Former federal public corruption prosecutor speculates on why Trump’s going particularly nuts this week …
It is hard to say what’s causing Trump’s current Mueller meltdown. But if reports are true that he and his lawyers are working on answering written questions from the Special Counsel, that probably has him especially on edge. One question in particular poses a huge dilemma for Trump: Did you know in advance about Don Jr.’s Trump Tower meeting with the Russians? Obviously, he did. He likely authorized the meeting and got a read out right after it. Why else would he have dictated the bogus “adoption” cover story? Why else, in the days prior to the meeting, would he have promised explosive information about Hillary to come out shortly after it? And Mueller no doubt has additional evidence of Trump’s foreknowledge (from Gates, Manafort, Cohen, phone records, etc.).
Now, Trump has to decide whether to admit the obvious, or continue his obstruction and denial. If he admits it, he risks (a) implicating his son in perjury for lying to Congress; (b) incriminating himself in a scheme to obstruct justice by concocting a bogus cover story about the meeting; and (c) providing direct evidence of his intent to conspire with potential Russian agents. If he denies it, it will likely provide an open and shut false statement case to Mueller on top of whatever else they have on him. I’m not sure how his lawyers will try to thread this needle, but I predict some sort of lawyered up version of an evasive “I don’t recall.” That won’t be credible either coming from someone who once boasted of having one of the “great memories of all time,” but it’s probably the only place he can go other than simply refusing to answer. Regardless, he’s in a box and he knows it. So he’s lashing out.
