Part One – Trump Criminal Enterprise Coming Clearer Into View

If he is a liar, then he’s, well, a liar, actually. The “perjury trap” hooey is easily dispensed with (Hint: Do not lie.). Trump, however, has another problem: He cannot tell the truth. Well, yes, over 4,229 lies later, it appears Trump is incapable of telling the truth. But what I meant is that telling the truth as to what he and his son did is more perilous than trying to lie under oath. Here is why the truth is so dangerous for Trump: He publicly called for the hacking of Hillary Clinton’s emails. He fired former FBI director James B. Comey with Russia in mind, he told Lester Holt. He presented a phony reason for the firing to the public (Comey’s handling of Hillary Clinton’s emails). His son met with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer for the purpose of getting something of value: dirt on Clinton. Trump was instrumental in drafting an untrue description of the meeting. He has publicly threatened to fire the special prosecutor; tormented Attorney General Jeff Sessions about his recusal; aligned himself with House Republicans trying to out a confidential source and trying to mislead the public on the warrant to obtain surveillance on suspected spy Carter Page; and put out entirely false conspiracy theories (a spy was planted on his campaign, President Barack Obama bugged his office, etc.) for the purpose of discrediting and impeding the Russia investigation. I could go on and on, but you see the problem.

These are facts that at this point really are not in dispute — because either Trump or his lawyers have confirmed them or because we have read his tweets and heard his statements. It’s not the lying that will get him in trouble, it’s confirming that some or all of these are true — and adding in further detail what cumulatively can be used to form the basis of an obstruction charge. Think of a Mueller interview not as a perjury trap but as a truth trap. Not cooperating, of course, raises the constitutional issue of whether a president can comply with his oath (“take care that the laws are enforced”) when he refuses to cooperate with investigation and enforcement of federal laws (on campaign finance, obstruction, etc.). In other words, he’s damned if he lies or if he tells the truth. It’s a disaster if he testifies or if he refuses. And there’s only one person responsible for his trap(s) — and it’s not Robert S. Mueller III.