President Donald Trump's lawyers "know they are going to lose" on the question of whether special counsel Robert Mueller can subpoena the commander in chief to testify in the Russia investigation, George Washington University Law professor Jonathan Turley said Monday.
Turley told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" he does not believe a memo that questions such a subpoena — sent by Trump's attorneys to Mueller after his request that the president submit to questions about allegations he committed obstruction of justice — is backed by case law.
"Well, the letter itself seems to be an example of position bargaining where frankly they are exaggerating the existing case law. It is not true that the president can simply defy a subpoena," Turley told Joe Scarborough in a clip posted by Mediaite.com.
"There's not a lot of case law in the area but what is there supports Robert Mueller and I think that the White House team understands that. I think they know they're going to lose."
On Saturday, The New York Times published a 20–page memo sent earlier this year to Mueller in which they argue he cannot be compelled to testify and could not possibly have committed obstruction because he has complete authority over all federal investigations.
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