Giuliani: Trump Won’t Be Allowed To Answer Questions In Writing

One of the great unanswered questions of the Russia investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller is whether or not he will be able to interview President Donald Trump.  You know that Mueller’s top-notch teach of prosecutors is itching to sit down with Trump who is known to be severely truth-challenged.

Trump himself has said that he would “love to” sit down with Mueller and answer his questions, although most people doubt it.   He also added this caveat: “I have to find that we’re going to be treated fairly.”

It’s also been widely reported that Trump’s lawyers do not want him to talk to Mueller, at least not under oath.  They correctly believe that doing this might lead to Trump making false statements, and if that happened the president could be charged with the crime of perjury.

Trump’s lawyers have said they would like to be able to respond to Mueller’s questions in writing instead of in a face-to-face meeting. But Mueller is not likely to allow Trump’s penchant for dishonesty to be used as a reason for the president to avoid answering questions.

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New Trump legal team member Rudy Giuliani has been bombarding Mueller in many of his television interviews, and has requested also that the special counsel’s questions be submitted so the president can give written responses.  However, according to Giuliani, this request was rejected.

“So far, the special counsel’s office has rejected a proposal to allow the president to answer questions in writing, which many believe was the president’s best option, best format for this kind of interview,” Giuliani told CBS News.

Giuliani also told CBS:

• It will take up to three weeks for him to get fully up to speed on the facts of the investigation.
• He and the president’s legal team continue to be in communication with the special counsel.
• Trump’s team wants some issues to be off-limits for the interview.
• They want a time limit for the interview.
• They want to know if the interview will become public.

If they can agree on the terms of an interview with the president Giuliani said they will wait until after the North Korea summit. If they can’t agree on the terms, and if Mueller issues a subpoena, Giuliani said they would take it to the Supreme Court, but they would not ignore the subpoena.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.