My blogging has been light of late because I’ve been working on a magazine article. It’s been a nice reprieve from the grind of the 24 hour news cycle. But you all deserve a few more threads than I’ve been providing, so here’s something to chew over.
If I were a lawyer for Donald Trump, I would most definitely do everything I could to postpone or avoid entirely any scenario where he was sworn to tell the truth under the penalty of perjury. I wouldn’t even want him to testify to what clothing he was wearing or what he ate for lunch, fearing that his impulse to lie is so reflexive that he’d get crosswise with the law. So, I can’t criticize Trump’s attorneys for this:
Lawyers for President Trump have advised him against sitting down for a wide-ranging interview with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to four people briefed on the matter, raising the specter of a monthslong court battle over whether the president must answer questions under oath.
His lawyers are concerned that the president, who has a history of making false statements and contradicting himself, could be charged with lying to investigators.
The problem is that Trump can almost definitely be compelled to testify under oath. It may take a while for the matter to wind its way through the courts, but eventually Trump will probably find out that even his right-wing Supreme Court won’t save him.
Now, maybe Trump will try to solve this problem on his own through some kind of Saturday Night Massacre, but if this is a battle to testify or not testify, his best bet is to negotiate the terms rather than try to avoid it altogether. Of course, there could be an argument that it’s best to delay things so that perhaps Mueller can’t deliver a report before the midterms. But there’s also an argument that it’s better to get this over one way or the other rather than letting it continue to dog his presidency.
The bottom line is that the president of the United States has a legal team, and seemingly all but one of his lawyers (Ty Cobb) thinks the president should avoid testifying at all costs because he’s such a gigantic liar.
I think Ty Cobb is a cockeyed optimist, but the other lawyers seem to be giving solid advice. I’m just not sure they have any idea what to do once their client loses in court.
