In ABC Interview, Trump Says Article II ‘Allows Me To Do Whatever I Want’

In ABC Interview, Trump Says Article II ‘Allows Me To Do Whatever I Want’

In a combative interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, President Donald Trump brought up special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on links between his campaign and Russia in a bizarre effort to explain why he’s angered by internal polling that shows him trailing Joe Biden in 2020 battleground states.

During the interview, Trump accused former White House counsel Don McGahn of lying under oath about the president’s efforts to fire Mueller, “because he wanted to make himself look like a good lawyer.” Trump then brought up Article II of the Constitution, which he claimed gave him the authority to fire the special counsel.

“Article II allows me to do whatever I want,” Trump insisted.

Pressed on his argument that Article II of the Constitution grants him broad powers to obstruct justice, Trump told Stephanopolous to “read” Article II

“I’m just saying a president under Article II — it’s very strong,” Trump said. “Read it. Do you have Article II? Read it.” (Actually, Article II, Section 3 says that the president “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”)

Later in the interview, Trump accused Stephanopoulos of “being a little wise guy” for asking about the president’s refusal to sit for questioning with Mueller.

“There was no crime,” Trump said. “There was no collusion. The big thing’s collusion. Now, there’s no collusion. That means they set — it was a setup. In my opinion, and I think it’s gonna come out.”

Trump then stated, without evidence, that former President Barack Obama “must have known” about the so-called set-up.

“I’m not gonna make that statement quite yet,” Trump said. “But I would say that President Obama had to know about it.”

You can read a transcript of the interview here, and watch a portion of the interview below, via ABC News.

 

 

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

How A Stuttering President Confronts A Right-Wing Bully

Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden’s stutter,” the headlines blare, and I am confronted (again) with (more) proof that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hates people like me.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump at Trump Tower

Former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron's February 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company's property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}