Donald Trump's new shield of protection
"By the power invested on me, I accept the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution" is the line with which Miss Sloane begins. The film that talks about the entanglements of lobbying in Washington but particularly the rot that surrounds the political and power circles of the United States.
Perhaps, in a few days, Donald Trump will have to appeal to the same expression when he is called to testify about his relationship with the Russian government and the possible collusion of this in the US 2016 elections. Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York and current lawyer of the president, stated that Trump will appeal to the constitutional right of not self-incriminate.
For weeks Donald Trump has bluffed to attend the meeting with Mueller and not to fear the questions of the special attorney. However, when the leaked list of questions was published by The New York Times, he was very offended and of course, via Twitter, he attacked Robert Mueller. “(...) so infamous that the questions about the Russian witch-hunt were leaked to the press. No question of collusion. Now I understand...they have a fabricated, false crime, collusion, that never existed (...)”, he wrote.
Although Trump wants to deny it and adopts a bad-boy position, he knows that Mueller will not be lenient with him. He will have to explain many things and surely his babbling on Twitter will not help him at all once he’s in front of the ex-FBI Director, a sharpened interrogator and researcher, who has enough experience to get him out even who bought him a candy at three years old. Mueller has skills enough and an "attack" of egotism on Trump will simply sink him further.
“There's no way I can be sure of that”, Giuliani said in an interview with ABC's This Week. Foreseeing perhaps these mood changes of the president, Giuliani wants to avoid the appearance of Trump.
Rudy Giuliani recently took on the responsibility of becoming Trump's personal lawyer, since Michael Cohen, under the investigation involving the president, cannot continue to defend the president. Giuliani has said that he is still receiving everything related to the president and about the case of Stormy Daniels clarified that there are details that he did not know and he is just finding out.
If he appeals to the Fifth Amendment, Donald Trump would avoid a bad time in front of the Special Counsel. According to the new lawyer of the US head of state, he does not rule out the presentation of Trump to the ex – FBI chief, but does not claim either that he president will attend to it. "He is the president of the United States." "We can claim the same privilege as other presidents," said the former NY mayor who tries that the head of state eludes the appointment with Robert Mueller.
Donald Trump has thrown the stone to another roof being his own of glass. In 2016 he had criticized the Democrats for availing themselves of the Fifth Amendment, especially attacking Hillary for making use of it when she was inquired about the use of a private server to send messages. "The mob appeals to the Fifth Amendment." "If you're innocent, why to do so?", he said at the time.
A legal dispute over a court appearance of Trump would almost certainly end in the Supreme Court, which has never firmly decided whether presidents can be forced to testify under oath.
Now time has played its toll on him and he will, on the advice of his lawyers, avail himself to that right if he wants to get out of interrogation with Mueller intact.
Among the questions expected the Special Counsel will make are those related to the Russian meddling, especially the matter of whether the team coordinated with Moscow to win the elections. The role of Paul Manafort in the campaign and his relationship with the Kremlin will also be inquired about.
Michael Flynn, who lied to the FBI, will be another item on the agenda of Bob Mueller when he meets with Trump. As known, Trump's former National Security Adviser lied about his meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition of power.
On the other hand, the business of Jared Kushner with the Russians and his attempts to establish a channel with Russia before the inauguration is another of the points that the president will have to clarify very well.
I do not think the alleged questions leaked by the New York Times are the only ones that Bob Mueller will make to Trump. Enough material has been compiled and he will surely want the president to clarify the blind spots that he and his investigators do not see. Trump, if he tells the truth, will be acquitted and another victory will have been scored in his erratic administration, but surely more than one politician will fall.