Following the surprise release by the New York Times of a rather long list of questions that team Mueller told the Trump defense team that they would like to ask him in an interview, the burning question is, “Will Trump sit down with Mueller, or won’t he?” This is a question we may well have an answer to before Trump even opens his mouth.
One nice thing about watching Trump almost full time, and writing about him. He tends to be rather an obvious little sod. Guile and misdirection are not in his repertoire. He’s nort so much a bull in a china shop as he is a bulldozer in the Louvre. Any time His Lowness gets that shit eating grin on his face, and replies “We’ll se, I think you’ll be surprised” when asked a question, Just think of what everybody else is telling him not to do.
Trump telegraphs ore shit these days than Western Union. He telegraphed the Syria stike, he telegraphed pulling out of the Paris climate accords, and he’s already telegraphed pulling out of the Iran deal. And he’ll telegraph this one too, just watch one man.
REmember the backdrop. When team Mueller called in the Trump defense attorneys and gave them a peek-a-boo at what Mueller wanted to talk to Trump about, Ty Cobb and John Dowd were Trump’s lead attornies about the Russia investigation. And the two of them were at loggerheads. Cobb was the one pushing the White House to cooperate with Mueller, turn over requested documents, and let staff and advisers submit to voluntary interviews. Dowd wanted to obstruct, and start claiming executive privilege. Mueller sneakily held out an interview with Trump as a way to close the investigation, and Trump bit. When Dowd saw the questions, and correctly determined that it would be a kamikaze mission for Trump to talk to Mueller, he resigned when he felt that Trump wouldn’t listen to him.
Enter Hizzoner, the Moron Mayor of Gotham, Rudy Giuliani. This third rate mouthpiece came in full of bluff and bluster, confidently bragging that he’s use his DOJ connections to have this wrapped up “in a week or two at most.” Then, Rudy the Rube actually met with Robert Mueller, and unlike his client, he took the time to actually read and comprehend the questions that Mueller wants to pose to Trump. White House insiders are telling reporters that Giuliani has decided that any kind of a powwow between Trump and Mueller is off of the table.
You wanna know what Trump is going to do? Watch Rudy Giuliani like a hawk. West wing insiders have already told reporters that Trump has convinced himself that a sit down with Mueller is the only way for him to bring the investigation to a speedy conclusion. And Trump’s confidence in his ability to successfully con anything that walks on two legs is absolute. But Giuliani is warning his numbnuts client that meeting with Mueller is actually a fitting session for an orange jumpsuit. What will Trump do?
Personally, I don’t think Rudy Giulani is any John Dowd. Not in legal skills, and not in terms of ethics. Dowd resigned when he felt that he could no longer offer effective ounsel, because the client wouldn’t listen to him. Giuliani liked the spotlight of having access to Trump and the White House too much to ever do the ethical thing.
If Rudy Giuliani is still on the scene in 6-8 weeks, then I think we can safely assume that he has knocked some sense into the Toddler in Chief. But if Blarah Flackabee Slanders comes out and announces that Giuliani has been either demoted, resigned, or been fired, and announces that Trump has brought on another attorney, you’ll know what it means. Mainly, that Trump has gone ambulance chaser shopping, and found an attorney that thinks that meeting with Mueller is an abso fab idea. Then, it’s just a matter of waiting for the details to be hammered out, and Mueller gets his de-boned, free range chicken for dinner.
There are a lot of things with Trump that are tricky and unknown. I don’t think that this is one of them. If he’s made up his mind that he’s going to talk to Mueller, then he’s going to talk to Mueller. But he’s not going out on that limb by himself. He’s going to have an attorney who advises him to do it. Ty Cobb will never do that, and by the looks of it,neither will Giuliani. If Giuliani goes, it means that Trump has found his legal fall guy. It’s that simple.
