emptywheel

Agreement to interview Trump by the Mueller team would undercut Trump's statements that he himself isn't under investigation. Interviewing him, which they haven't done yet, puts him in the cross hairs. 2/

It also creates clear legal and political jeopardy for the President. Lying to federal investigators would be a crime. Not only a regular one, but as shown in the Clinton impeachment, a high crime. 3/

Given the President's repeated misstatements of fact, or as some would call them, lies, about things big & small, some of which don't even seem relevant (the size of crowds, buttons, hands...) its unlikely he could stick to the truth through a long interview. 4/

False statements about his meetings with the Russians in Trump tower, the genesis of Don Jr.'s statement about same, his efforts to fire Comey can themselves be crimes, even if the underlying actions weren't. 5/

One thing we've learned over time is that Trump can't stick to a consistent story about anything. And another thing we've learned, Mueller has the receipts. He has the emails. He has the phone records. He has the interviews of other participants. 6/

Inevitably, when Trump does lie to the Mueller investigators, and the Mueller report comes forward detailing the particulars, we will be faced with an uncomfortable political truth, does our political system even care? 7/

On this, I have little confidence. And here's why: The GOP-led Congressional investigators on both sides of the Hill are preparing to wind down, despite not getting through their witness lists. The GOP leadership doesn't seem interested in a thorough accounting. 8/

Despite the urgings of @RepAdamSchiff, the House GOP hasn't scheduled additional interviews, and I don't believe they've interviewed Hope Hicks yet. So if they're not interested in all the facts, why would they hold the Administration accountable for lying to investigators? 9/