Tag: lawyer

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Hoping to put to rest a mystery that has long bedeviled the nation, Donald J. Trump’s personal lawyer, John Dowd, revealed on Monday that it is actually his voice that appears on the notorious “Access Hollywood” tape. Speaking to reporters, Dowd said that the so-called locker-room talk attributed to Trump had actually been carefully crafted by the former reality-show host’s legal team and then read aloud by Dowd himself. Additionally, Dowd said that comments widely thought to have been made by Trump indicating that he believed that Frederick Douglass was still alive were also Dowd’s handiwork. “President Trump was about to say something about whether Frederick Douglass was alive or not, and I stepped in at that moment and said that he was,” Dowd said. “I stand by that statement.” Dowd went on to say that other actions attributed to Trump since he took office, including alienating NATO allies, stating that an imaginary armada was steaming toward North Korea, and naming Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director, were all actually done by Dowd. “Let’s be clear,” Dowd said. “Since Donald Trump was elected President, he has done nothing.”

WASHINGTON — Lawyers for Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, notified the president’s legal team in recent days that they could no longer discuss the special counsel’s investigation, according to four people involved in the case — an indication that Mr. Flynn is cooperating with prosecutors or negotiating a deal. Mr. Flynn’s lawyers had been sharing information with Mr. Trump’s lawyers about the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who is examining whether anyone around Mr. Trump was involved in Russian efforts to undermine Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. It is unethical for lawyers to work together when one client is cooperating with prosecutors and another is still under investigation. Still, the notification led Mr. Trump’s lawyers to believe that Mr. Flynn — who, along with his son, is seen as having significant criminal exposure — has, at the least, begun discussions with Mr. Mueller about cooperating. A deal with Mr. Flynn would give Mr. Mueller a behind-the-scenes look at the Trump campaign and the early tumultuous weeks of the administration. The White House had been bracing for charges against Mr. Flynn in recent weeks, particularly after charges were filed against three other former Trump associates: Paul Manafort, his campaign chairman; Rick Gates, a campaign aide; and George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser. Mr. Trump named him national security adviser, he said, to help “restore America’s leadership position in the world.” Among the interactions that Mr. Mueller is investigating is a private meeting that Mr. Flynn had with the Russian ambassador and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, during the presidential transition. interviewed Mr. Flynn at the White House about his calls with the ambassador. While Mr. Pence and White House press officers repeated the holiday-greetings claim publicly, Mr. Flynn and the ambassador had in fact discussed the sanctions. director, James B. Comey, has testified before Congress that Mr. Trump asked him to end the government’s investigation into Mr. Flynn in a one-on-one meeting in the Oval Office the day after Mr. Flynn was fired.

Fmr. Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman says the steps that Robert Mueller is taking in his investigation indicate the probe is ramping up and will likely lead straight to the questioning of Trump himself. E.J. Dionne & Daniel Dale also join…

Rachel Maddow reports on Brian Benczkowski being voted through the Senate Judiciary Committee to lead the Justice Department’s criminal division despite little relevant experience and having worked for a Russian bank tied to the Trump Russia investigation. » Subscribe to…

Trump lawyers battle over cooperating with Mueller's probe: report. President Trump’s lawyers are clashing over how much to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller, The New York Times reported Sunday. A Times reporter overheard Trump’s lawyer, Ty Cobb, complaining at a D.C. steakhouse about his disagreements with White House counsel Donald McGahn about how to respond to Mueller’s requests in the investigation. Cobb said at the restaurant that he believed one lawyer was a “McGahn spy” and that McGahn was hiding documents from him that he wanted to access. Cobb also blamed a colleague for “earlier leaks” that he said “tried to push” Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner out, according to The Times. McGahn privately yelled at Cobb for publicly speaking about the private investigation after the Times contacted the White House, according to the Times. Chief of staff John Kelly also reportedly rebuked Cobb. Cobb is allegedly pushing for the Trump administration to be open with Mueller in his investigation into Russian election interference, while McGahn is pushing for a more restrained approach that could let Trump later assert executive privilege. McGahn hired a lawyer last week as part of Mueller’s investigation and is likely to be questioned about Trump’s decision to fire former FBI director James Comey and how White House advisers crafted a statement about Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 election.

White House communications aide hires lawyer amid Russia probe: report. Interim White House communications director Hope Hicks has retained a personal lawyer amid the ongoing Russia investigation, Politico reports. Hicks has hired Robert Trout of the Trout Cacheris & Janis law firm, sources told the newspaper. Trout previously served at the Justice Department and as a former assistant U.S. attorney in Baltimore. The reported hire comes as special counsel Robert Mueller looks to question White House staff as part of the federal investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. The Daily Beast reported Friday on effort to organize a legal defense fund for White House staffers to help cover legal bills associated with the special counsel probe. Mueller has expressed interest in interviewing six current and former White House aides, including Hicks, The Washington Post reported Friday. Mueller reportedly also has his sights set on former White House press secretary Sean Spicer and former chief of staff Reince Priebus, among others. The report indicates that Mueller is seeking to interview more individuals closer to the president. Politico reported Friday that no request has been made to interview the president himself.

Donald Trump Jr. Says Meeting With Russian Lawyer Wasn't Collusion. His description of a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower, delivered in an opening statement at the outset of a closed-door Senate Judiciary Committee interview, provided his most detailed account of an encounter that has attracted the attention of congressional investigators and special counsel Robert Mueller. Multiple congressional committees and Mueller's team of prosecutors are investigating whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the election. In Thursday's prepared remarks, which were obtained by The Associated Press, Trump Jr. sought to explain emails he released two months ago that showed him agreeing to the meeting, which had been described as part of a Russian government effort to help his father's campaign. "To the extent they had information concerning the fitness, character or qualifications of a presidential candidate, I believed that I should at least hear them out," Trump Jr. said in the statement. Trump Jr. sought to explain that remark Thursday by saying it was "simply a colloquial way of saying that I appreciated Rob's gesture." Trump Jr. agreed to the Senate interview after the committee chairman, Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, subpoenaed him and Manafort. Trump Jr. also is expected to appear before the Senate intelligence committee at some point. Kushner has met with that staff, as well as members of the House Intelligence Committee. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said negotiations are underway and a date hasn't been set.