ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESETIGATION/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It is not every day that a potential constitutional showdown over a presidential subpoena coincides with a confirmation hearing for a crucial Supreme Court seat. Less likely yet is a nominee who has written extensively about the very question at the heart of the dispute. But that novel historical moment is here..Mr. Trump’s choice for the court, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, has expressed strong support for executive power, hostility to administrative agencies and support for gun rights and religious freedom. Those are all conventional positions among conservative lawyers and judges. But there is one stance that sets Judge Kavanaugh apart, and it could not be more timely: his deep skepticism of the wisdom of forcing a sitting president to answer questions in criminal cases…Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Mr. Trump and his associates, raised the prospect of subpoenaing the president during a March meeting with his lead lawyer at the time, John Dowd. Mr. Trump’s lawyers responded that they were confident that they would prevail in a court fight over whether a sitting president could be required to comply with a subpoena.”
–Adam Liptak, “Showdown on a Trump Subpoena Could Overshadow Brett Kavanaugh’s Confirmation,” The New York Times online, July 10, 2018