Mueller says no to Trump's request for an easy way out

Trump’s legal team has been terrified of their lie-prone client sitting down for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. Instead, his lawyers had hoped Trump could submit written responses to Mueller’s questions in lieu of a face-to-face meeting.

It makes sense for someone as incapable of telling the truth as Trump is to avoid an in-person interview. But Mueller won’t let Trump use his dishonesty as a shield against accountability.

CBS News correspondent Paula Reid said Monday that Trump’s newest lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told her Mueller had rejected that request.

“So far, the special counsel’s office has rejected a proposal to allow the president to answer questions in writing, which many believe was the president’s best option, best format for this kind of interview,” Reid relayed from Giuliani.

CBS News noted that Trump’s legal team felt that format could “protect Mr. Trump from the possibility of lying or misleading investigators, which is a criminal offense.”

Trump has gone back and forth about his willingness to meet with Mueller. At times, he’s used his constant “no collusion” refrain to hint that he may refuse the interview. But he later backtracked on that, instead signaling that he wants to go ahead with it. But that ended up driving away previous members of his legal team.

Giuliani recently declared that if Trump did sit down for an in-person interview, it should last no longer three hours. But the list of questions Mueller has for Trump would take far more time than that to fully explore.

In addition to nixing the written interview request, Mueller has also hinted that he may subpoena Trump in order to get him into the room.

Clearly, Trump’s relentless attacks on Mueller and on the investigation have done nothing to dissuade the special counsel from his work. Mueller has instead been busy getting the goods on Trump’s potential obstruction of justice.

Trump wanted to take the easy way out, so his lawyers could save him from himself. But Mueller isn’t having it.

Giuliani’s already disastrous tenure as Trump’s lawyer continues to worsen day by day. If he’s the one who will be preparing Trump for an interview, it’s no wonder they’re all nervous about the outcome.