Robert Mueller’s crusade to take down President Trump has dragged on for months.
But the end may be in sight.
That’s because President Trump may be on the verge of cutting this deal with the special counsel.
President Trump’s lawyers have offered to have him sit for questioning with the special counsel in exchange for Mueller agreeing to a deadline to end the Russia investigation.
Trump’s legal team is also trying to negotiate limiting the scope of the questions.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
“President Donald Trump’s lawyers are seeking to negotiate a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller that uses an interview with the president as leverage to spur a conclusion to the Russia investigation, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
The president’s legal team is considering telling Mr. Mueller that Mr. Trump would agree to a sit-down interview based on multiple considerations, including that the special counsel commit to a date for concluding at least the Trump-related portion of the investigation. One idea is to suggest a deadline of 60 days from the date of the interview, the person said.
Another consideration for the legal team is reaching an agreement with Mr. Mueller on the scope of his questioning of the president, which they expect to focus largely on his decision to fire former national security adviser Mike Flynn and former FBI director James Comey, according to people familiar with the matter.”
The Journal also reports that legal experts do not believe Mueller will accept Trump’s offer:
Legal experts said they were skeptical that the special counsel would be open to the Trump legal team’s requests. Associates Remain Silent?
“You can’t put a timeline on these things,” said Peter Zeidenberg, a former federal prosecutor and an expert in government investigations. “Someone could walk in the door on the day before their proposed deadline and say, ‘I’ve got some information that’s going to blow your minds.’ … Mueller’s going to say, ‘Oh, too bad, the deadline’s tomorrow?’ ”
Mueller doesn’t want limitations on his ability to question the President or a deadline to wrap up his inquiry because his goal is to generate a report Congress can use to impeach Trump.
An interview with Mueller is nothing more than a perjury trap.
If Trump misspeaks on who attended a meeting or gets a date or topic of conversation wrong, Mueller can claim he lied to investigators.
Likewise, he would shoot down a deadline because he wants unlimited time to concoct his case against the President.
Trump supporters believe he should not sit for an interview with Mueller.
It would serve no purpose and there is no upside.
Mueller is going to build his case regardless of what Trump says, and the special counsel would likely use the interview to set a perjury trap for Trump.
Do you agree?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
