The fact that Donald Trump's lawyers have made clear they don't trust Trump to sit for an interview with Russia probe Special Counsel Robert Mueller is raising a positively delectable prospect for Democrats heading into the midterms. If Trump does reject an invitation from Mueller, he'll likely be wading into a protracted legal battle for the ages. The New York Times writes:
Refusing to sit for an interview opens the possibility that Mr. Mueller will subpoena the president to testify before a grand jury, setting up a court fight that would drastically escalate the investigation and could be decided by the Supreme Court.
Nothing could help Democrats more over the next several months than a daily reminder to voters that Trump has something to hide but believes he isn't subject to the rule of law like lowly citizens are. Just imagine the tweet madness that will ooze from Trump as he ingests daily cable news reports over what exactly he has to hide.
Voters already believe Trump is trying to obstruct justice by a 53-41 percent margin, including 56 percent of independent voters, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday. In addition, voters say Republicans are putting party over country by 71 to 23 percent. (Democrats fare better on that point, with voters saying they're prioritizing party over country by 63 to 31 percent.)
But Republicans matter more in this case—they are in charge. And a parade of stories reminding voters that GOP lawmakers are doing nothing to put a check on Trump's maniacal power grab will simply feed their natural impulses to provide that check at the voting booth.
Even better, Trump will clearly be at war with Mueller, who gets overwhelmingly positive marks from voters in poll after poll. By 56 to 28 percent, voters told Quinnipiac that Mueller is conducting a fair investigation.
Now for the cherry, the messaging is simple: No one is above the law, especially not the president of the United States. In every single interview, Democrats can drive that point home without even having to impugn Trump. They can stress that they simply want a fair investigation to run its course without interference. And besides, what does Trump have to hide?