Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said Democrats will regret compelling former special counsel Robert Mueller to testify next month.
The issue for them, Dershowitz explained Wednesday, is that Mueller will refuse to expound upon his report on the findings of the Russia investigation.
“The irony is that all the questions the Democrats want to ask him, he’s not entitled to answer. He can’t answer any questions involving the investigation of President Trump or his campaign because that was the essence of the report,” Dershowitz said on Fox News.
“They decided there was no case for prosecution, and Justice Department regulations and traditions say that’s it — you’ve decided not to prosecute, don’t do what [James] Comey did, don’t talk about what might have been, don’t say that she was sloppy with her use of the emails, and don’t say that President Trump might have A, B, C, D — you’ve already said it,” Dershowitz added.
This week, it was announced that Mueller agreed to testify before a joint session of the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees on July 17 in response to a pair of subpoenas from Chairmen Adam Schiff of California and Jerry Nadler of New York.
Although Mueller himself has said his report speaks for itself, Schiff and Nadler said in their letter to Mueller, “Nevertheless, the American public deserves to hear directly from you about your investigation and conclusions.”
The other “irony,” Dershowitz contended, is that the questions Republicans are eager to ask, which do not directly relate to the findings of the Russia investigation, are fair game. These include questions about staffing, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s anti-Trump dossier.
“He’s under subpoena, and if the Republicans ask him that question, even though he’s in the minority, he has to answer. Now if he refuses to answer, there’ll be a vote, and they won’t vote to hold him in contempt because the Democrats have a majority,” Dershowitz said.
“But he’s obligated as a lawyer and officer of the court to answer any relevant question because he’s under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” Dershowitz added. “So I think the Democrats — I’m a Democrat — I hate to see the Democrats shoot themselves in the foot, but they boxed themselves in.”
