Sen. Jack Reed: “I would expect” Special Counsel Robert Mueller to depose President Trump https://t.co/bZzVQRpGPV
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 9, 2017
In his testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, former FBI director James Comey said that he leaked his memos in order to get a special prosector named. Many, many hours later, Trump responded on Twitter by saying that he was “vindicated” by the testimony, a sentiment shared by one of his sons and Sean Hannity. However, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed thinks the president is actually closer to being deposed than cleared.
After special counsel Robert Mueller announced he had hired criminal prosecutor Michael Dreeben to assist in the Russia probe, Reed appeared on CNN to say he “would expect” Mueller to depose the president. Reed, who yesterday said that he felt it was clear that Trump had put the screws to Comey in order to get him to drop the investigation into former security advisor Michael Flynn, wasn’t pulling any punches.
“Frankly, the burden is now on the president to come forth definitively and say what happened,” Reed said.
When asked if Trump should make a statement under oath to deny Comey’s charges, Reed responded:
“I think that’s, ultimately, what will happen, because in the course of these investigations, particularly with special prosecutor Mueller, since part of this, as was indicated yesterday, goes to the rationale behind the firing of Mr. Comey, and the rationale of trying to deflect, if not stop, the investigation of General Flynn involves in some degree the president, so I would expect at some point, not right away, but at some point that Mr. Mueller would feel that he has to depose the president.”
This would not be the first time that Trump, as president, would be deposed. In January, before the inauguration, Trump joined Ulysses S. Grant, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton as the only presidents to be deposed in a case. That case stemmed from chef Jose Andres backing out of a restaurant deal at Trump’s D.C. hotel after the president’s campaign comment that some Mexican immigrants are rapists.
(via CNN)