The news headlines blared, “Trump is Willing to Testify.”
On Wednesday, shortly before leaving for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Donald Trump told reporters that he was “looking forward” to speaking with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, that he “would love to do it,” and that “I would do it under oath” (unlike Hillary Clinton, he pointed out, who merely spoke to the FBI in an informal setting about her e-mails).
But there is almost no chance that Trump will speak to Mueller “under oath.” First of all, there is no setting in which Trump would have the opportunity to do so — at least, not yet. There is no charge against him, no trial in which the president would be a witness, and no grand jury subpoena that would require the president to testify.
What Trump likely wanted to convey was his confidence that there was no collusion between his campaign and the Russian government, and that he has nothing to hide. But there is no way for him to follow through on his pledge.
The president also added that he would testify under oath “subject to my lawyers and all of that.” There is no way that Trump’s lawyers would allow that — at least not without being compelled to do so.
That is not because he is guilty of an underlying crime, or that he would be an unreliable witness. (He has testified in many cases before, without incident). Rather, it is simply because a good lawyer prefers his or her client to avoid the risk of perjury.
The actual proposal on the table is an interview with the FBI. And there, the risk Trump faces is making a mistake that could later be construed as lying to the FBI — the “process crime” for which former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and junior Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, are being prosecuted.
There is no way that Trump’s lawyers are going to allow him to risk his presidency. They know that Mueller is under extreme pressure from Democrats, NeverTrump Republicans, and the mainstream media to use the Russia investigation to oust Trump from office.
If Trump even forgets what day of the week it is, Mueller will be called upon to charge him. Indeed — given the political bias of his team — Mueller may even hope to do so.
It might be politically disastrous for Trump to refuse to cooperate with Mueller. But the most his lawyers are likely to allow him to do is to respond to written questions, with his answers closely vetted.
So Trump’s statement is likely just bluster to shape public perceptions — a tactic he has used before. Before the election, he vowed to fight the Trump University fraud case to the bitter end. After he won, Trump quietly settled the suit.
So, too, with the Mueller investigation. Trump wants the public to believe his innocence. But he does not want to have to fight for it in court.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward’s 50 “most influential” Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.