So, Rudy Giuliani told Fox News and CNN that Robert Mueller said his office will, per Fox News, "abide by DOJ guidelines" that assert a sitting president cannot be indicted. This is not surprising; it is mainly notable if Mueller told Giuliani so.
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The Special Counsel's Office spokesperson declined to comment.
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tl;dr: It has never seemed likely that by-the-book Mueller would seek to go outside of the historical decisions of DOJ on this question. That's the biggest reason why it's believable that SCO reached this conclusion.
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As to what exactly Mueller told Giuliani, who knows — and I've explained why I think it most likely it would have been discussed.
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None of this, note, has anything to do with the focus, findings, or direction of Mueller's investigation. This solely has to do with what they believe they can do with the conclusion of that investigation. For the president, it's a report to Congress.
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OK. That's all I've got on this. I get that lots of you just want to say that Rudy's lying. My point is: It's so obviously where Mueller was likely to end up that it's believable. If I talk to Giuliani, I'll ask him more — but Mueller's office isn't talking.
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[One
#lawdork note to append to this thread: I am not, by this, stating my view on whether I think DOJ’s longstanding position is legally correct—I think the questions raised are fair—but rather stating that it would surprise me to see Mueller be the the one to try to change it.]Show this thread -
Here's the 2000 DOJ Office of Legal Counsel memo on the topic: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/olc/opinions/2000/10/31/op-olc-v024-p0222_0.pdf …pic.twitter.com/D1ODb5eCcq
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The opinion was written by Randolph Moss, a former clerk to Justice Stevens who was nominated to a federal judgeship by Obama: He's now Judge Moss and he sits on the District Court in DC.pic.twitter.com/gJeCDqJCqe
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Trump is not doing the interview. Mueller’s investigation is winding down with no evidence of wrong doing. Plus, fed judge now questioning if Mueller even has authority to target Trump’s associates like Manafort. Trump is in the catbird seat and Mueller is struggling.
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This is ... an interesting assessment.
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} You are saying Mueller will lie to get to tChump. I think think better of Mueller. I've no reason to think he's dishonest. I think a focus on an honest life is a healthier perspective; that's proven constructive.
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No. I'm saying he would be willing to tell him his conclusion on that question — I was in no way suggesting he would lie to him.
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Do you believe that Giuliani actually communicated with Mueller or Mueller’s team regarding this? It seems that we might be relying on Giuliani’s unreliable word.
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Could it imply that he has found indictable offenses?
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But G announcing this sure is suspicious. What could he gain? If POTUS didn’t do anything wrong, then this is a moot point. Sounds to me like he’s trying to set expectations.
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You are right. Mueller is a turd. Mueller is desperate for something now. Mueller is linked to Russians & has too many conflicts to count. He just wants to destroy. He has destroyed his reputation. He joins the Comey band.
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Based on what we know, there is no evidence or reason for Trump to testify
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Or more likely, the genius missed a subtle nuance in a sentence, took away from it what he wanted, then went scampering to Donnie with the good news, who begged him to share with the media.
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