawyers or briefings, who makes up everything as he goes along, who lies the way other people breathe, who surrounds himself with Yes Men and Women and avoids being in the presence of people who do not smile at him, is not going to come out of it with his dignity or his long-term freedom intact.
6
I honestly believe that 3/4 of America is ready for Mueller to subpoena trump, so he can take the 5th, to which he has claimed those who do are either in the mob or have something to hide. In trump's case it might be a lot of both. One thing for sure he won't be able to write his own ending for this investigation; like he has done with his doctors regarding his physicals. Using phrases like he could live to be 200, or the healthiest president we have ever had. The next thing trump might get to write is his own life/political obituary. Truth and Justice for all.
4
Mueller cannot force Trump to answer any questions. And, as long as GDP continues to rise, Trump can safely ignore any of his subpoenas. I can feel Mueller's futile pain...
1
Gee, Bob, is it all about money, really? The country will continue to suffer under this man/boy. You speak of Mueller’s pain - what of the country’s pain under someone who just can’t tell the truth? Wow!
1
It's not a minefield if Trump is innocent.
The trouble is that Mueller has already interviewed multiple witnesses whose testimony may conflict with Trump's answers. This question, for example, could be problematic: "What knowledge or involvement did you have concerning platform changes regarding arming Ukraine?"
If Trump simply says he has no knowledge of a change to the GOP platform then the testimonies of Diana Denman, JD Gordon and Papadopoulos' regarding Ukraine would likely conflict since Gordon and Papadopoulos are already indicted and cooperating witnesses.
That same question "What knowledge or involvement did you have concerning platform changes regarding arming Ukraine?" is one that that Mitch McConnell, Nunes, Ryan and the GOP are worried about. They made the deal at the RNC. They are complicit in working with Ukraine/ Russia to sway the elections. Kislyac was there at the convention!
McConnell and the GOP won't protect Mueller because they WANT him fired by Trump. That would get the job done and they would claim to be blameless ("Aw, shucks, we didn't think he'd do it.")
It's not a minefield. It's a truth walk.
3
49 questions: no big deal for college students taking an exam and a minor effort compared to taking the college boards. Remember, Trump is really smart and went to a really good college. May Trump decide to tell the truth and let it set him free.
1
It and when Mueller and Trump finally do sit down for a one-on-one interview, it will be like a one-on-one game of basketball between LeBron James and Chris Christie. Trump's lawyers obviously won't agree to it, and we're going to have to wait for a subpoena.
5
Whether it's a mine field or not, Trump is not above the law and if Mueller needs to question him then he has to answer the questions.
The country can and has survived without the President for a few hours, so there is no reason for him not to.
13
We have been surviving on that state for over a year.
1
As Trump Nation Alternative Fact Spokesperson Kellyanne Conway told us last year, don't judge Donald "by what's come out of his mouth rather than look at what's in his heart.”
The problem is that what's in his heart is total darkness; his heart is little more than a lump of coal.
It's always tricky putting a pathological liar under oath.
If Donald actually attempts to answer questions under oath, his federal prison cell for treason will build itself.
So much 'winning' !
407
So, even his advisors admit he's a liar. And that they are enablers.
8
Wow, Kellyanne should be fired for just saying something so incredibly ignorant.
1
[Answering Mueller’s Questions Could Be a Minefield for Trump]
We certainly hope so.
82
Maybe Trump could dictate the questions, just like he dictated his medical report.
66
Trump thinks he is The Wizard of Oz.
But for those Americans who know the movie, Trump fears the curtain is about to be pulled back on the wizard. The fraud will be plain for all to see.
Finally, the wizard is exposed and fantasy becomes dark reality. The con-game is over.
30
Donald Trump’s public statements about wanting to sit down for an interview by Robert Mueller were like his statements as a candidate about wanting to release his tax returns.
Trump says no interview now that Mueller’s people supposedly “leaked” the questions, and back then Trump said no release of returns because of an ongoing IRS audit.
Donald Trump never had any real intention of allowing Mueller to interview him, just as he never had any intention of releasing his tax returns. Feigned cooperativeness is an old Trump tactic
343
It was reported last night that the “president’s” lawyers wrote that list of question based on discussions with the special council and were not released by the special council’s team. Rather, they were released by someone from the Whitehouse resident’s side, but not his attorneys. Further, it was speculated that they were released to be used in an attempt to indicate that Mueller had overreached the scope of his investigation.
18
I don't think Mueller's office was the source of the link. Trump could have done it himself, just to point the finger and cry "foul."
6
He said he would testify. He said he would release his tax returns. What is his word worth?
177
Nothing Absolutely nothing
It wasn’t in business in NYC ( pay bills? I’ll get you more customers$
What’s changed?
He has millions more folks to lie to
6
The perjury trap is not a plot against Trump. It is a favored law enforcement tool that came into vogue among federal prosecutors like Mueller in the 1980s. It puts form over substance, creating a crime out of thin air by playing a game of gotcha with targeted witnesses. A variant of this approach was famously used to put Martha Stewart in prison. In her case, as with most of these cases, it turns out the “crime” she was being investigated for proved groundless. But hyper competitive prosecutors correctly surmised they could bait her into making misstatements by persuading her lawyers to have her submit to formal questioning. So it’s not about The Donald. This is much more about whether the courts will continue to approve of using such a cheap parlor trick to contrive “crime” and fill our prisons in this way.
2
The questions posed are not perjury traps.
Trump himself is a perjury trap because it is not clear that he knows truth from falsity. Which is an indictment in itself, just not a legal one.
2
As we learned during the Watergate investigations, the only "safe" answer to questions about facts relating to potentially criminal conduct was: "I don't specifically recall." That didn't work out so well for several high level Nixon White House officials who ended up in prison. And it definitely won't work for Trump. Because he remembers everything. In fact, he has the greatest memory of anyone -- alive or dead.
9
It speaks volumes about Trump's culpability that he can't prepare answers to questions which he received an advanced copy of.
32
Why shouldn't he just go in and TELL THE TRUTH. After all, he's been maintaining his innocence all along, right?
18
"...are so broad that Mr. Trump would need a detailed command of a range of issues. "
Indeed. Trump won't have his teleprompter to tell him how to answer the questions, nor his personal lawyer to wave $150,000 at the questions to make them go away, and he won't be able to manhandle the questions or flick dandruff off of the question's lapel.
Trump is toast.
15
This comment is also in the London Times. If Mueller intends to mess with the presidency then he needs to show his cards. This investigation has gone on four times longer than necessary. The public knows nothing has been accomplished regarding collusion. For the sake of your democracy Mueller must make his case for interviewing the president. If doing so could compromise his legal case is immaterial; the stakes are too serious for worrying about losing another entrapment, er, lying to the FBI charge. The people, through congress and even the president himself, in the interest of the country, decide if this inquiry goes forward or stops. At this point it looks like a political smear, a negative narrative to undermine the midterm elections. Unless Mueller has convincing evidence his inquiry is not then it stops. The House inquiry has concluded there was no collusion. Not sure how Mueller now has the moral or legal authority to continue. And just because the report was issued by the majority and not supported by the minority members doesn’t mean it’s a partisan report; it means the Democrats were politically unhappy with the conclusions. This is supported by the fact the minority report did not prove collusion occurred. Instead their report obfuscates and replays their “we’ve seen stuff we can’t tell you about” mantra that Schiff goes on about whenever he finds himself in front of a camera. Time to wrap this nonsense up.
4
Only one who is willfully blind, or a bot, would state what you have.
2
Sorry for the London Times.
How do you determine 4 times as necessary? Watergate took 2 years. Whitewater took 7 years.
The Senate Committee is still continuing its work. One Republican member of the House Committee said the House Committee Report was p9litical and that we should wait for Mueller.
3
Mueller’s commission empowers him to continue the investigation begun by the FBI into any links between the Trump campaign and Russia, as well as “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.” When you focus on “collusion,” you are buying into Trump’s method of inaccurately reducing the investigation to being about a) links between the campaign and Russia, rather than a host of other issues that have evidently arisen since Mueller’s appointment, and b) the president himself, when in fact it directly affects many people in his orbit, some of whom have already pled guilty to lying to the FBI.
Moreover, I direct you to the National Review’s article “Mueller’s Questions About Collusion Are the Most Interesting of All,” which will show that some of Mueller’s questions belie your assertion that “nothing has been accomplished regarding collusion.” Besides, polls show that the majority of Americans think the investigation should be allowed to continue.
Your claim that investigating potential crimes by the president is contrary to democracy is frankly absurd. The public is not, not should it be, privy to all the facts available to the special counsel. If the public could rule on whether any given investigation continued, justice would seldom be served in a democracy.
1
Let's stop this charade of legitimizing this President's character and integrity. He has NONE. This man ran for President for one thing only, to enrich himself with more wealth. Everything he does and says has a hidden agenda that does NOT include the best interest of America and it's people. When you and your associates are meeting with Russians 24/7, then you are indeed involved up to your neck with them to win the election by hook or crook. They didn't meet with any other foreign adversaries anywhere near the same level as they did with the Russians. To feign innocence is just disingenuous at best or gross stupidity or ignorance. Nothing, not one thing that this man has done or said has any foundation rooted in the truth or in America's best interest. He has taken lying to be the new norm and standard for America. What kind of man would stomp on the truth and promote outrageous lies as the truth? The man in the WH is such a man. He is everything that we would abhor in our children's behavior, yet many pat him on the back and cheer him for exactly that, dishonesty taken to a new level. Whatever values and morals some claimed to have, they cheaply traded it for a pathological liar, a mentally unstable man, and a man devoid of morals and values. Is this the new role model our children should look up to? Wake up America, look at what he is really doing to our way of life and look at who he really is. He is by far, the worst threat to America and our democracy.
16
So to summarise the article Trump's lawyers are deeply concerned because :
Trump is well known to be a (bad) liar.
Trump lies even when he knows his interlocutor knows the truth.
Trump is incapable of holding a concept or plan in his mind.
Trump is incapable of complex or logical thought processes.
Trump is not fit enough to sit for a number of hours answering questions.
Fair enough, if I were his lawyer I'd be deeply concerned.
And yet despite his lawyers' worries indicating he lacks the metal processes necessary to carry out the job he is the president of the USA, with full support of the GOP.
And that is why other countries do not trust America an inch nowadays.
37
Trump is not going to commit suicide by answering Mueller's questions honestly, that will be the end of his presidency. Honesty was never a policy for our president.
4
1. There is ample evidence of Trump’s criminal intent without his testimony. It is in Trump’s interest to testify. Trump’s testimony is needed only to determine that Trump didn’t have criminal intent.
2. The case for criminal conspiracy is strong without Trump’s testimony. Motive, means and opportunity are all present. The removal of sanctions and the weakening of Ukraine’s defense were the prices for Putin’s help.
3. It is now evident why Trump’s team leaked Mueller’s questions. The team wanted to use the leak and the questions to disparage the Mueller investigation and to make it appear that Trump is justified in refusing to testify. The NY Times and other news media got played.
13
In other words, trump isn't smart enough to handle questions from an attorney. Contrast that to Clinton having been grilled for a whole day by republicans and talking circles around them. And like trump, those republicans still don't realize how much they were out classed. We've got some real idiots at the top now.
228
Fortunately, Trump isn't in the same class with Slick Willie. If he were that smart, we could have even more problems.
So you commend her for her ability to spin? Honestly, she’s just a different version of the same problem. Lies, spin, corruption subtlety, deception and evasion are not good leadership qualities. This past election had two of the worst possible candidates.
LA3NYC: You evidently didn't watch Hillary Clinton's committee testimony. She didn't spin anything. She answered every question in a patient, thoughtful, truthful manner for hours and hours of grilling by partisan Republicans who didn't lay a glove on her because there was no there there. Why doesn't Donnie volunteer to testify for hours in public in front of a committee to "clear up" questions Americans want answered? Because he has a lot to hide and he is unable to keep his lies straight.
If Trump decides to be interviewed, the only thing Mueller will be able to nail him on is the fact he is a complete moron, double talker, incompetent and ego maniac.
Trump's lawyers could plead personality disorder and/or insanity. When you technically catch the guy in a crime or a lie, he changes it the next day.
15
Good lawyers and prosecutors know that you never ask questions that you don't already know the answers to. Mueller knows what the truth is already. Trump's lawyers know Mueller knows. And that's the danger for Trump. He has no idea what the truth is. Prolific liars like Trump can't remember enough details to back up their old lies; they just make up new ones in the moment. And that's how they dig their own graves.
362
Shorter answer to the question is that Trump is a lying, not very bright con man whose lips will get tangled between his teeth once the investigators lean into him.
26
"I cannot recall" - Jeff Sessions.
"I cannot stop recalling ever newer, more great, versions of what happened." -Donald Trump
50
This president likes nothing better than a good fight. lacking even a modicum of impulse control, he will refuse a subpoena because he can-- and will also try to browbeat Robert Mueller into submission.
While I believe he feels he has nothing to prove, his entire history has been built on fighting, usually with the aid of hardball lawyers, irrespective of the merits or truth of his position.
by refusing to cooperate or even obey the subpoena, Trump is daring the justice dept and threatening a government crisis by refusing to comply with the law.
I do not think this will end well. with our institutions already severely challenged by an administration that flatout flouts the law, how can it?
Donald Trump may feel all this will thrill his supporters, but if this ends up in the Supreme Court, and they lose, America will be weaker for it.
Polarization has brought us to this point in time: how we resolve it will determine if we emerge unscathed or essentially make a pact with the devil to condone false equivalency and the end of our law-based democracy.
24
Let’s add a big cheer for Fox News
Profiteering on America’s great social misfortunes
But like those faux news followers 45 and they know no shame
2
I'm sure any conversation he engages in would be difficult for him, simply because he's so used to lying without even being aware of it. This will not be like one of his campaign rallies, and I doubt he'll take it seriously enough. At his age, he may even have memory issues that could cause him to lie and increase his risk.
8
The criminal Trump is being dragged to the altar kicking and screaming. Punishment we hope will be swift and severe. Treason , Obstruction, etc, there are crimes to put this criminal away for 100 years.
16
Stop, just stop already! Nothing is a mine field for Mr Trump and nothing will derail him and the love from his base increases daily...!
1
Not sure, maybe that's what the Jim Jones followers were saying just before drinking the kool-aid. Beware of any free drinks at one of trump's rallies.
3
RC,
May I respond for the 70% of the country that does not approve of the President?
Stop, just stop already! Mr. Trump and his inner circle appear, more and more each passing day, to have committed treason and will be brought down. Grand juries and special prosecutors will not be swayed by the circular logic of his attorneys or the distractionary insults and dog whistles that are thrown out daily to the press. I would buckle up if I were you because it's not going to end well for your guy.
5
One of his advisors suggested that he is to busy running the country to sit dow with Mr. Mueller and answer questions. Right, he's too busy running the country into the ground and doing everything in his "power" to become an authoritarian and isolate us from the rest of the world. Whether under oath or not is he capable of telling the truth, most think not and some don't care.
11
We know Trump is a busy man. Maybe Mueller could ask his questions during the commercials.
6
They're NOT Mueller's questions; Jay Sekulow created this list and leaked it, NOT the Special Prosecutor. A prosecutor, if asked to provide questions, would give broad areas of interest, not specific questions. Sharpen your pencils NYT. This is NOT the first time you've gotten it badly wrong.
10
No matter what questions are asked of Chump, he won't be able to stay on script. In doing so, he will bury himself in his usual pack of lies, exaggerations and mythologies.
6
Enough already.
Subpoena trump.
Make trump testify UNDER OATH.
End this charade of a Presidency.
55
yes, let's overthrow a democratically elected president. We all want to be like venezuela.
1
Exposing criminal activity of an elected official & removing that official from office is not "overthrowing". It is the demonstration of the principle that this is a nation of laws....& that no person is above the law.
2
@Jack S
Sir, your side had no qualms about 'overthrowing a democratically elected president over a Consensual Sex act.
And I do sir, take exception to your use of "democratically" elected.....Russia's thumb on the scales is what elected trump, not US voters.
4
Answering any questions, of any kind, is a minefield for Trump, regardless of the subject.
6
These or any questions for Trump about his assorted ethical issues would be a minefield for him even if he was intellectually capable of grasping their complications, which he clearly is not.
That is because he has repeatedly proven himself to be dishonest and immoral. He lies, knowingly telling falsehoods, as naturally as normal people tell the truth. It means nothing to him. He does it with a perverse ease and he will surely be doing so if he is questioned by Mueller.
Of course none of this would matter if he did not have something to hide, would it?
6
He can plead the Fifth.
1
I truly believe Trump is incapable of being honest if it means admitting a mistake. Thus, there's no scenario in which he escapes without perjuring himself.
581
And I truly believe you are right, but is there a likely scenario in which that makes any difference? I'm pretty sure the only thing that happens is that Mueller, eventually, gets fired.
5
You're right, but there's more to it than that. Not only have there been many lies, but a good many of the lies have been told multiple times with different and sometimes mutually exclusive conclusions. There is NO possible answer to such a question that isn't a lie. Except telling the truth. And even that admits to a previous lie. This isn't a minefield (which can actually be crossed if you're careful and lucky), it's more like an industrial-size wood chippping machine.
3
This is far from a "witch hunt". Trump has already told the voters he fired Comey because of pressure on the FBI Russia investigation and then fabricated a story about the Trump Tower meeting with Russians to get "dirt" on HRC. The American public needs to hear Trump answer questions about these issues under oath, live, on television. Anything less and 60% of America will be convinced he is a crook.
101
Many are already convinced he's a crook. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything. That's what will do 45 in since he wouldn't know what the truth looked like if it hit him in the face.
4
The NYT has done the White House's bidding by making public these questions. What internal discussions took place to tease out whether the article was deemed 'newsworthy' as opposed to an effort by Trump et al to manipulate the public? WMD/Iraq was not that long ago.
5
It is plain to virtually everyone- except perhaps Trump himself- that he is simply incapable of articulating truthful statements in this context. Whether it be his impulsiveness, ignorance, arrogance, or a combination thereof, he appears to believe he is above the law. Subpoena him.
76
"President Trump would need a detailed command of a range of issues..."
Or he would need to know, and tell, the truth.
12
"The truth"? Setting aside Trump, even normal people find memory to be an unreliable servant - my casual understanding of pop psychology is that we flatter ourselves and make ourselves the hero of each story. We also forget all sorts of details in he course of re-editing the past.
A stray example - I would have sworn under oath that I watched the big series ending finale to MASH in a college dorm, and could have named at least five witnesses in the room with me. Years later (the power of the internet) I learned that MASH ended years after I had graduated. I don't know what I was remembering, but it was a humbling and revealing incident.
No sane lawyer would ever let Trump sit for this interview since Mueller can't make the case without it. Political advisors will have a different take.
However, Dowd's spin - "Mr. President, you're too busy and important to spend time prepping for this" - should both flatter Trump and be true - with China, NAFTA, Iran and North Korea coming to a crescendo, it should be easy to convince Trump he needs to focus on that, not prep for Mueller and an investigation Trump thinks is nonsense.
And break down bawling like Tammy Sue and Jimmy Baker.
Cannot wait till they get to the money laundering
and proof that is the spell, the hold Russia
has over Trump. Maybe the GOP corruption
being so blatant and in our faces will help us
confront the more refined corruption of most
of the Democrats. Greedy Guts in congress.
Smug one percent and big businesses. Be nice
to get some honest, hard working, decent folks
in charge. Oh and intelligent and well educated
as too, and might as well throw in compassionate
and honorable and have them stand for a fair
shake and piece of blueberry, rhubarb, and Apple
pie for all.
1
Such an interview is a no-win for Trump.
3
True, such an interview is a no-win for Trump .....but that is not the fault of the investigators, it is 100% the fault of Trump.
3
A well-respected Connecticut criminal defense lawyer had a large sailfish he had caught off the Florida Keys mounted in his waiting room. The brass plaque underneath, however, did not say when he caught it or how much it weighed. Instead, is said:
"I wouldn't be here either if I had kept my big mouth shut."
Any competent defense lawyer would never have a client who was a possible subject or target of an investigation speak with the government unless given immunity or, at the very least, a "Queen for a Day Letter" that any statement given could not be used against the client. However, neither of these would protect against the client lying in the interview.
And no competent prosecutor would ever ask a question of a subject or target unless she knew the answer already (or didn't care what the answer would be).
Which is why the President should never testify, ever. (For proof, see Bill Clinton's deposition testimony in the Paula Jones case.)
14
I would pay big bucks to watch Trump and Mueller go at it. It's a shame Trump's lawyers, who are not fools, keep talking him out of it. Mr. Trump, think of the ratings!
14
Too many opportunities for perjury - only for someone who has something to hide and who lies daily and stretches the truth for a living.
18
Basically everybody knows that Trump colluded / cheated to get elected / with Russia. The issue is how his team will avoid release of the complete story. Very impressive "president" the GOP elected -- what a fool.
8
Trump is waiting for Sean Hannity to tell him what to do.
116
or Trump is waiting for Putin to tell him what to do, one or the other.
6
Why not simply tell the truth?
5
Why not simply tell the truth?
Because for Trump that will mean confessing to a range of criminal activities.
Trump's lawyers cannot allow him to be interviewed because he has no alternative but to lie, repeatedly, in ways that the FBI can prove are lies.
6
Reportedly, you're growing more confident and relying more on your gut instincts. And, why not? You became president when everyone said you wouldn't. Ignore your legal team and sit down with Mr. Mueller for your interview. I'm sure everything will turn out just fine.
235
YES. A thousand times yes. Nailed it, What Could Go Wrong?
3
Trump has responded to all 49 questions with the answer, "I have no recollection of that."
3
He only lies when he talks. He couldn't tiptoe around an interview with Mueller and company without Perjuring himself even if the questions were restricted to crowd sizes.
165
Looking at just one issue - Comey's firing - it seems as though questions of obstruction would be hard to support. Besides the President's constitutional right to fire anyone in the Executive Branch at any time, Comey's book shows his disdain for the President from the beginning. Does anyone think that Comey could completely hide his opinion of the President all the time? That alone provided a justification for Comey's firing.
6
[President's constitutional right to fire anyone in the Executive Branch at any time]
It's Russia's fault they underestimated Trump supporter's gullibility.
3
Since when is “disdain” (even supposing it were true) grounds for firing an investigative officer. No doubt Elliott Ness had “disdain” for the Prohibition-era mobsters he investigated, and apprehended....
4
bizarre questions for a prosecutor. Mueller wants to look within Trump's soul, and see if his opinions are "legal?"
Thoughts and feelings are not dictated by law in this case. Mueller is out of bounds.
3
no, there's no "soul searching," just truth seeking. mueller's not "out of bounds." keep trying.
5
Not out of bounds if you’re trying to prove obstruction of justice, which requires obstructive *intent.*
5
The crime of obstruction of justice includes "intent" as a necessary element. Thus (for example), it was not illegal for Trump to fire Comey because Comey is taller than Trump (and has bigger hands!). It WAS illegal for Trump to fire Comey if he did so because he wanted to stop the Russia investigation. Get it?
2
It's questionable whether an action against a sitting President can be brought before an Article 3 court. So, House Republicans may have to choose between political suicide and beginning impeachment proceedings.
10
Trump needs to be quiet. Not because he's president that means he should be talking a lot. He keeps saying there is no crime. That's like being stopped by the police and telling them there is no crime to be stopped. After a while the cops might just become annoyed and confirm their suspicions. His lawyers need to do a better job and have him shut up or read him the riot act that they will quit if he keeps talking.
1
RE: "It is a felony to lie to law enforcement officials or to conceal a material fact during a proceeding like a formal interview."
This is why Trump can't speak to Mueller. If he is speaking he can't help but lie, even when he doesn't need to lie, he lies. Consistently and constantly. Lying is as fundamental to his manner as being aggrieved.
275
Donald Trump is a subject in this investigation. It shouldn’t matter WHEN he is interviewed, if he is capable of being truthful.
Meanwhile he will use the leaked questions AND the leak about possible subpoena to further find reasons to undermine the investigators and the investigation and stall for time to continue his war on justice. He will use his “bully” pulpit while knowing full well, as president he cannot be prosecuted.
4
If you haven't done anything wrong, and you tell the truth, speaking to a prosecutor should not be a minefield.
763
I want to see Trump take a lie detector test.
13
He would probably pass it. Narcissists and psychopaths have no qualms about lying, so their physiological reactions would not show discomfort or anxiety. That's why those tests are so unreliable.
Can you imagine the American left and the media if Trump got the same treatment Hillary did? “Okay. Mr. President, we’re not gonna have you under oath. We’re gonna interview you, by the way, two days before we issue our report.” That’s another thing. “We’re gonna issue our report on Monday, and we’re gonna interview you on Saturday, and only for three hours. We’re gonna give you an exoneration letter before the interview begins. Anybody you want in the meeting with you we’re gonna call an attorney so you have attorney-client privilege. When the interview is over, we’re gonna issue another exoneration letter, and then we’re gonna say that whatever you did is not prosecutable or actionable because we couldn’t find that you intended to do any of it. Can you imagine…?
If Trump were afforded or extended all of those privileges, as Hillary was, can you imagine what CNN and the Drive-By Media would do with it?
3
And i was wondering what article had set off his tweet session this morning ..and here it is.. I'd love to watch him questioned. He makes no sense most of the time - chopping and changing and often not remembering what he lied about previously. Of course it would be a minefield!
58
We cannot wait to see what Donald Trump says.
Robert Mueller clearly serves and works for the American people. Donald Trump clearly works and serves his own ego.
Now we will see and hear what values differentiate these two. The American people deserve that.
53
Could it be that Trump's lawyers fear that he is like the student who gets a copy of the test questions beforehand, but still manages to fail the test? Trump already has a failing grade. What's next?
105
For our democracy to flourish going forward the president of the United States simply can't be above the law.
612
We are a republic! If we were a Democracy, we would not have trump as president!!!
3
For our democracy to flourish going forward, the president cannot be subjected to baseless, senseless politically motivated attacks from a deranged group of lunatic leftists who are being spoiled crybabies because they lost an election.
1
This president can't be president. He's not just above the law, he "don't need no steenkin' badges!"
1
Mueller should simply issue a subpoena and get it over with. Trump will move to quash it. Ultimately the Supreme Court will have to decide if we are a nation of laws or a nation of men. And the sooner the better.
962
This is where the Supreme Court's stolen seat strategy will come in. Thank you, Mitch McConnell.
48
You have beautifully expressed exactly what I believe.
This country has lost so much of its image, values, and ethics--in little more than 40 or 50 years-- its astounding. you are right: are we a country of laws, or a country if men?
At no other time could have this president been elected. Now it's time to determine if this former superpower will survive, or become a powerful example of what happens when money and greed conspire to destroy a republic.
69
It is a scary thought that this might go to the Supreme Court. Look who is sitting on it.
43
The president will be no match for Robert Mueller. The truth isn’t in him so he’ll do what comes naturally. This is man who has never been held accountable for any of his actions in his life. He has never been asked to explain himself. Now, with dire consequences awaiting him if he lies to Mueller, he’ll really be on his own for the first time in his life. He won’t be prepared for many of Mueller’s questions. After being pampered all his life, it will be Mueller who will finally take off the president’s training wheels.
842
Nice job getting an early Pick! You are so right. The sleazy MO with which Trump has gotten by is no longer going to cut it. The stakes are too high.
It’s been obvious that Trump wasn’t cut out for the presidency. His personal accountability is one example of that.
Well done.
26
As much as many of us are counting on Mueller being our knight in shining armor and as clear as it has become that Trump is unqualified to be both president and human being--I remain skeptical. Trump has gotten this far with lies and cruelty--he's got a whole political party willing to enable him to continue with his mendacity.
48
Having worked as an assistant public defender at one point in my life, Trump resembles so many clients I represented. Regardless of guilt or non-guilt (although, to be fair, nearly all were), such people have what seems to be a manic intent to control every aspect of their lives and the lives of those who interact with him. If working with others requires losing any authority over their freedom of action, they will balk, stonewall, lie, and otherwise manipulate others into concession or withdrawal. Ultimately, they threaten harm even if only professional or reputational harm. This is how such people manage their lives and the personal worlds in which they live, and it is exhausting for their families and such friends that they have.
For someone of Trump's age, this practice has remained successful to such an extent that he cannot conceive of any alternative that isn't a variation of that theme. He will not change or be changed at this point in life. It's comprehensively Randian and childish.
Which means that life pretty much stinks for the rest of us dealing with him.
47
This whole nightmare can't end soon enough. We have been subjected to lies and abuse every day of his presidency, our allies are fed up, our enemies see weakness. If Trump doesn't sit down with federal investigators to lie to their face then he should be subpoenaed and lie to the grand jury.
He should be charged with the crimes he has committed or overseen. He should be in prison, not the White House. He's a complete disgrace.
658
If Mueller finds evidence that members of his own party, the Republican Party, in the House and Senate have committed crimes, can we remove them as well. This seems bigger than Trump.
35
The only crime is the use of the justice department by democrats to conduct political attacks on Trump.
1
Don, simply repeating that lie fools no one.
6
There was no collusion. Even those who have been charged by the FBI for lying...were not charged for anything related to collusion. This entire charade has one purpose: to dirty-up our president, and keep him from running the country. It's simply another part of the Resistance Movement.
Democrats, and Liberals will never get over Hillary's loss--while Progressives and Socialists will be forever mad at her--for cheating Bernie out of the nomination. What a dysfunctional political system we have.
68
How do you know if there was no collusion? I'm not so sure. It seems as though Mr. Mueller is thinking there is.
85
The Trump Tower meeting with Russians to obtain "dirt" on Hillary was not cooperation with a foreign government to influence our election results? Really?
215
You're right about the "no collusion" charging. The charges do, however, state and include "Conspiracy against the United States of America". If the two who have already pleaded guilty to "lying to the FBI" do not cooperate in accordance with their plea agreements, Mueller is free to charge them with "conspiracy" as well.
92
More like a reason that the president should never do so, and these types of questions have no real answer other than say "my memory is not sufficient to answer that". These questions are way too broad and mostly not related to Russian interference, or really anything. If he has evidence go to the grand jury, if not end your job and allow the justice department to deal with anything you have found.
6
His job is to indict the president if he believes he has broken the laws of and committed crimes against the United States.
42
vulcanalex, the list of questions actually came from Trump's lawyers. They compiled a list of "likely" questions. This list was "leaked" to the press. It was not leaked by Mueller's team.
114
Or he can lie. That is what his lawyers are afraid of since he habitually lies.
14