MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow asked a big, but simple question. Why are six current and former Trump administration officials hiring lawyers if they are only witnesses?
Video:
https://youtu.be/RaG5ypzb7BU
After she pointed out that it is a probably a good idea to get a lawyer if the Special Counsel wants to talk to you, Maddow said, “There’s a lot of false statements by people involved in White House operations and the President himself around various incidents that have happened since the President has been in office. All six of the staffers that Robert Mueller reportedly plans to interview were involved one way or another with concocting false narratives to cover-up Trump administration contacts with Russians.
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I have a question as to whether or not that’s a criminal matter. Right? It’s not a crime to lie, but is it a crime to cover up something that you know to be different? Is the Special Counsel interviewing these people just as witnesses? Are these people potentially on the hook for something? Are they all getting really good lawyers because they want advice about how to be good witnesses, or are they getting good lawyers because they have to worry about their own liability too?
Maddow later interviewed former US Attorney Paul Fishman who said that it is a crime to mislead the FBI, Department of Justice, and Congress when they are involved in their investigative work.
If these six administration officials came together and cooked up a cover story and told it to investigators, they each committed a crime. The reason why these people went out and got really good lawyers was that the cover-up might encompass the upper level of the Trump administration, which suggests that if or when the Russia shoe drops, it isn’t just going take out Donald Trump. The whole Trump White House could face criminal charges.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
