The long awaited interview between Robert Mueller and Donald Trump may never happen. However it wasn’t clear what may become of such an opportunity.
Robert Mueller wanted to interview the President but the only thing that had transpired so far was back and forth communication.
Trump was told by some of his lawyers, both former and present not to do the interview. Yet others thought he should do it, but on certain terms.
Some believed that Trump could be subpoenaed if he refused to co-operate. However no such intent had been shown by Mueller up to this point.
Don’t Meet
Joe diGenova served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia during Ronald Reagan’s Presidency.
He said that “under no circumstance should the President agree to an interview with Mueller.”
“He is under no obligation to do so and, given the indications of bad faith by the Mueller group … it would be a mistake to believe a thing they would offer by way of assurances,” he added.
Katy Harriger believed that Mueller may already have all that he needed to launch an attack on the President or those charged.
“What we don’t know is what they have. For the people they’ve indicted so far, they clearly didn’t need the President’s testimony,” she said. “If this subpoena is issued, and if the president refuses to comply, you likely have a court battle which would raise the stakes and put everything on hold while it plays out.”
Should Meet
On the other side of the analogy was those who thought meeting would have a favorable outcome.
Joyce White Vance made reference to Trump possibly facing obstruction of justice charges.
She said “in some ways, it is a courtesy you extend to a defendant: the opportunity to talk to prosecutors, especially on a crime so heavily dependent upon intent.”
“Although this has been portrayed as a perjury trap or aggressive prosecution tactics, for an innocent person this is an opportunity to short-circuit this. But that is not the way the Trump camp has viewed this,” Vance added.
Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor felt doing the interview would show some level of innocence.
“You would always want, if you’re able to, to get an interview, because it is difficult to prove crimes beyond a reasonable doubt – much more difficult than most laypeople realize” she said.
There were varying arguments on if Trump should or shouldn’t do the interview. This was all just a drawn out process from the looks of it.
However some decision needed to be made so that there could be some clarity on the issue.