Re: Mueller - Lawyers never ask a question they don't already know the answer to.

[madaboutharry]

Regarding the list of questions released to the New York Times; Mueller is playing with Trump's head. It is a beautiful thing.

[Ilsa]

1. I hope you are right about that.

I bet the responses will not surprise Mueller.

[OliverQ]

2. Wonder who released them. Trump's lawyers, Mueller?

[TomSlick]

5. I doubt Mueller or his team leaked this.

Mueller and his team don't leak. The real question is why Trump's people leaked this.

[babylonsister]

13. Maybe Mueller and co. wanted the questions out. nt

[TomSlick]

14. Perhaps. But Mueller don't leak or tolerate leaks by his team.

Mueller is a straight shooter, scrupulously following the DoJ rules. I have no good explanation for why Trump's folks would leak this but I have good explanation for a lot that Trump and his team do.

Matt Apuzzo won't reveal his source but says it wasn't Trump's legal team. I take that to mean that Trump's team gave the list to someone who gave it to Apuzzo. So, there's someone on the Trump legal team who is laundering leaks.

[Flaleftist]

17. Maybe so now Trump can respond to the questions

for the public and it won't be under oath? Could this be a legal strategy?

[TomSlick]

19. I can see that happening but it would be really dumb.

The first thing you tell a client is shut-the-hell-up. You can talk to me. You can talk to a priest (if you must). You don't talk to anyone else. You sure as hell don't talk to anyone with the media.

Any prior inconsistent statement is admissible whether or not under oath. If Trump says that "A is true" and then says later "not A but B is true" he gets to try to explain the inconsistency to a jury or grand jury.

Jurors - petit or grand - don't like liars. Of course, that ship has long ago sailed. He should have shut-the-hell-up a long time ago.

[NCTraveler]

23. "Mueller and his team don't leak."

That’s simply not believable considering all of the leaks directly linked to “a source close to Mueller.” They have leaked a lot. The day Trump attacked Syria was nothing but leak after leak from the FBI. Muellers team and the NY office were on a full offensive.

[Upthevibe]

3. Watching Rachel now....

.............

[TomSlick]

4. madaboutharry is correct.

Anytime the other lawyer asks a question, s/he not only knows the answer but can prove it.

[rzemanfl]

8. Or regrets asking the question. n/t

[TomSlick]

9. True.

Lawyers learn the importance of the rule by hard experience. Mueller is quite experienced.

[FakeNoose]

6. The assumption is that Cheeto is going to lie

... because he can't do anything else. Mueller wants to see what Cheeto lies about, and that will tell him a LOT!

[Stallion]

7. Caveat: That's Really at the Trial Stage-Not the Discovery Stage

in the discovery stage you ask all kinds of questions about the extent of the facts or knowledge known by a party/deponent--you are basically trying to set limits on what he can testify to at trial and traps for cross-examination at trial. Ex. Isn't it true that at the time of your deposition you testified (differently). If witness says yes at trial he can explain the reason trial testimony is different than deposition testimony. If the witness says "no" you introduce his deposition testimony as evidence to contradict his current testimony. To do that effectively at trial you've got to ask questions at deposition you don't know the answer to. And then when the deponent has answered questions about a subject matter at deposition you conclude by asking him a broad question. "Have you told me everything you know about the meeting at the White House with Jim Comey". You don't leave a subject matter until the deponent concedes he has said everything he knows about the subject matter. The entire point of the discovery phase is to discover facts/contentions of the deponent you don't know so you don't have to ask questions at trial you don't know the answer to

[TomSlick]

11. Yeah, but

Even at deposition, for a lot (if not most) of the questions I ask at deposition, I do know the answer to the question and can prove it. The deponent doesn't know whether I know the answer or not. Moreover, s/he won't know at the time whether or not I know the answer. If I know the deponent is lying, I don't call them on it -- until trial.

[RockRaven]

10. Trump cannot possibly be asked these questions in an official interview or before a Grand Jury and

not make things much, much worse for himself. Even if there were a legal strategy and fact pattern which might allow for such, he lacks the discipline to not blurt out something damaging somewhere along the way. Especially b/c some of these question are really going to get under his skin.

[TomSlick]

12. Which is why if Trump was my client, my advice would be to

"take the fifth" and shut-the-hell-up. Trump can't come out of an interview or grand jury appearance without convicting himself of something.

[uponit7771]

16. Can Trump plead the fifth in front of grand jury? Thx in advance

[TomSlick]

18. Legally, sure.

Politically, it would be a disaster. However, better impeached than in a federal penitentiary.

[uponit7771]

21. Right, I don't even think politically it would hurt him. It seems like he has set it up this whole

... time to give the republican congress cover to keep him in office.

Was watching Homeland and the Russian said they don't need the truth just an apposing statement with some facts connected to it.

Swear I wouldn't be shocked or surprised if the Russians were working directly with Benedict Donald or his family

[GusBob]

15. Trump is never going to answer these questions under oath

But now he can lie about them all he wants

That's why Trumps team leaked them. I think you got it backwards

[gratuitous]

20. Mueller may not know the answer to those questions

But he does have the answer to those questions from other material witnesses with direct knowledge of their subject. It will be a very bad business for Trump if he and his lawyers start guessing at what Mueller might already have been told by others his team has interviewed.

[Cicada]

22. Investigators ask questions with unknown answers constantly

If you represent one side in a disputed matter you may fear an unwelcome answer, but if you have no stake in who wins then why not ask questions with unknown answers?