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    How Robert Mueller Outfoxed Donald Trump

    By Michael Wolraich on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 8:50am | Politics

    Special Counsel Robert Mueller faces a unique challenge in his investigation of Russian influence during the 2016 election. In addition to gathering information and prosecuting criminals, he has had to avoid getting fired by his resentful, mercurial, and unscrupulous commander-in-chief. Fifteen months into the investigation, he appears to have done a masterful job. By manipulating and distracting Donald Trump and his team of lawyers, he has not only preserved his job, he has maintained complete autonomy and seeded a cluster of spinoff investigations that will be nearly impossible for the White House to stifle. And despite Trump’s insistence that he’s “totally allowed” to intervene whenever he chooses, he won’t dare make a move this close to the midterm election, which means Mueller’s investigation will be protected for at least three more months.

    How has he done it?

    Read the article at Daily Beast

    Topics: 
    Politics

    Comments

    Great piece, Michael.  I kinda hope trump’s team doesn’t read it though, LOL!  It is clearly written, and presents a view many had not considered, I think.  


    by CVille Dem on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 11:25am

    Thanks, CVille. It's too late for Trump to make his move in any case. If was going to do it, he should have done it much earlier. Now he'll have to wait until at least November.


    by Michael Wolraich on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 8:57pm

    Marcy Wheeler's noted he has investigators/legal teams for maybe 9-12 areas, my soft brain has trouble keeping up. Trump declared in June 2017 he'd be willing to talk to Mueller. Yes, the obstruction focus may work in Mueller's favor, though it gives Trump's team a bit of a tack at "see, we didn't obstruct" as excuse to shut down - we'll see.


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 12:51pm

    NO COLUSHUN !!  tHE tRUMPS jUST aanted to save the RUSSIAN ORPHANS..!!

    THATIS A CRIME?????????? CLINTONITE WITCHUNT!!!


    by NCD on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 1:37pm

    nice photo choice, those Russian orphans are even cuter than puppies


    by artappraiser on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 1:48pm

    Yeah, Trump has a soft spot for children without parents.


    by Michael Wolraich on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 9:07pm

    I know a pizzeria...


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 9:31pm

    Wrong! Children without parents get attention and affection that should be paid to me!


    by artappraiser on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 10:31pm

    Another slow roll out is the background of financial benefits the Trump family has enjoyed from multiple transactions with Russian rich people. The first Manafort trial introduced what evidence of that kind looks like in court and how difficult it is to make it mean anything other than what it is.
    The Special Counsel is leaving a way out for Trump. He can leave on his own terms. Each indictment shrinks that option.
    Forests moving closer to fortified positions.


    by moat on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 6:45pm

    Excellent point. I wish that I'd mentioned it.


    by Michael Wolraich on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 9:02pm

    Love this.  Though I always thought the “resolution is weeks away” bit isn’t something Trump’s lawyers believed so much as a lie they told to mollify their client.  Though your explanation makes more sense since you can only roll the “weeks away” line once or twice unless you’re talking about ending the Iraq War.


    by Michael Maiello on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 7:10pm

    Little of both, I suspect. Both Mueller and Trump's lawyers wanted to discourage him from doing something rash. Though who knows with Giuliani; he seems to have been sucked into Trump's fantasyland. 


    by Michael Wolraich on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 8:55pm

    Bravo, Michael! Great piece.


    by Doctor Cleveland on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 7:12pm

    Thanks, Doc. Nice to write something that isn't about the progressive era for a change.


    by Michael Wolraich on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 8:57pm

    Certainly doesn't look like Kansas, Toto.


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 9:33pm

    Now that Mueller has apparently agreed to accept at least some answers in writing from Trump, does that change the calculous in any measurable way?

    Notably, the concession (if it is one at all) deals strictly with the matter of the campaign and possible collusion with Russia, nothing else:

    Mueller did not rule out interviewing the president as part of his wide-ranging inquiry. His Friday letter indicated that he may revisit his long-running request to pose questions to Trump directly about Russia’s activities during the campaign after reviewing his answers.

    And the special counsel left open the possibility that he may still try to press Trump in person about a second piece of his investigation: whether the president has sought to block the probe since taking office.

     


    by barefooted on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 9:31pm

    But this is Mueller's "you be loving it" strategy that Michael writes about - keep Trump focused on obstruction, give him hope that a slick well-lawyered response to Mueller in writing will get him off the hook, while that forest inches steadily closer to Trump - legally and PR-wise, like with Woodward and his own gaffes. But good that the Daily Caller can chat with Trump, but not Mueller or Woodward. Most. Transparent. Administratiin. Ever.

    ETA: Abramson thinks this is Mueller calling Trump's bluff, and doubts Trump will even answer in writing. https://mobile.twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1037112278229966850


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 9:41pm

    It is good that Trump feels like he can chat with the likes of the Daily Caller and various Fox news folks, because he unwittingly gives Mueller ammunition every time he does- just like with his tweets.  There's the transparency we've all learned to demand, and then there's the transparency that Trump offers up every given day.

    That Mueller is calling Trump's bluff is a no-brainer, always has been.  Of course he's dealing with the various and sundry attorneys representing Trump, so it's been a merry-go-lawyer situation from the start ... yet I doubt that the comings and goings of Trump's legal team has caused even a bead of sweat on Mueller's forehead.  He's focused, and he's also pragmatic enough to know when to nod and when to punch.  Bet'cha Hillary gets it.  wink


    by barefooted on Tue, 09/04/2018 - 10:07pm

    Yep, another example of Mueller sidestepping confrontation to give his investigation more rope.

    On potential obstruction-of-justice issues, “he said he’d assess it down the road,” said one person familiar with Mueller’s letter who requested anonymity to discuss private communications. “They’re essentially saying, ‘We’ll deal with this at a later date.’”


    by Michael Wolraich on Wed, 09/05/2018 - 12:23am

    Michael, I saw this when it appeared in the Daily Beast. Well done. 


    by Oxy Mora on Sat, 09/29/2018 - 3:08pm

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