Donald Trump's lawyers are advising their client not to submit to an interview by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, because, as the New York Times reports, they are afraid the president might lie under oath.

For those alert to nuance, this sage legal strategy is based on pretty much everything Trump has uttered throughout his adult life.

Give them this much: The legal team knows there are plusses and minuses to being an inveterate liar. When you pursue public office, it works in your favor; when you're the target of a criminal investigation, not so much. And because Trump's relationship with objective reality is purely coincidental, his testimony would likely put his presidency in more immediate jeopardy than it is today.

But Trump's attorneys may find it challenging to build a permanent wall between their client and Mueller, and if there's any justice at the end of this constitutional algae bloom, the president's defenders will acknowledge that he cannot speak candidly without incriminating himself.

Think about where we are: The man whose sworn duty is to protect the integrity of the administration of justice cannot be trusted to recite plausible denials about his campaign's collusion with Russian meddling during the 2016 election, or explain why he fired the FBI director tasked with investigating it.

Mueller would likely prefer testimony under oath from Trump, and whether he would settle for anything less is unclear. It might take a subpoena and a protracted court fight, and in the end, Trump may have no other choice but to hide behind the Fifth Amendment.

But that is an admission of guilt - just ask Trump himself: "The mob takes the Fifth," he spat in Sept. 2016, when email servers and Hillary Clinton's aides dominated the news. "If you're innocent, why take the Fifth?"

Telling the truth may not be the best option, either, but we're not there yet. For now, Trump is committed to selling the narrative that Mueller's inquiry is biased, and negotiations are underway to determine whether he can get away with dodging testimony or interrogatories.

The closer it gets to November, however, the more damage he does to his defenders.

Mueller's investigation has five broad paths, and it isn't even established that he needs Trump's testimony, even though this jigsaw has his image all over it.

He is looking into money laundering, which has already led to indictments of Paul Manafort and Rick Gates.

He is examining the Russian troll factory's hacking operations, and its impact on the election outcome.

He is investigating cyber intrusions by Russian intelligence against John Podesta and the Democratic National Committee, and whether Trump's campaign had foreknowledge of it.

He is looking into 50-plus contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian nationals, which led to guilty pleas from Michael Flynn and George Papadopoulos after they lied about these contacts.

And Mueller is examining whether Trump pressured James Comey to lay off Flynn before he fired him, though the "corrupt intent" component in obstruction of justice cases is hard to prove.

If Trump believes his only way out is to sack Mueller, it would make the Saturday Night Massacre look like Tuesdays With Morrie.

For now, Trump's aim is to convince Americans - at least the 82 percent who want him to testify under oath - and Congress that he is above legal scrutiny. The closer we get to critical mass, the more we inch toward a constitutional crisis, the harder that will be to sustain.

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