DOJ Lawyer Who Drafted Special Counsel Regulations Explains Why Giuliani's Mueller Claim is Bad News for Trump
Neal Kaytal—who served as the Acting Solicitor General of the United States and drafted the rules guiding special counsel Robert Mueller—on Wednesday explained why Rudy Giuliani’s claim that Mueller said he will follow Department of Justice guidelines may not bode well for President.
Giuliani on Wednesday said Mueller told the president’s legal team the special counsel will not indict a sitting president. But, according to Kaytal, that assurance may not mean much for Trump.
“Why did Mueller say this?” Kaytal asked on Twitter. “Is it because Trump’s lawyers said they were thinking of taking 5th [Amendment privilege] against self incrimination, and Mueller said there can be no incrimination?”
“If so, the DOJ policy against indictment of a sitting President may actually hurt Trump, and be an argument against his ability to stay silent,” Kaytal surmised. “It might be a way to ferret out truth.”
Kaytal noted that the regulations he drafted “do not say DOJ policy must always be followed,” but allows for the special counsel to ask Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “for permission to depart from DOJ policy and rules.”
“If Mueller has the goods on Trump, as I’ve said before, I think he will ask [Rosenstein] to indict,” Kaytal said. If Rosenstein refuses, it will trigger a mandatory “final report” requirement to both the majority and minority parties in Congress.
“So I do not see this story as good for President Trump, in any way,” Kaytal added.
Watch the video below, via MSNBC:
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