Mueller reportedly raised possibility of subpoena for Trump
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
During a meeting with members of President Trump's legal team on March 5, Special Counsel Robert Mueller told them that if Trump declined to speak with federal investigators, he could issue a subpoena for the president to appear before a grand jury, four people with knowledge of the encounter told The Washington Post.
John Dowd, at the time Trump's lead personal lawyer, then erupted, the Post reports, telling Mueller this "isn't some game. You are screwing with the work of the president of the United States." In the aftermath of the meeting, Trump's lawyers debated how to move forward, with Dowd ultimately resigning, and Mueller's team agreed to give Trump's attorneys more details on the topics prosecutors wanted to discuss with the president. One of Trump's lawyers, Jay Sekulow, then put together a list of 49 questions he believed Trump would be asked, three people told the Post, which included queries about the firings of former FBI Director James Comey and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Those questions were obtained by The New York Times, and published Monday.
Sekulow and Dowd both declined to comment to the Post, but Dowd confirmed to The Associated Press that Mueller's team had raised the possibility of forcing Trump to testify. Since the meeting, Trump ally Rudy Giuliani had joined his legal team, and Giuliani told the Post on Tuesday he has a "totally open mind on what the right strategy is, which we'll develop in the next few weeks."
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The ‘ravenous’ demand for Cornish mineralsUnder the Radar Growing need for critical minerals to power tech has intensified ‘appetite’ for lithium, which could be a ‘huge boon’ for local economy
-
Why are election experts taking Trump’s midterm threats seriously?IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the president muses about polling place deployments and a centralized electoral system aimed at one-party control, lawmakers are taking this administration at its word
-
‘Restaurateurs have become millionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
