Talks Underway About Trump Interview by Mueller

[babylonsister]

Per Morning Joe, his (dt's) staff floated a written response from dt which probably won't fly as body language and follow-up questions are important.

Edit to add: dt staff wants to know what the time and duration of the interview might be... I imagine they're thinking of ways to get out of it.

https://politicalwire.com/2018/01/08/talks-underway-trump-interview-mueller/

Talks Underway About Trump Interview by Mueller
January 8, 2018 at 6:57 am EST
By Taegan Goddard


“Anticipating that Special Counsel Robert Mueller will ask to interview President Trump, the president’s legal team is discussing a range of potential options for the format, including written responses to questions in lieu of a formal sit-down,” NBC News reports.

“Lawyers for Trump have been discussing with FBI investigators a possible interview by the special counsel with the president as part of the inquiry into whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.”

**************************************************


Jan 8 2018, 6:29 am ET
Initial talks underway about Trump interview in Mueller Russia probe

by Kristen Welker, Carol E. Lee, Julia Ainsley and Hallie Jackson


WASHINGTON — Anticipating that Special Counsel Robert Mueller will ask to interview President Donald Trump, the president’s legal team is discussing a range of potential options for the format, including written responses to questions in lieu of a formal sit-down, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Lawyers for Trump have been discussing with FBI investigators a possible interview by the special counsel with the president as part of the inquiry into whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.

The discussions were described by one person with direct knowledge as preliminary and ongoing. Trump’s legal team is seeking clarification on whether the president would be interviewed directly by Mueller, as well as the legal standard for when a president can be interviewed, the location of a possible interview, the topics and the duration. But the president’s team is also seeking potential compromises that could avoid an interview altogether, two of those interviewed told NBC News.

With the possibility now looming that the president himself could be subject to an interview by the FBI or Mueller’s investigators, Trump’s legal team has been debating whether it would be possible to simply avoid it. One individual familiar with the strategy said those internal discussions within Trump’s legal team began shortly after the president’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was indicted in late October for money laundering in connection with his business dealings with Ukraine.

Trump’s legal team sat down with representatives from the special counsel’s office in late December. Two of Trump’s lawyers, Ty Cobb and John Dowd, declined comment. A third lawyer, Jay Sekulow, did not respond to a request for comment. Peter Carr, spokesperson for the special counsel’s office, declined to comment.

more...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/initial-talks-underway-about-trump-interview-mueller-russia-probe-n835506

[underpants]

1. Written responses?

[Cartoonist]

2. On the stand

Under oath!

[agingdem]

31. under oath?

Do you think he won't lie under oath? If he's breathing he's lying.

[Orrex]

40. I would love for him to lie under oath

Mueller would destroy him.

[pandr32]

3. Written responses?

Sounds like a team effort to control tRump's responses instead of letting him speak for himself. I doubt this will be acceptable to Mueller if and when he requests an interview with tRump. He would want to interview the real person. Body language being only part of the reason--responses need to come from tRump's own mouth to questions.

[duforsure]

5. They're scared of letting Trump

In person be questioned because of his being unfitness, and the threat it'll only make everything worse for him, and them. It should be unacceptable for him to do a write in, and should be made to attend, like others have had to do. Hillary and Bill Clinton. Otherwise they'll claim something made up to deny further charges or inquiries, and refuse to attend.

[cubbies01]

24. Yep

One of the biggest points is the worry of what time and how long...they f'ing know he can only be lucid for so long and certain times of day are bad. If he gets up there for 4-5 hours in the late afternoon, his dementia will be undeniable.

[lagomorph777]

49. What if he's been feigning dementia all year?

Maybe Turd is planning to use an insanity defense.

[pandr32]

56. He isn't smart enough to fake it all year

I know he is untrustworthy, but if you look into his history you find his incompetence and stupidity go way back, yet he remained a businessman.
If he really is demented then he may wind up being institutionalized in a special facility instead of a prison. Fine by me as long as Ricco applies and the whole lot of them lose their ill-gotten wealth.

[tblue37]

9. Without lawyers coaching him. nt

[pandr32]

57. He would be an investigator's dream come true

...and tie the whole thing up in a bow.

[Cosmocat]

13. 0 chance any "written response" would be penned by the moron

They might as well not "interview him" if that were the case ...

They haven't worked this damn hard to let that BS fly.

[pandr32]

58. Agreed.

[berni_mccoy]

4. K&R

[Jarqui]

6. Doesn't this dialogue usually take place with the principle

near the end - after they've got through everyone else?

Might be a good sign that way ... that Mueller has got through everyone else ... or nearly everyone else

Of course, that doesn't mean they won't go back and investigate some more based upon Trump's responses ...

With that exchange going on between Mueller & WH staff on Trump's testimony, it is even harder for Trump to fire him in the near term.

[babylonsister]

8. Good point! That would really look like obstruction if

Mueller was fired now.

[Cosmocat]

12. The tentacles on this are so broad sweeping

Honesty, this investigation could go on for years.

One of their toughest jobs has to be finding a way to compartmentalize the various areas of investigation.

[Jarqui]

21. Based on testimony and reports, I would guess they're pretty close to the end of basic

obstruction of justice questions. Either they have the evidence of they don't.

They may not have everything but they're probably well along in collusion and money laundering and maybe tax issues.

We've already seen indictments. There have been reports - not in the mainstream - of sealed indictments against Trump going back months ago - some that happened at a state level.

I agree that some of the tentacles might go on for years but when I reflect on Watergate, they seem to be much further along with massive amounts of more evidence. The scrutiny on this thing is way more than Woodward & Bernstein.

Talking to Trump now reinforces they're at the end of some of those tentacles.

So it wouldn't shock me if part of this came out in the relative near future.

[Cosmocat]

41. Possibly

I do agree that the obstruction of justice charges are probably the easiest to winnow down on, because that is mostly out in the open and clear cut. (though the jackass literally can't open his mouth or tweet without potentially committing OOJ, so it really is an ongoing, rolling trainwreck)

So, in that regard, you may be right that might be what they want to go to 45 on.

To the issue of collusion, there are so many avenues to ferret out - you can't swing a dead cat in the whitehouse, and the roster of those collecting whitehouse unemployment checks, without clubbing someone who had a russian whispering sweet nothings in their ears.

To the issue of money laundering and other financial related issues - it is near unfathonable trying to sort out 45s business, the businesses and accounts of other players, the russians ...

[Jarqui]

43. I agree with much of what you said

The one trend we seem to see again and again is that Trump and his people are pretty stupid.

So some of this:
" it is near unfathonable trying to sort out 45s business, the businesses and accounts of other players, the russians "
may not be as difficult to figure out compared with others.

What truly smart people did Trump surround himself with? I can't think of one.

To avoid that kind of scrutiny,
- you have to know the rules and laws extensively national and international (who in Trumpland knows the rules and laws?)
- you have to be disciplined and abide by the rules and laws (which contradicts Trump totally)
- you have to plan in detail and execute diligently (where are Trump's plans? much less detailed ones?)
- you have to be smart - which Trump is clearly not

A hunk of this may turn out to be shooting fish in a barrel. The harder part will probably be figuring out the other end of these transactions or activities. The sense I'm getting increasingly is these guys are so stupid that they do not realize how much trouble they are really in.

[Cosmocat]

48. For all the hue and cry from the right about over regulation

45s existence is a living monument to the lack of oversight in the world of the rich, and unwillingness to hold bad actors in high finance accountable for having absolutely zero ethical underpinnings.

To your point about being stupid - probably not a good idea to chance actually winning and run for the position as the most scrutinized person on the planet when the foundation of your business practice is money laundering.

[Jarqui]

54. Any American who cannot provide extensive tax returns for public scrutiny

should not be eligible for public office - particularly a candidate for president.

There are more than 200 years of history to back up why that might be.

I suspect the epitaph of this might go roughly something like "when you review the overall of what Trump did, no one with only half a brain would have done it. He could have quietly rode off into the sunset grabbing pussies while rolling in his ill-begotten dough but instead his narcissism risked losing everything trying to do a job he didn't have a prayer to do successfully because he thought he'd look good to those he didn't give a crap about."

[Cosmocat]

60. And, blew it all up for his kids

Lets hope it plays out this way, my friend ...

[lagomorph777]

51. The evidence is out there in public, the Lester Holt tape for example.

Obstruction is an easy case to make.

Collusion is also easy - 'cause he did that on TV too! ("Russia, if you're listening..." "I love Wikileaks!"...)

Money Laundering will require a much more detailed investigation. But I'll bet they're pretty far along on that too.

[tblue37]

7. Bill Clinton didn't get to skip the in person under oath questioning. nt

[leftynyc]

22. True - but the testimony

wasn't in public.

[thucythucy]

53. Yes, but the video was made public after the fact

at Republican insistence.

Republicans set all sorts of precedent going after President Clinton. For instance, allowing lawsuits to go forward while he was in office, forcing a president to testify under oath before a special counsel and grand jury, insisting that that testimony be made public--not to mention impeaching him for lying under oath.'

It'll be difficult for Republicans now--some of whom (Lindsey Graham for instance) were in office at the time demanding all of these measures--to now argue that it's unconstitutional or an abuse of power or whatever their mantra is going to be.

But what am I saying? They're Republicans, so of course they'll have no trouble holding one of their own to an entirely different standard, if necessary.

But I doubt their bullshit will be accepted by anyone who isn't already a burning Trumpster.

[leftynyc]

59. Understood

All the precedent is going to haunt them. Just like getting impeached for a lie about a BJ when the original mandate was a failed real estate deal is all the ammunition needed to battle against "Mueller going too far off the rails" nonsense. The karma is delicious.

[bucolic_frolic]

10. All they will get is stream of consciousness gibberish

He's good at that.

[erronis]

37. Good at streams (golden ones), not so good at consciousness -

At least not the type that most humans experience.

Still I hope that when he testifies, the whole world will be able to hear his babbling. Maybe we can get it set to music.

Maybe record it in endless loop tapes to play to the repuglican criminals in their cells serving life sentences. I know, cruel and very unusual, but appropriate.

[Corgigal]

11. Mueller team

can just give the questions to Lester Holt, record.

Seems to work well, tell Trump ..prime time special.

[Takket]

14. The biggest problem for them is "what does mueller know"

Mueller isn't looking for info. He already has that. He won't be asking drumpf any questions that he doesn't already know the answer to. Every question mueller asks will have three possible answers.

1 the incriminating truth
2 a lie ( which mueller will be able to prove later)
3 plead the 5th.

In short... drumpf is doomed in an in person interview. Only hope is option 3 and good lawyers.

[Nitram]

16. Two problems with #3. Nobody can shut Trump up. He doesn't listen to lawyers.

[babylonsister]

18. They sound like features. nt

[Maeve]

26. He is incapable of shutting up and he doesn't have good lawyers

He thinks he's the smartest in any room, but that's only true when he's alone.

[Nitram]

15. Nope, no written responses. We don't want the baby sitters to do his homework for him.

Get him in there under oath, get him really pissed off, and then sit back and take notes while he free associates and spills the beans.

[kentuck]

17. I would be bigly surprised if this were to happen...

It's all a part of "negotiation" for Trump. He will offer written responses and if that is not accepted, it will be like his tax returns. They will forever be in audit...

[still_one]

30. I tend to agree, and suspect they will refuse using executive privilege as the reason

[Javaman]

19. so when does the madman fire Mueller? before or after the interview? nt

[NewJeffCT]

20. Trump offered to testify under oath after Comey testified before Congress

last Spring. Is he suddenly not man enough to do that?

[gratuitous]

23. Hey, the president's a busy guy!

Mmmph!

Nope, couldn't carry that even one word farther.

[Kentonio]

25. Ironically the best way to get him to meet the FBI would likely be if Mueller taunted him on Twitter

[blaze]

39. Where's Vicente Fox when we need him?

[L. Coyote]

27. It is a crime to lie to the FBI. Trump will have to plead the Fifth because if he talks, he lies.

Mueller, don't forget the women!

Link to tweet

[exboyfil]

28. Scheduling a problem?

Does Mueller play golf? He could do a portion of the interview during one of Trump's golf outings.

[better]

44. I think over a game of chess would be better

The "checkmate" scene in the movie adaptation would be brilliant.

[exboyfil]

46. I am sure Trump plays 3 or 4 games

of chess a night.

No. Checkers - no. TicTacToe -no.

[OnDoutside]

29. Maybe this is throwing something out to see where Mueller is ? If Sessions is replaced and a new

crony in place, couldn't that person tell Mueller he must only interview Trump by sending a list of questions to him ?

[dalton99a]

32. His first response: "I'm very smart"

Second response: "I wouldn't do that because my uncle taught at MIT"

[SunSeeker]

33. If Lester Holt can crack Trump open like a can of worms, can you imagine what Muller will do?

[dlk]

34. Trump is so Dysfunctional, He Couldn't Possibly Give Any Testimony Without Repeatedly Lying

Then the whole house of cards would come crashing down, dragging the entire Republican Party with it. No wonder his attorneys are maneuvering to avoid an interview.

[Roland99]

35. How long was Hillary grilled? 11hrs? And under oath?

Tiny hands genius is such a cry baby

[SHRED]

36. Talks?

Why the fuck is this negotiable?

[kentuck]

38. Trump pays his lawyers to protect him from nuisances such as this.

They can get him out of it or they can find another job.

[babylonsister]

42. I don't know if Mueller

should be considered a nuisance. dt is not or should not be above the law. And speaking of lawyers, how'd Sessions work out for him?

[kentuck]

50. Donald Trump doesn't think he is above the law...

He knows he is above the law.

[Orsino]

45. Think they've actually told Donnie yet? n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

47. My hope:

Followed by:

[redstatebluegirl]

52. Nothing short of putting him in a chair answering

questions will work. Written responses??? He won't write them, then when they say he lied to a federal investigator they will say he didn't write it. Plus if it is written properly you know he didn't write it.

[triron]

55. This could lead to some astonishing set of events

perhaps even more extraordinary than anything we've seen thus far.