President Donald Trump's legal team handed over written answers to a limited number of questions put forth by special counsel Robert Mueller as the Department of Justice's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election continues without any sign of a face-to-face interview between the two men.
Less than one year ago, it seemed a sit-down conversation between Trump and Mueller might actually take place.
The date and location had both been picked, and the plan was penciled in: Trump would be whisked from the White House to Camp David on a quiet winter Saturday to answer questions from Mueller’s team.
But as the January 27 date neared and Mueller provided the topics he wanted to discuss related to his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Trump’s lawyers balked.
Attorney John Dowd then fired off a searing letter disputing Mueller’s authority to question the president, and the interview was off.
Now, 10 months later, Trump still has not spoken directly to Mueller’s team, and may never do so.
President Donald Trump's legal team handed over written answers to a limited number of questions put forth by special counsel Robert Mueller as the Department of Justice's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election continues without any sign of a face-to-face interview between the two men; Trump is pictured while taking questions from the media after speaking via teleconference with troops from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday
Through private letters, tense meetings and considerable public posturing, the president’s lawyers have engaged in a tangled, tortured back-and-forth with Mueller to prevent the president from sitting down for a face-to-face with enormous political and legal consequences.
The prolonged negotiation speaks to the high stakes for all aspect invovlved, including Trump, Mueller’s investigation of his presidential campaign and the presidency.
Any questioning of a president in a criminal investigation tests the limit of executive authority.
Putting this president on the record also tests his ability to stick to the facts and risks a constitutional showdown.
The process took a significant step forward this week when Trump’s lawyers handed over the president’s written answers to some of Mueller’s questions.
The arrangement was a hard-fought compromise. Trump answered only questions about Russian interference in the 2016 election and not questions about whether he has tried to obstruct the broader investigation into potential coordination between Russia and his presidential campaign.
With the written answers months in the making, it’s unclear whether Mueller intends to push for more, either in writing or in person. (Special counsel spokesperson Peter Carr declined comment.)
In the months following Mueller’s May 2017 appointment, the White House pledged its cooperation, believing it the fastest way to end the investigation.
The administration produced thousands of documents sought by the special counsel and made close Trump aides, including his legal counsel, chief of staff and press secretary, available for questioning.
White House lawyer Ty Cobb predicted the investigation could conclude by the end of that year.
Now, 10 months after a scheduled sit-down between special counsel Robert Mueller (pictured_ and Trump was taken off the table, Trump still has not spoken directly to Mueller’s team, and may never do so; Mueller is pictured departing after a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on June 21, 2017
But it soon became clear that Mueller would want to interview Trump, given his involvement in several events under scrutiny.
The president had fired FBI Director James Comey, harangued his attorney general over his recusal from the Russia investigation and dictated a misleading statement about a Trump Tower meeting involving his son and a Kremlin-connected lawyer.
But Trump lawyers Dowd and Jay Sekulow moved cautiously.
The last time a president is known to have been interviewed in a criminal investigation was nearly 15 years ago, and a commander-in-chief has not been subpoenaed before a grand jury since 1998, when President Bill Clinton was summoned in the Whitewater case.
Trump’s lawyers were mindful such an interview would be a minefield for a president who often misstates the facts. They set out to avoid it however possible, even if it could lead to resisting a subpoena and bringing on a court fight over presidential power.
But first they tried to head off a request. Trump’s lawyers staked out a bold constitutional argument, declaring they considered his actions as president outside a prosecutor’s bounds.
Mueller had no right to question the president on any of his decisions made at the White House, they argued, saying any outside scrutiny of those choices would curb a president’s executive powers.
At the same time, they worked to undermine Mueller’s case should he choose to challenge that argument. They furnished a trove of White House documents about key moments in the investigation in hopes of undercutting any claim that he could only get the information he needed by questioning Trump, according to people familiar with the strategy.
But Trump appeared to have other plans, at first.
As his lawyers plotted to dig in against any interview, he pushed for one, believing it would exonerate him.
In January, he burst into a reporters’ briefing with chief of staff John Kelly and insisted he was eager to speak to Mueller. He might do so in weeks, he said, 'subject to my lawyers and all of that.'
'I would love to do that. I’d like to do it as soon as possible,' Trump said.
What he didn’t mention was that his attorneys had already discussed, and hurried, the planned interview with Mueller.
That process had even progressed to discussing logistics with Kelly, who advised of ways White House officials could get people in and out of the building without the press knowing.
But the interest cooled after Mueller team prosecutor James Quarles dictated over the phone 16 topics Mueller wanted to cover, including Trump’s interactions with Comey, his knowledge of national security adviser Michael Flynn’s interview with the FBI and his involvement in the Trump Tower statement.
Dowd responded that the answers could all be found in documents and witness statements provided to Mueller. He then canceled the interview and days later drafted a feisty letter contesting the interview’s appropriateness and offering extensive explanations on the incidents in question.
The investigation has been 'a considerable burden for the president and his office, has endangered the safety and security of our country, and has interfered with the president’s ability to both govern domestically and conduct foreign affairs,' Dowd wrote.
In the following months, Trump told some of his closest confidants that he still wanted to interview with Mueller, according to four White House officials and Republicans close to the White House who asked for anonymity because they were not permitted to publicly discuss private conversations.
The president repeatedly insisted he had done nothing wrong and believed he could convince Mueller of that.
He told one confidant last spring he was frustrated his lawyers didn’t believe he should do it and snapped that he didn’t understand what was taking so long, according to one Republican in contact with the White House.
Tensions were on display at a March meeting where Dowd and Sekulow met with Mueller to discuss the need for an interview.
Mueller said he needed to know if Trump had a 'corrupt intent' when he fired Comey, such as by intending to stymie the investigation, according to a person familiar with the encounter. Dowd responded that the question was ridiculous and the answer was obviously no. Investigators at the same meeting raised the prospect of a subpoena if Trump didn’t cooperate, Dowd has said.
In making a case for an in-person interview, Mueller said he needed to know if Trump had a 'corrupt intent' when he fired Comey, such as by intending to stymie the Russian election interference investigation, according to a person familiar with the encounter; Mueller is shown speaking during a Bloomberg Government cybersecurity conference in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2014
Later that month, Mueller’s team produced its most detailed list of questions yet, with dozens of interrogatories in different categories from Trump’s time as a candidate, through the transition period and into his presidency.
Trump’s own views soon began to shift. He had his first misgivings in mid-April after FBI raids on his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, thinking they were a sign that he could 'not trust' Mueller, according to one of the Republicans close to Trump who spoke with the Associated Press.
As Rudy Giuliani joined Trump’s legal team in April, the White House settled into a new strategy: Drag out the interview drama for months, and use that time to ratchet up attacks on Mueller’s credibility and complaints about the cost and time of the probe, according to the officials and advisers familiar with the strategy.
Giuliani led the charge, though his scattershot arguments sometimes frustrated others in the White House, as he frequently moved the goalposts as to what would be required to have an interview. But the effect was to ensure the process would drag out longer.
Trump, meanwhile, continued complaining about the investigation even as his lawyers quietly negotiated acceptable interview terms.
A key breakthrough occurred earlier this fall when Mueller’s team said it would accept written answers on Russian election interference and collusion.
The concession ensured that Mueller would get at least some on-the-record response from Trump. Prosecutors tabled questions about obstruction, reserving the right to return to that area later.
Giuliani seemed to foreclose future dialogue on Tuesday, saying, 'It is time to bring this inquiry to a conclusion.'
Whether Mueller agrees is a different story.
Trump has waivered on his willingness to be interviewed in person by Mueller, so far deferring to his attorneys' who have advised against it; Trump is pictured while leaving the room following his talk with reporters and troops via teleconference from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida on Thursday
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/11/23/inside-president-donald-trumps-waivering-views-on-an-in-person-interview-with-robert-mueller/
Main photo article President Donald Trump‘s legal team handed over written answers to a limited number of questions put forth by special counsel Robert Mueller as the Department of Justice’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election continues without any sign of a...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/11/22/20/6531176-6419375-image-a-50_1542917664693.jpg
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