Probing Questions

   One of the best compliments this reporter ever received in a long career in journalism came from a public relations advisor who had prepared a list of questions likely to be asked in an upcoming interview with a corporate executive.
   The exec looked over the list and deleted several, saying he did not want to deal with them and doubted this reporter would ask them anyway.
   The advisor responded that while the exec may not want to deal with those issues, he would be willing to bet a week's pay that at least one -- dealing with the exec's future as his division was about to be sold -- would indeed be asked.
   The interview went forward as scheduled, and the following day the PR advisor called to say, "Congratulations. I prepared a list of possible questions for the exec to expect, and you asked every one of them."

   Currently, the news is full of reports about an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller and whether his team will interview the president. In turn, the president's legal advisors want a list of questions in advance.
   Legal investigators don't work that way, and neither do journalists.
   Some corporate types believe that if they ignore the reporter, the questions go away, and the story won't be published. Doesn't happen. The reporter simply inserts a sentence noting that the executive "was not available for comment," or that the exec "did not return several phone calls requesting comment."
   Prosecutors, on the other hand, have the advantage of subpoena power, and can demand that the subject of the probe show up and answer questions. The subject does not have the option of deciding when, whether or if he or she will respond to the lawyer's questions.

   Meanwhile, the investigation continues on both sides, the journalistic and the legal. Journalists want answers right away, and can fill out the story over time. Prosecutors have the option of waiting until every question is answered completely, and since new questions arise almost every day in a continuing investigation, lawyers can wait until they have enough evidence to take the case to trial.
   Both have the protection of the Constitution, enabling them to do their jobs completely, and each has a duty to the public to keep people informed, to expose wrongdoing no matter how high the political or social level.