Trump lawyers claim president can’t obstruct justice in memo to Mueller
A pointed 20-page letter to special counsel Robert Mueller from White House lawyers warned the president’s cooperation with his Russian collusion probe won’t come easy – if at all.
The Jan. 29 missive, obtained by The New York Times, argues that Trump’s position as commander-in-chief spares him from obstruction of justice charges while making clear their belief that Trump cannot be forced to sit for questions as part of the ongoing Mueller digging.
“The President’s actions here, by virtue of his position as the chief law enforcement officer, could neither constitutionally nor legally constitute obstruction because that would amount to him obstructing himself, and that he could, if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon if he so desired,” wrote attorneys John Dowd and Jay Sekulow.
The legal argument raises the possibility of a court battle down the line over exactly how far Trump’s executive authority actually extends. And the memo specifically mentions Mueller’s “request for testimony on alleged obstruction of justice.”
Mueller has threatened to possibly subpoena the president to answer questions in the investigation that has sharply divided national opinion. Trump, in a Saturday afternoon tweet, ripped the leak of the letter and attacked the entire probe.
“When will this very expensive Witch Hunt Hoax ever end?” Trump asked. “So bad for our Country. Is the Special Counsel/justice Department leaking my lawyers letters to the Fake News Media? Should be looking at Dems corruption instead?”
The hand-delivered letter from the lawyers also took a shot at the investigation by referencing “the astounding public revelations about the corruption within the FBI and Department of Justice, which appears to have led to the alleged ... investigation.”
Trump’s newest lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has also said the Republican president should not sit for a Q&A with Mueller’s investigators. Mueller declined comment on the letter and its contents.
The letter mentioned 16 specific areas of inquiry for the president, and Trump’s lawyers argued they were all addressed in the “exhibits and testimony that have already been voluntarily provided to you by the White House and witnesses, all of which clearly show there was no collusion with Russia.”
Dowd resigned from team Trump in March, while Sekulow remains. Both men made it clear that getting Trump to cooperate remained an unlikely proposition.
“As you know, under our system of government, the President is not readily available to be interviewed. Ample academic and jurisprudential material supports this important principle. Moreover, as we have indicated in our meetings, we are reminded of our duty to protect the President and his Office,” the letter declared.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Class of 2018 will be short four murdered seniors at graduation today. For the 784 students who march for their diplomas, it will be a day of celebration layered with sadness. For the families of Nicholas Dworet, Joaquin Oliver, Meadow Pollack and Carmen Schentrup, graduation day will be the latest marker on a relentless parade of pain, 109 days since their loved ones were killed in a mass shooting that claimed 17 lives at the Parkland school on Valentine’s Day.
Families of the slain seniors have been invited to the ceremony at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, but some parents cannot bear to attend.
Andrew Pollack, the father of Meadow Pollack, went to senior prom in May but said this week he will not be at graduation. “It’s too tough for me,” Pollack said. “I did enough with the prom. It almost killed me.”
April and Phil Schentrup, parents of Carmen Schentrup, also said they will not attend.
“I hold (the Broward school district) responsible for my daughter’s death,” April Schentrup said this week. “Why would we go and celebrate with them?”
But not all are staying away. Manuel Oliver, the father of Joaquin Oliver, said his family will be on hand, because honoring Joaquin’s memory “demands us to.”
“I’m not sure of the school’s plans. We’ll see what they have in store,” Oliver said. Asked if a posthumous diploma might be awarded his son, Oliver said, “If so, my wife (Patricia) will make the walk for him.”
As their children’s classmates move on with their lives – to college, careers and eventually families of their own – parents of the slain students are haunted by thoughts of what might have been. April and Phil Schentrup wonder if Carmen would have chosen an honors program at their alma mater, the University of Florida, or gone across country to the University of Washington in her pursuit of becoming a biomedical researcher. Nicholas Dworet was supposed to attend the University of Indianapolis and join its elite swimming team. Joaquin Oliver, who loved basketball and was buried in a Dwyane Wade jersey, wanted to see political change in his native Venezuela and talked about a career in marketing. Meadow Pollack was supposed to attend Lynn University in Boca Raton and spoke to friends about becoming a lawyer.