Trump reportedly wants to ignore the advice of his lawyers and talk to Robert Mueller
President Trump may be walking himself down the plank.
CNN reported Wednesday that the president wants to go against the advice of his own lawyers and submit to an interview as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia and obstruction of justice against said investigation. An unnamed source close to the president told CNN that Trump thinks an interview with Mueller won't be all that bad because he genuinely believes in his own innocence, and because he's done plenty of interviews under oath in his life. "[Trump] doesn't realize how high the stakes are," this person told CNN.
Trump's lawyers — and pretty much anyone who has ever spent a significant amount of time around him — think the interview is a really bad idea, because he could make false statements. CNN notes that the president's legal team has not yet received a formal interview request from Mueller, but it has been busy trying to find ways to avoid a sit-down. Perhaps a written interview would do? Or the legal team could restrict the line of questioning. Or maybe Trump could just refuse the interview outright and hope Mueller doesn't issue a subpoena.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
After being sued for libel by Trump back in 2007, Bloomberg journalist Tim O'Brien had his lawyers interview Trump under oath during the legal battle. The future president fudged the truth 30 times in a way The Washington Post described as "needless, highly specific, easy to disprove." Trump lost the case.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Marine Le Pen's fake jobs trial
The Explainer The far-right French leader could face a fine, jail time, and a five-year ban from public office if found guilty of embezzlement
By Abby Wilson Published
-
How to earn extra cash for Christmas
The Explainer The holiday season can be expensive but there are ways to bolster your festive finances
By Marc Shoffman, The Week UK Published
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba have a rough day in defamation court
Speed Read Trump's audible grousing as E. Jean Carroll testified earned him a warning he could be thrown out of court, and Habba showed she 'doesn't know what the hell she's doing'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published