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Mueller is calling Trump’s bluff on an interview and offering to let him answer some questions in writing, which could be a trap that Trump never sees coming.

The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, will accept written answers from President Trump on questions about whether his campaign conspired with Russia’s election interference, Mr. Mueller’s office told Mr. Trump’s lawyers in a letter, two people briefed on it said on Tuesday.

But on another significant aspect of the investigation — whether the president tried to obstruct the inquiry itself — Mr. Mueller and his investigators understood that issues of executive privilege could complicate their pursuit of a presidential interview and did not ask for written responses on that matter, according to the letter, which was sent on Friday.

Mueller is calling Trump’s bluff

Trump publicly claims that he wants to do a Mueller interview, but privately according to Bob Woodward’s new book, Trump doesn’t want to do the interview. Mueller is calling Trump out by offering to let him answer some questions on matters other than obstruction of justice in writing.

If Trump’s legal team does respond with a lie to the written questions, the outcome is the same. The President will have committed perjury. Mueller is pinning Trump down. The President can answer some questions in writing, but those questions are going to be very pointed and specific. A lie by Trump to a written question is the same as a spoken lie in a room with Robert Mueller.

The Special Counsel isn’t playing around. Trump’s dodge and bluster routine aren’t working anymore. If Trump turns down Mueller’s offer, then it will be clear that he is afraid to cooperate with the Special Counsel. If he answers and lies, he has even bigger problems.

The legal walls are closing in on Donald Trump.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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