Kinsley gaffe – save this one for later https://t.co/7Wet8xTBea
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) July 8, 2018
Trump’s lawyers are quietly more combative, too, contesting a request from the special counsel to interview John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff. ?@nytmike? ?@maggieNYT? https://t.co/oyh1YCQHaD
— Adam Goldman (@adamgoldmanNYT) July 7, 2018
… unless your goal is just “seeing Rudy Giuliani sthlurr hith wordths on the teevee thome more.” Or, as a certain Democrat might say, Please proceed, Governor!
President Trump’s lawyers set new conditions on Friday on an interview with the special counsel and said that the chances that the president would be voluntarily questioned were growing increasingly unlikely.
The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, needs to prove before Mr. Trump would agree to an interview that he has evidence that Mr. Trump committed a crime and that his testimony is essential to completing the investigation, said Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s lead lawyer in the case…
The gambit by Mr. Giuliani was the latest maneuver in an all-out assault by the president and his legal team in recent months to alter public opinion about the inquiry. They have come to believe that, if the Democrats win control of the House in November, the chamber will vote on whether to begin the impeachment process no matter the outcome of Mr. Mueller’s investigation. So they want to sway Americans — and by extension, lawmakers…
Mr. Giuliani has sown doubt and confusion by pushing dubious theories about the case. He has made claims like accusing Mr. Mueller’s office, without evidence, of trying to frame Mr. Trump. Mr. Giuliani has also pushed unfounded theories, like an assertion that the F.B.I. implanted a spy in Mr. Trump’s campaign.
The president and his lawyers have also tried to undermine key witnesses like James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director fired by Mr. Trump, to force the public to decide whether to believe them or the president. That is a tall task — the president’s penchant for half-truths, exaggerations and outright falsehoods is well established.
But Mr. Trump and his lawyers contend that Mr. Comey damaged his credibility as a witness during his book tour this spring by showing that he played by his own rules when he ran the F.B.I., and that the findings of a recent inspector general report critical of the F.B.I.’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation buttressed their case.
[Thanks again, Honorable Jim!]
Mr. Giuliani views the tactics as an early success. “Right now, public opinion is going in our direction big time,” he said…
Critics see the array of delay tactics as aimed at stalling an investigative report to Congress until after November’s midterm elections. The more time Mr. Trump and his lawyers have to influence Americans’ views of the inquiry, the better their chances to undermine its credibility and pressure lawmakers not to impeach Mr. Trump.
Legal experts are skeptical that the new tactics will be effective. “It’s a gambit because if there’s damaging information that comes out down the line — like primary source documents or testimony — then you’ve spent your capital trying to create a public narrative that is belied by hard evidence,” said Stephen I. Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law and an expert on constitutional law…
I believe the classic formulation runs It’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up.
So, a drug cartel boss’s lawyers walk into the FBI & say, you can interview our guy after you show us the evidence you have against him. And even then, we’re going to make sure it’s good enough evidence & that we think you’re objective. https://t.co/sDNDK1zhnU
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) July 7, 2018
Yeah, this is not how investigations work. https://t.co/ci0cRAj8GP
— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) July 7, 2018
First new comments to the NYT, now a leak to the AP, tomorrow Rudy showing up on two Sunday shows. What explains this sudden new assault on the Mueller probe by Trump? Seems something is coming. https://t.co/Kn1F10HWrm
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) July 7, 2018
If a president sends five Cubans into the DNC Headquarters, that's it. https://t.co/JQ2ihdPPed
— Schooley (@Rschooley) July 8, 2018
Russiagate Open Thread: <em>Not Helping, Rudy!</em>Post + Comments (139)