It seems that Trump’s lawyers weren’t convinced by his recent claims of being a “stable genius.” NBC reported Monday that the president’s legal team is trying to get him the easiest interview format for Mueller’s investigation once his turn to be questioned inevitably comes.
Among the options being discussed is an interview in which Trump would be sent Mueller’s questions and submit written responses rather than having to show up for an in-person grilling. This format would obviously allow Trump, who’s famous for shooting himself in the foot by impulsively making wild and false statements, to receive advice on how to answer and to give the most beneficial (for him) responses possible.
A second option Trump’s lawyers brought up in a December talk with some of Mueller’s representatives was allowing the president to simply submit a signed affidavit denying having colluded with Russia to win the election.
They also tried pushing for no interview at all. Clearly Trump’s lawyers feel that keeping him quiet, or at least not putting him in a position where he has to come up with answers in the moment and keep his composure as he’s getting grilled, is their best shot at getting him off the hook.
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Another talking point they brought up during their discussion with officials from Mueller’s office was whether the special counsel himself would be the one interviewing Trump.
Chuck Rosenberg, NBC analyst and once chief of staff for former FBI director James Comey, said it was highly unlikely that Mueller would agree to letting Trump not having to do an in-person interview. “Prosecutors want to see and hear folks in person,†he said. “They want to probe and follow up. Body language and tone are important. And they want answers directly from witnesses, not from their lawyers. The odds of prosecutors agreeing to written responses are somewhere between infinitesimally small and zero.”
It’s easy to see why Trump’s legal team would have low confidence in their client. When he’s not firing off tweets threatening nuclear war on and insulting dictators for being “short and fat,” he’s holding press conferences for the sole purpose of telling the world that he’s not dumb.
