By Steve Neavling
Ticklethewire.com
The constant media coverage about President Trump refusing an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller has created the false perception that prosecutors need to talk with the president before completing the investigation.
It’s not true, says Jon Sale, an opinion contributor for The Hill and a lawyer who has represented people accused of white-collar crimes.
Sale wrote:
Government prosecutors conduct white-collar investigations every day. Usually, prosecutors complete their investigations without the benefit of interviewing the person under investigation.
Like all white-collar investigations, Mueller’s investigation requires an analysis of the president’s knowledge and intent. The allegations involving obstruction and foreign meddling in our election are no exception.
Knowledge and intent determinations are necessary in most white-collar investigations. Typically, prosecutors determine whether they can prove criminal intent based on the facts uncovered in their investigation, including relevant witness testimony and documentary evidence such as emails.
Truth is, Mueller can seek an indictment of the president without an interview by using evidence culled from witnesses and records.
Sure enough, Trump’s team of lawyers is urging him not to agree to an interview, which is not unusual in cases like these.
“Here, the president and his legal team have apparently concluded, rightly or wrongly, that Mueller’s probe is a “witch-hunt” conducted by partisans who have pre-determined the president’s guilt,” Sale writes. “Given the president’s view about the unfair mindset of Mueller’s team, submitting to a voluntary interview would be tantamount to walking into the lion’s den.”
