Day 474: Mueller tells Trump he must answer questions in person

The revolving door of Donald Trump’s lawyers have long-sought to avoid a direct sit-down interview between their client and special counsel Robert Mueller.

Mueller has steadfastly rebuffed that request.

A CBS News report details how Team Trump’s most recent effort failed to get Mueller to accept written answers to his questions.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is now on President Trump’s legal team, told CBS News correspondent Paula Reid Monday that special counsel Robert Mueller’s office has rejected proposals to allow Mr. Trump to answer questions from investigators in writing.

The president’s legal team has signaled that this would be their preferred format for a possible interview, since it helps protect Mr. Trump from the possibility of lying or misleading investigators, which is a criminal offense.

Trump’s team is now openly admitting that Trump is apt to lie if he has to speak. But Trump has called the investigation a witch hunt for months. If that’s true, then simply telling the truth to Mueller protects him from short-term lies and long-term crimes. If there’s something to hide, Trump potentially faces exposure on both ends.

Giuliani et al. want to submit written answers because those responses can be crafted and edited by lawyers. Trump would read them and sign off on them, but they would be the lawyers’ answers more than Trump’s. Mueller knows this, of course, and wants to question the free-wheeling Trump directly.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Trump has already begun preparing for an interview and practice sessions have not gone well.

“In an informal, four-hour practice session, Mr. Trump’s lawyers were only able to walk him through two questions, given the frequent interruptions on national-security matters along with Mr. Trump’s loquaciousness, one person familiar with the matter said.”

If Trump ultimately decides he doesn’t want to sit for an interview, Mueller could always issue a subpoena. This would likely set the stage for Trump to try and quash it, immediately dragging the fight into the public domain. Finality on the issue would drag for many months and could potentially reach all the way to the Supreme Court.

474 days in, 988 to go

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