Mueller Avoids Pitfalls by Giving Trump the Silent Treatment - Bloomberg

View
View
View
these
these
these
Pendants
Earrings
Rings

Bloomberg the Company & Its Products Bloomberg Anywhere Remote Login Bloomberg Terminal Demo Request

Bloomberg Sign In
Politics Markets Tech Pursuits Politics Opinion Businessweek Subscribe to Businessweek s

Mueller Avoids Pitfalls by Giving Trump the Silent Treatment

By Chris Strohm , Steven T. Dennis , and Shannon Pettypiece

December 21, 2017 1:00 AM

➞ Some Republicans are escalating attacks on Russia probe

➞ Special counsel aims to convey credibility, offcials says

Why Mueller Is Seen as the Perfect Man for the

Job

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/mueller-avoids-pitfalls-by-giving-trump-the-silent-treatment[12/21/2017 7:47:36 AM]

Mueller Avoids Pitfalls by Giving Trump the Silent Treatment - Bloomberg

Why Mueller Is Seen as the Perfect Man for the Job

Through all the controversy, threats and noise surrounding the Trump-Russia
investigation, one person has been conspicuously silent: Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Register for a free account to continue enjoying

Bloomberg’s premium content
Registered users get:
● Unlimited access to Bloomberg articles
● Bloomberg Watchlist to manage and track your portfolio
● Live video, top interviews, and shows

Already have an account?

REGISTER

Sign in
or T
Connect with the Terminal

The former FBI director hasn’t uttered a single word in public since he was appointed in
May to lead the probe into Russian meddling in the U.S. election despite increasingly
combative attacks by Republicans and their allies on the FBI, the Justice Department and
the integrity of his probe.

It’s an intentional strategy meant to convey the investigation’s credibility and seriousness
in an age of 24-hour noise, amplifed by cable news shows and Twitter, according to
current and former U.S. offcials who know Mueller personally or who have followed his
work.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/mueller-avoids-pitfalls-by-giving-trump-the-silent-treatment[12/21/2017 7:47:36 AM]

Mueller Avoids Pitfalls by Giving Trump the Silent Treatment - Bloomberg

Instead of press conferences, Mueller has spoken loudly through a series of indictments
and plea deals related to various Trump associates.

Mueller’s approach is unconventional, both in the current political climate and compared
with former FBI director James Comey or previous high-profle public prosecutors like
Kenneth Starr, who investigated President Bill Clinton.

The vacuum created by Mueller’s silence has been flled by GOP critics and conservative
media charging the investigation is tainted with bias against President Donald Trump.
Several House Republicans have called for Mueller to resign, with Matt Gaetz of Florida
going to the House foor last week to accuse him of “fshing in the never-Trump aquarium”
in choosing prosecutors and FBI agents for his team.

Read a QuickTake Q&A that’s a guide to understanding the Trump-Russia saga

Trump’s lawyers have been trying to build public expectations that Mueller will wrap up
soon, but offcials say the investigation is ramping up in some ways and is likely to last for
most, if not all, of 2018. Areas where the inquiry is accelerating include a close
examination of the activities of Trump’s son Donald Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner,
said two U.S. offcials who asked to remain anonymous.

“When you’re a prosecutor, you put your head down, you do your job, and you try as much
as you can to ignore the outside world,” said Patrick Cotter, a former U.S. prosecutor who
worked in the 1990s with Mueller and others now serving on his team. “This case is not to
be tried on cable TV. It’s to be tried in a courtroom.”

After Flynn, Where Does Mueller’s Probe Go Next?: QuickTake Q&A

Mueller’s approach differs strikingly from Comey’s. As Mueller’s successor leading the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Comey often made controversial public pronouncements.
He managed to anger Republicans and Democrats alike over his handling of the federal

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/mueller-avoids-pitfalls-by-giving-trump-the-silent-treatment[12/21/2017 7:47:36 AM]

Mueller Avoids Pitfalls by Giving Trump the Silent Treatment - Bloomberg
investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of
state.

Trump used Comey’s words and actions against him -- especially after he proclaimed
during a July 2016 press conference that no prosecutor would pursue criminal charges
against Clinton. Trump attacked Comey in tweets and then called him “a showboat” and
“grandstander” after fring him in May.

Mueller has avoided those pitfalls. He’s provided no ammunition to fuel Trump’s tweets
and given no traction to Republicans who are trying to discredit the investigation of
Russian interference in last year’s presidential campaign and whether anyone close to
Trump colluded in it.

His approach is also different both legally and personally from that of Starr, who spoke
publicly about his investigation into Bill Clinton, said Stanley Twardy, a former U.S.
attorney for Connecticut.

The two investigations can’t be readily compared, as Mueller’s is more sweeping and
international, said Twardy, now a white-collar criminal defense lawyer at the law frm Day
Pitney LLP.

‘Rule Book 101’

“The way Bob has been doing this is out of the prosecutor’s rule book 101 as to how you
handle an investigation," Twardy said. “There is the court of public opinion, but the court
he’s playing in is the district court. And he’s staying there.”

So far, the strategy appears to be working. Republicans have sullied his probe a bit with
their attacks, but Mueller has won over key allies who would play instrumental roles
should Trump try to force him out. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told House
lawmakers during a Dec. 13 hearing that he is fully aware of what Mueller is doing and

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/mueller-avoids-pitfalls-by-giving-trump-the-silent-treatment[12/21/2017 7:47:36 AM]

Mueller Avoids Pitfalls by Giving Trump the Silent Treatment - Bloomberg
stands behind him. Rosenstein appointed Mueller and is the only offcial with the
authority to fre him or stop parts of his investigation.

Read more: What Might Happen If Trump Orders Mueller Fired

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said in interviews this week that they
support Mueller and would oppose efforts to remove him. Republican Senator Bob Corker
of Tennessee said he thinks there would be an “uprising” in the Senate if Mueller were
fred. That would be “beyond the pale,” Corker said.

Mueller’s lack of public comment shouldn’t be confused with a failure to communicate,

said Cotter, who now heads the white collar criminal defense practice at the law frm
Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. in Chicago. Mueller is speaking through legal
proceedings, Cotter said.

“He’s communicating. He’s sending messages,” Cotter said. “I don’t think his intent is to
send a message to the public. It’s to send a message to the people in the investigation, and
that’s what he cares about.”

Indictments, Plea Deals

To date, Mueller has indicted Trump’s former

Balance of Power from
Bloomberg Politics campaign chairman Paul Manafort and
Get the latest on global politics in your another campaign aide, Rick Gates. The
inbox, every day.
special counsel also secured a guilty plea and

Enter your email Sign Up cooperation agreement from Trump’s former

National Security Adviser Michael Flynn for
lying to FBI agents about his contacts with
Russians. A low-level foreign policy adviser to the campaign also pleaded guilty to lying to
investigators and agreed to cooperate.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/mueller-avoids-pitfalls-by-giving-trump-the-silent-treatment[12/21/2017 7:47:36 AM]

Mueller Avoids Pitfalls by Giving Trump the Silent Treatment - Bloomberg

Mueller also has kept up a steady back-and-forth with Trump’s lawyers, who have
refrained from taking any punches at Mueller. White House lawyer Ty Cobb has repeatedly
denied all suggestions that Trump is considering fring Mueller. Cobb has taken a public
posture of fully cooperating with the special counsel’s investigation, turning over
documents and arranging interviews with White House staff.

But each day is a test of the relationship between Trump’s legal team and Mueller, and that
relationship could break down if Mueller probed too deeply into certain areas, such as
Trump’s businesses. The president’s lawyers are set to meet with Mueller’s team as early
as this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Trump took a slight swipe at Mueller this week over a letter his transition lawyer sent to
Congress accusing Mueller of inappropriately obtaining emails from the presidential
transition period. When asked about the emails, Trump told reporters he was “quite sad to
see that. My people were very upset.” But he reiterated that he had no plans to fre
Mueller.

The episode prompted one of the few public statements from Mueller’s team in defense of
its tactics. “When we have obtained emails in the course of our ongoing criminal
investigation, we have secured either the account owner’s consent or appropriate criminal
process,” Mueller’s spokesman, Peter Carr, said in an email.

Mueller’s strategy has forced some critics to reorient their attacks, Cotter said. “You can’t
stand there with a straight face and say there’s absolutely nothing here” after the
indictments and Flynn’s agreement to cooperate, Cotter said.

Anti-Trump Argument

The new approach by Trump’s allies is to try to delegitimize Mueller’s investigation, such
as by arguing members of the team are biased, Cotter said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/mueller-avoids-pitfalls-by-giving-trump-the-silent-treatment[12/21/2017 7:47:36 AM]

Mueller Avoids Pitfalls by Giving Trump the Silent Treatment - Bloomberg

While Mueller is a registered Republican, House Republicans have seized on the disclosure
that a top FBI agent assigned to the investigation, Peter Strzok, sent anti-Trump texts in
personal exchanges with another FBI offcial in 2016. Mueller removed Strzok from his
team over the summer when he learned of the texts.

“It’s a tactical change,” Cotter said. “If you convince people that whatever the investigation
comes out with is bad, just because of the people who did it, then you don’t ever have to
deal with the facts.”

Cotter doesn’t believe the new tactic will fare any better, or prod Mueller into making a
mistake. “I can’t imagine why Mueller and his people would possibly care,” he said. “The
bias in law enforcement is always in favor of law enforcement. They don’t like criminals.”

— With assistance by Billy House

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

LEARN MORE

Have a confdential news tip?

Get in touch with our reporters.

From The Web Sponsored Links by Taboola     

Reclusive Millionaire Bitcoin Expert Reveals Leo's New Yacht Is The

Warns Americans: "Get 3-Step Secret To Retire Size Of 5 Football Fields
Stansberry Research James Altucher WeightLossGroove

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/mueller-avoids-pitfalls-by-giving-trump-the-silent-treatment[12/21/2017 7:47:36 AM]

Mueller Avoids Pitfalls by Giving Trump the Silent Treatment - Bloomberg

Does Mom or Dad Need How To Fix Your Nicole Kidman's Yacht
a Ride? Fatigue (Do This Every Makes The Titanic Look
AARP CareConnection GundryMD LoanPride

Terms of Service Trademarks Privacy Policy Careers Made in NYC Advertise Ad Choices
©2017 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved Website Feedback Help

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-21/mueller-avoids-pitfalls-by-giving-trump-the-silent-treatment[12/21/2017 7:47:36 AM]