Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the changes to the Trump legal team, including the departure of John Dowd who was the lead counsel in dealing with the Special Counsel investigation. While it is still not clear what role Joe diGenova will play, there is concern that Trump is considering a more combative approach. Adding more lawyers does not necessarily translate to strengthening a case. Indeed, if you add lawyers used to being lead counsels, the result can be confusion and conflicts in getting them to work together. What Trump needs is greater control and continuity as he enters the most risky stage of the Special Counsel investigation.
Here is the column:
John Dowd’s resignation as personal counsel to President Donald Trump sent shivers across Capitol Hill today. The reaction was not necessarily due to faith in Dowd but, rather, fear of the unknown. Dowd was known as someone who favored a cooperative posture toward special counsel Robert Mueller (though he was reportedly leery of Trump sitting down for an interview).
The combination of Dowd’s resignation and the addition of attorney Joseph E. diGenova is taken as a sign of a more confrontational, combative approach by Trump. If true, things could get demonstrably worse for the president. The greatest danger of a scorched-earth approach is when you are standing on that earth at the time.
Dowd’s resignation alone should not necessarily come as much of a surprise. Dowd has had his share of serious missteps, as have some of his former colleagues. Dowd recently issued a statement in the president’s name, calling for an end to the Mueller investigation. He was then corrected publicly and had to issue an embarrassing statement that he was speaking only for himself. It is not clear if the original statement was issued at Trump’s direction or with his approval. However, it does suggest an obvious lack of communication and trust in the attorney-client relationship.
This is not the first such confusion over who Dowd was speaking for in the litigation. Previously, there was an outcry after the president sent out a tweet responding to the plea agreement by former national security adviser Michael Flynn: “I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the vice president and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!” Since Flynn was “fired” on Feb. 13, 2017, it was viewed as confirmation that the president knew of Flynn lying to the FBI before he reportedly asked then-FBI Director James Comey to go easy on Flynn. (Trump denied ever asking Comey to drop the investigation against Flynn.) Dowd later fell on a knife publicly and said he wrote those words, insisting that he was clumsy in using social media.
Dowd was involved in an equally clumsy controversy at a lunch with Trump personal lawyer Ty Cobb. A New York Times reporter sitting at the next table heard them complain about White House counsel Don McGahn withholding in a White House safe “a couple documents” in the investigation.
Other Trump lawyers have faced the same missteps, in addition to Cobb. Trump personal counsel Jay Sekulow was criticized for going on the air to insist that the president “didn’t sign off” on Donald Trump Jr.’s misleading statement about his meeting in Trump Tower with Russian representatives; it turned out that Trump dictated the statement on Air Force One.
CNN and other networks have unfairly characterized diGenova as a “television lawyer.” He is one of the most accomplished, skilled lawyers in the city, including prior service as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. He also is someone who has denounced the Mueller investigation as an effort to frame Trump.
The greatest concern is that Trump may be yielding to his own inclination for full-contact litigation at an extremely precarious time. Trump was influenced in his view of lawyers by his interaction and representation by Roy Cohn in New York. Cohn remains a dark figure among lawyers; he was the key aide to Sen. Joe McCarthy (R-Wis.) during his 1950s anti-American investigations of writers, actors, political dissidents and government figures as alleged communist spies. Cohn was later accused of a variety of unethical and criminal acts in threatening witnesses and other parties; he was disbarred for professional misconduct, including perjury and witness-tampering.
Despite that infamous reputation, Trump appears to still view Cohn favorably. In March 2016, Trump reportedly asked in frustration, “Where’s my Roy Cohn?” Eventually, Trump seemed to find a replacement for Cohn in the representation of Michael Cohen; Cohen has been repeatedly accused of threatening and bullying anyone who stood against Trump. Cohen has caused more harm than good for Trump in scandals like the one surrounding Trump’s alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohn may have left an even deeper impression than simply his style of lawyering. Cohn once said, “I bring out the worst in my enemies and that’s how I get them to defeat themselves.” Trump has shown the same ability and inclination; the latest example was former Vice President Joe Biden’s juvenile taunt that he would beat down Trump in a fight. Comey leaking FBI memos after being fired and then attacking Trump on Twitter is another example.
However, there is a difference between litigation styles in New York and D.C. It is not always easy to make the transition like a southpaw boxer learning to hit with your right hand.
Trump needs to shake any lingering lessons from Roy Cohn, who once said, “I don’t write polite letters. I don’t like to plea-bargain. I like to fight.” In the end, that style did not pan out for Cohn any more than it did for his clients: He died in 1986 as a disbarred lawyer owing the IRS millions in unpaid taxes. And Robert Mueller is not the type of lawyer who will respond well to aggression. It is hard to spook a guy with a desk full of criminal subpoenas.
Trump has some good D.C. lawyers, including diGenova, but no lawyer is better than the case or the client. The investigation is now in its critical stage, and Trump needs more finesse than another fight.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanTurley.
Even after all these comments and replies to replies to…
It still isn’t good enough for the Daily Tatler.
Today is Palm Sunday.
Take a break from denouncing each other from your high and mighty safe space online which is quite cowardly.
Get out of your bomb throwing anonymous safe space and interact with people outside your door who are less fortunate, who have real needs of basic necessities that only a human soul can touch (this excludes a government entitlement program)
Walk that talk for just one day. It might even start a trend in your life and change your immediate world for good.
What a concept!
https://youtu.be/knSBw_rrOMA?t=1h3m11s
Christina Hernandez – you talk the talk and walk the walk, you do not walk the talk. It is a reference to John Wayne. “You talk the talk. But do you walk the walk?” Full Metal Jacket (Joker)
You know, Christina, had you made that suggestion a tad less accusatory and insulting someone might have taken it seriously.
Cordially, Bill
Bill Wilde – as an agnostic, I am triggered. 😉 I have to find a safe place.
Paul,
While you are being triggered, you might want to update your paradigms post John Wayne who, by the way, became a baptized Catholic before he died
“Tips about How to Walk Your Talk”
“The most important tip comes first. If you do this first action well, the rest will follow more naturally. If the ideas you are promoting are congruent with your core beliefs and values, these actions will come easily, too.
As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Become the change you wish to see in the world.” And, it will happen.
If you make a rule or design a process, follow it, until you decide to change it. Why would employees follow the rules if the rule makers don’t?
Act as if you are part of the team, not always the head of it. Dig in and do actual work, too. People will appreciate that you are personally knowledgeable about the effort needed to get the work done. They will trust your leadership because you have undergone their experience.
Help people achieve the goals that are important to them, as well as the goals that are important to you. Make sure there is something for each of you that will result from the effort and work.
Do what you say you’re going to do. Don’t make rash promises that you can’t keep. People want to trust you and your leadership.
Build commitment to your organization’s big goal. (You do have a big, overarching goal, don’t you?) Other than to make money, why does your organization exist?
Use every possible communication tool to build commitment and support for the big goal, your organization’s values, and the culture you want to create. This includes what you discuss at meetings, in your corporate blog, on your Intranet, in social media, and so forth.
Hold strategic conversations with people so people are clear about expectations and direction. Gerard Kleisterlee, Philips’ president, is holding strategic conversations with as many groups as he can.
“In order to build internal confidence, stimulate cross-boundary cooperation, and spark new-product speed to market, Kleisterlee is sponsoring what he calls ‘strategic conversations’: dialogues that center around a focused set of themes that Kleisterlee believes will define Philips’ future.”
Ask senior managers to police themselves. They must provide feedback to each other when they fail to walk their talk.”
https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-walk-your-talk-1916726
“excludes government entitlement programs”- How Christian of you Christina to want to impoverish people who paid into Social Security. How consistent, do you find the fact that labor receives the lowest share of national income in U.S. recorded history, with Christ’s teaching? Since you are confident that your advise is sound, my advice to you is join Erik Prince’s church and wear 14k gold crosses. It suits hypocrites.
You are not taking Valium as the high and mighty on these forums in their comfortable anonymous perches have prescribed for your bitterness, Linda. Risperidone was also mentioned for you
Given your advanced psychosis, there is only one option for you
it will be charged to Americans “contributions” to the insolvent Socialism Security Program
The poor will now flip the switch on you. Please remove the 14 Kt Yellow Gold Dildo
http://78.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwb87qWCOK1r5uj94o1_500.gif
Are Jesus’ teachings about humility, compassion and charity present in Christina’s rebuke or, in the paragraphs of her defender, Doc Johnson?
Self-aggrandizement is the motivation that leads some “Christians” to the actions that Christina recommends. The anonymous gift of alms provided by the taxpayer in the form of a government lunch program or a healthcare program for the indigent, doesn’t provide the opportunity for the giver to feel that she is better than others.
Yet, still the Bible offers forgiveness to all.
“…Trump’s Legal Team And Strategy…”
What exactly is a “strategy” against an illegal, unconstitutional political “witch hunt”? The thoroughly corrupt FBI/DOJ, intel “deep state” has control of the process and is conducting a “special investigation of nothing”. The special counsel appointment does not meet the DOJ criteria and is without any “articulable facts” of a crime, as concern is expressed regarding a “foreign counter-intelligence operation”. Just incidentally, for the uninitiated out there, collusion is not a crime.
The coup d’etat in America is being conducted by the very criminals who should be under investigation by a special counsel. Comey, McCabe, Yates, Strozk, Page, Bruce Ohr, Nellie Ohr et al. are already gone. The Obama gang is next.
Given the closing of the completely unproductive Congressional investigation of “Russian collusion”, it is long past time for Professor Turley to call for a second special counsel.
The President could win the next round when the DOJ’s IG report comes out. However, based on past history, there is a good chance Trump will ignore advice of counsel and blow his advantage. Yes, it is sometimes hard to take legal advice to heart.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/25/us/politics/trump-digenova-toensing.html
“President Trump has decided not to hire two lawyers who were announced last week as new additions to his legal team, leaving him with a shrinking stable of lawyers as the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, enters an intense phase.
““The president is disappointed that conflicts prevent Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing from joining the president’s special counsel legal team,” Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said in a statement on Sunday morning. “However, those conflicts do not prevent them from assisting the president in other legal matters. The president looks forward to working with them.””
President Trump will not be hiring the Washington lawyer Joseph diGenova due to “conflicts,” the Associated Press reported.
Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow announced on Sunday that the president won’t hire diGenova or his wife Victoria Toensing for the legal team assembled to defend him from the special counsel investigation.
“The president is disappointed that conflicts prevent Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing from joining the president’s special counsel legal team,” Sekulow said in a statement on Sunday obtained by The New York Times. “However, those conflicts do not prevent them from assisting the president in other legal matters. The president looks forward to working with them.”
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/380179-digenova-will-not-join-trumps-legal-team
A few companies I worked for had high turnover & a hostile work environment. They don’t exist anymore. Was it the collateral damage building up?
The media: Last nights show (to be repeated tonight) on NBC regarding The Media and MLK and the Civil Rights Movement. The show was fairly good. Inserted therein was a video of recent years events which the moderated says is the same as Selma where the video shows cops and dogs and tear gas in Ferguson. What is different? In Ferguson gangs came in from other towns and looted storres and then tore them up and trashed them. One was burned. The cops came in to purge the surge of gangs.
But as a former civil rights worker I understand days of old in the South when the Klan was active and dangerous. Cairo Illinois (not Egypt) was a place I worked in for civil rights. NBC never bothered to come there and show the cross burnings on the levee on a regular basis.
ABC, CIA, be eye bickee eye by oh bee, bicki eye bicki oh boo boo. Why didn’t the NBC show last night make any reference to the real killers of MLK? And, JFK? And Bobby? It was J. Edgar Hoover and his gang.
Well, perhaps NBC hasn’t bought into all the whacky conspiracy theories that Youtube has to offer?
That’s my guess, anyway.
Cordially, Bill
Bill,
You are channelling James Carville.
“What the Starr investigations tells us about Mueller’s probe”
The Week Staff
“During the Starr investigation, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) claimed the independent counsel was “totally out of control” and fixated on “trying to topple the president.” Clinton aides demanded an investigation into the investigation; Democratic lawmakers called on Starr to step down. “Clinton only survived,” says Dick Morris, one of his former advisers, “because he made Ken Starr the enemy.””
http://theweek.com
YOU KNOW THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, MEDIA & COURTS ARE CORRUPT BECAUSE
TRUMP REMAINS AN UNINDICTED
http://buenavistamall.com/trumpwarcriminal.jpg
PENCE IS TOO! TRUMP AND PENCE BELONG IN PRISON.
This looks like Trump taking a dive. He’s a vain, stupid, pompus and evil man. He’s put the neocon cabinet in place, now it’s time for him to leave and let Pence take over.
If he talks to Mueller, there is no way he will avoid being charged. That is why I think he’s doing what he’s told to do and taking the dive. Of course, he is a meglomaniac so he could believe his own BS but this looks orchestrated to me. Either way, his impeachment will be guaranteed.
Jill, it certainly seems that way. Pence can get the TPP done with bipartisan support.
You are probably aware of the “Cloud Act” – the backdoor to getting around the 4th amendment?
Autumn,
I thought he did a good job pulling many things together. This work around has been happening for a long time now (ie: Israel gets all our data according to James Bamford, and has for years) but now it’s “legal”. This does seem to be a world wide control mechanism. Everything is maximally creepy now! Thanks for the video.
P.S. Pence can get WWIII done in no time! He’s Family and he’s not physically ill like Hillary is. He’s perfect for those religious apocalyptic a-holes!
T rump and Bolton will start da war before they leave and declare a state of emergency. T rump banned da trans again while he bonks porn stars He is tryin to be like Pence but he is too depraved to get there. Wait til 2020 both of these rotten men will be gone.
OK – Ya think the Dims will allow Tulsi Gabbard to run?
OK – Who do you predict will take their place in 2020?
This video is just some stoner in his apartment. Where do you find these?
PH – the “stoner” must strike a chord with lots of viewers – over 200K registered viewers on YouTube alone (doesn’t take into account those who don’t register like me), viewers on FB, Steemit, DTube, Gab and Periscope. My best guestimate is that at least 1/2 mil tune in regularly to see what he’s on about. And he lives in a house btw.
Ha, Ha. Hey Autumn.
The stoner in question wasn’t a a stoner when he was defending Trump against the absurd DNC manufactured charges of Russiagate, but now that he reports on an unconstitutional rider of legislation sneakily inserted into the spending bill for the rich and the MIC that Trump signed off on, it’s a whole new ball game.
Styx.. should know that reporting and/or analysis these days should be confined to stenography of the WH POV (except when the WH occupant isn’t a hard right authoritarian reactionary – of course)
Autumn – is he knocking Styx? Tell not to forget the 10.2 and the spoon clanks.
So what..?? Crazy conspiracy videos get those numbers too. Alex Jones has a following. Just because someone gets hits on their videos doesn’t make them prominent.
Address what he said about the 4th Amendment and the Cloud PH! Are you supporting the Cloud Act?
Either way his impeachment will be guaranteed.
Hi Jill,
An interesting perspective. You may well be right. I would be very interested in some elaboration on the topic. I wonder if I’m not missing something about this “investigation.”
The Russiagate stuff seems as bogus as ever, but perhaps the financial dealings with Russia is/are becoming an issue? Is that it or is it something all together different?
-Curious BB
BB,
According to Scahill (and many other people) Trump’s financial crimes are overwhelming and not well hidden. It’s either this link or Part 3 of the interview where Scahill goes into this aspect of things in detail:
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/15/jeremy_scahill_on_trump_s_cabinet
For my part, I was referring to Trump’s willingness to give a face to fact interview with Mueller. This course of action is directly contrary to the advice of all of his legal team for a reason. It’s very easy to get accused of perjury even if you make a rather innocent mistake in what you say. He will perjure himself and that will likely get him impeached.
For me this looks like it’s orchestrated because every lawyer he has told him not to do this interview but he’s still doing it. However, he could think he’ll outsmart Mueller and it could just be his vanity at work. Either way, he’s going down.
I believe Pence was the desired candidate all along. He would not likely have won the election. Now everything is in place and Trump is no longer needed. He will walk off with a bundle and Pence will be the president. For religious zealots/arms merchants, earth destroyers and the IC it’s a big win. For the rest of us, not so much.
P.S. The financial crimes have to do with US as well as Israel and UAE, etc. I don’t think there are that many Russian issues although there may be some.
The whole thing smells of some kind of political theater. Perhaps I am too cynical.
Fascinating JIll. Excellent summary in both cases (financial crimes and likelihood of perjury) and you make a plausible case for orchestration to shoe-horn in an otherwise unpalatable Pence.
I completely agree on perjury risk, largely agree on financial crimes, and I’m positive there are some on both sides of the aisle who would applaud the outcome of Pence, but hadn’t been paying attention to the notion of such deliberate planning for it.
bb,
This is a really interesting talk by a lawyer:
Wow. That was riveting. A real keeper, thanks for the link. I confess I completely forgot about Trump given the general nature of the argument (nobody should speak to the police) and and the equally general but fascinating (and totally plausible) examples the lawyer gave not to mention the policeman guest who spoke afterwards and agreed 100%. The points made and the examples would keep anyone on the edge of their seat.
The argument is so well made it seems as obvious in this special case as it does in the general one. It isn’t, however, quite the same. The first thing that isn’t the same is the court of public opinion Trump faces which, fair or not, will react either way. If he refuses the interview with Mueller, he is guilty by association, particularly with people predisposed to that POV; if he complies, he will likely be tripped up in one or more of the minefield of possibilities the video suggests.
All in all, I agree that Trump would be better off to refuse the interview, but as you point out, there will be a cost either way. Enough for an impeachment? Perhaps, but I’m fairly sure that unless Trump did something truly breath-taking (most likely of a financial nature), a sort of bomb shell, he would not be convicted in the Senate. As I understand it, the bar for conviction and removal is very high and rightly so.
BB,
That lawyer does make excellent points!
In this case, public opinion won’t matter. If he lies he gets prosecuted. (And he will lie.)
As to congress, they are run by the same group of people as the president. If the oligarchy wants Trump gone, he’s gone. If he stays useful, he’ll stay on.
This isn’t a democracy and we don’t have rule of law, just the rule of the insane powerful (as far as I can tell!)
Arggg and avast! I think ye got me matey… Those are all good points.
Mueller will ultimately not go after Trump and he has signaled this to anybody paying attention.So far low hanging fruit involving a guy spouting off in a bar and FORMER campaign manager’s actions that pre-dated 2016 election. And let’s not forget the Flynn indictment and comparison to McCabe – which is a ticking time bomb that might blow up in Mueller’s face. Mueller should fear potential backlash from coerced Flynn plea deal (exculpatory evidence withheld) and any attempt to indict Trump which would involve jury trial and damaging discovery on FBI which would ultimately lead to acquittal of Trump and forever tarnish Mueller. Prosecutors always look ahead two steps to their chances of winning a jury trial and going after Trump is simply not good personal business for Mueller. And let’s not forget no probable cause to start investigation – aside from Clinton financed dossier – and no subsequent evidence disclosed to date via House, Senate or Mueller investigations.
Bill Martin – Mueller cannot bankrupt Trump into a plea bargain, which is why Manafort is holding out. He can afford to defend himself, too. Mueller’s biggest problems will be Manafort and Trump who have the money to fight him.
Good point regarding Manafort – perhaps his reluctance to cave in to plea agreement works to advantage of Trump.
The anthrax investigations after 9/11 personify Mueller’s style: Hound people with investigations. Period. Doesn’t matter whether they’re guilty of anything or even whether there’s a shred of evidence against them.. Just hound them and ruin their lives with investigations.
Mueller is probably one of the most wimpish bullies on the planet. Someone really needs to take him apart, and that’s the only silver lining I see to any attempt by Mueller to indict Trump. If he did that, he’d be initiating his own destruct sequence — long overdue.
Yes, that is why has not/will not go there (indict Trump) – Mueller is bully who picks fights with weak bankruptable targets as alluded to by Paul C Shulte above. The media mantra is “Bob Mueller is beyond reproach.” – Really?? Professional curiosity is no longer alive in much of media today, mostly advocacy media. Sad.
I was watching Chuck Todd on Meet The Press. He is so critical of others. About two years ago he called Ferguson a Ghetto. I looked up where he was from and am surprised to see it is Kendall, FL or greater Miami. Well his neighborhood is a Ghetto. Miami Killian Senior High School in Kendall, is where he went to high school. Scumbag place. I have driven around there.
Chucky Boy needs to get a life and get off the air.
“Chucky Boy needs to get a life and get off the air.”
LOL — that’s why he’s on MSNBC most of the week and only gets to pretend he’s sitting at the grown-ups’ table on Sunday mornings.
Weekdays, it’s MSNBC for Todd, because it’s NBC’s version of Santa’s Island of Misfit Toys, where they also employ the unemployable likes of Chris Matthews, Brian Williams, et al.
There is a bright spot. If this had happened to Obama we would have and untrained unready subject to the samwe charges of corruption and the sex stuff fool.
If this happens to Trump we have a VP who has done nothing but prepare which is after all the purpose of the VP and the first one who has done so in decades if not centuries
So… hiccup… and back to business . Pres. Pence clean slate and all. Now if he got Trey Gowdy for VP but I rather think he’ll end up on the court not in the oval office.
The point of thei above is cant he left AFFORD to impeach? They can’t afford to block a second four years.
Turley wrote, “And Robert Mueller is not the type of lawyer who will respond well to aggression. It is hard to spook a guy with a desk full of criminal subpoenas.
Trump has some good D.C. lawyers, including diGenova, but no lawyer is better than the case or the client. The investigation is now in its critical stage, and Trump needs more finesse than another fight.”
Turley is giving Trump sound legal advise. Mueller’s subpoena for the financial records of The Trump Organization does, indeed, signal the riskiest phase of the special counsel’s investigation for Trump. The primary goal for Trump’s lawyers ought to be to prevent any criminal charges from being filed against Trump. A lawyer like diGenova who has already accused the FBI, the DOJ and, by extension, the OSC of a conspiracy to frame Trump for a crime that’s not even a crime and which Trump supposedly did not commit, anyway, is a lawyer accusing Mueller of misprision of justice before Mueller has even filed any criminal charges against Trump. To make that change of lawyer is to change the legal strategy from defense to offense. Going on offense before criminal charges are filed heightens the risk of criminal charges being filed. And that is exactly contrary to what the primary goal of Trump’s legal strategy ought to be. To abandon the primary goal of avoiding charges against Trump immediately after a subpoena was issued for The Trump Organization’s financial records sends a clear signal to the OSC that their investigation is now on the right track and likely to hit pay dirt. And that’s just-plain bad lawyering.
Trump’s legal team should follow Turley’s example. Impeach the credibility of potential witnesses against Trump while continually raising reasonable doubt about Trump’s guilt on criminal charges that have not yet even been brought against Trump. And they should do so for the express purpose of preventing those potential criminal charges from being brought against Trump.
Turley’s legacy is similar to that of Scalia and the Roberts court- an end to democracy, accompanied by anachronistic free speech.
Brandeis, “You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few or you can have democracy but, you can’t have both”.
The developments that Turley writes about are only as important as the extent to which the Trump/Pence/Flynn/Erik Prince events impact the general advance of U.S. oligarchy at the state level, through ALEC and, at the national level, through donor class ownership of D.C.
That makes too much sense, Trump would never go for it. His own intemperate, depraved personality will be the cause of his downfall. Sort of Greekish, ya know?
Have a great day.
Thanks wildbill99. But you’re asking me to regard Trump as a Nobleman in the act of alluding to Trump’s hubris as the tragic flaw of ancient Greek goat-singers. Wait a second. They, too, were mostly just fictional characters, like Trump. Some of them were even mythical. Ah-ha. I see your point, now. Never mind. And you have a great day, too, wildbill99.
“no lawyer is better than the case or the client.”
If that were true, OJ would have been convicted of murder.
And aside from that, if the DOJ decided to prosecute Mueller, it would have a much stronger case than Mueller has ever had against anyone in his long history of botched investigations.
JT says that Roy Cohn was involved with Joe McCarthey in the DC scandals in the 1950’s. How old is this guy named Cohn?
He is dead.
Mr. Bayer said: “Setting politics aside, I’d rather be in Trump’s legal shoes than Comey’s or Mueller’s. It’s not even close.” Have you ever been known as “Nick Danger, private eye”?
Cut ’em off at the past!
Al O’Heem! Where have you been. I haven’t had a good laugh in . . . I can’t remember when. Hit me, Al. Hit me, please!
Nick was actually a “third eye”, when two were not enough…
OMG, I’m culturally deficient–again. Sorry Al. I suppose everyone might as well know me as Nancy.
Another cowardly post. You quote me, and you direct a question to me, but you don’t have the guts to do it in a reply where I’d receive it.
LONG past time for Turley to flush turds such as you from this website.
And I mean LONG past time.
Above: In which proud Bayer courageously calls upon his host to rid him of his cowardly foes.
I don’t see a basis for JT to complain about Trump’s changes in lawyers, since his previous team appears to have been doing nothing but bending over for Mueller’s unlawful investigation to stick it to Trump.
A good manager has to know when to pull a pitcher out of the game and bring in a reliever from the bull pen. Sometimes it’s necessary in the 5th Inning, sometimes it’s not until the 9th, but when the time comes, you have to be able to recognize it and pull the plug.
I agree with Roger Stone — that Trump’s lawyers appeared to be leading him to slaughter. More should have been done MUCH earlier to stop Mueller’s nonsense before it even became Mueller’s nonsense.
For one thing, Sessions was defrauded into recusing himself. Yes, he needed to recuse himself from an investigation into the conduct of Trump’s campaign, but the problem — the FRAUD that nobody seems to talk about — was that FBI Director Comey withheld required notice to Congress that Trump’s campaign had been under FBI investigation since July, 2016. Comey was required to report the opening of counterintelligence investigations to Congress quarterly — every three months — so the latest that Comey should have informed Congress was BEFORE the election.
But notification of the investigation didn’t come until March, 2017 (no reasonable explanation for the delay yet) — AFTER Jeff Sessions was appointed and confirmed as Attorney General. All during that appointment and confirmation process Comey knew that Sessions would have to recuse himself from that investigation, which put the matter in Rod Rosenstein’s hands, and Rosenstein is an old buddy of Mueller.
That’s where the FRAUD of the Mueller investigation began, and Mueller has shown no signs of ethical conduct yet — only the exact opposite. And when you add to how the Mueller investigation got started the phony “dossier” that was used to get a FISA warrant AND the fact that Comey leaked his FBI-property “memos” to a friend to leak to the press — for the testified purpose of getting a special counsel appointed — the Mueller investigation can be easily seen as the corrupt result of a corrupt criminal plan by Comey and others.
You can only take so many punches before you start punching back. Trump has needed a fighter all along, and now it seems like he’s found one. I’m looking forward to seeing whether Mueller can take a punch and not just beat up helpless people.
Sorry, federal grand juries don’t subscribe to the fictions published as fake news. But it’s apparent that you do. So sorry for your loss.
this is to “hannity is my truth whisperer” willie
Sorry, fool, but your generic “Hannity” or “faux news” nonsense doesn’t apply to me, and you also clearly no NOTHING about the law.
What are you doing here, anyway? Did your subscription to Mad Magazine expire?
Lighten up, Stable Genius, Trump is a clown act and Faux News is a new low point for American journalism.
Mad Magazine has it beat six ways from Sunday.
Cordially, Bill
Bayer publicly admitted that he agrees with Roger Stone. Perhaps it was one of those exited utterance thingies that the prosecutors are always going on and on about.
Marky Mark Mark – you have never been on a grand jury, have you? Have you ever been on a petit jury? Your ignorance is showing again.
Every time he shows up online his ignorance shows.
William Bayer said, “Comey was required to report the opening of counterintelligence investigations to Congress quarterly — every three months — so the latest that Comey should have informed Congress was BEFORE the election.”
Mister Bayer, Sirah, do you seriously think that Congress would not have leaked Comey’s notification to the press before the election? For crying out loud, Bayer. Comey did Trump a favor by withholding his notification of Congress. Comey did no such favor for Trump’s opponent in the 2016 election. And we have every reason to believe that Trump, Guliani and Guliani’s sources at the FBI effectively whipsawed Comey into notifying Congress of the reopening of their investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server. Conversely, there is no conceivable reason that Trump should get a double dipper’s benefit from the favor that Comey did Trump by not notifying Congress of the FBI’s investigation into Russian efforts to cultivate members of the Trump campaign.
Your insistence upon the letter of the law at the expense of the spirit of the law is a rather warped instance of special pleading: Because Comey notified Congress about the FBI’s Clinton email investigation, therefore Comey ought to have notified Congress about the FBI’s Trump/Russia investigation. What sense does that make, Bayer? Are you secretly pining for the impeachment of President Hillary Clinton? She lost the election, Bayer. Remember: Clinton didn’t fire Comey. Trump did. And that’s how the counter-intelligence investigation became a special counsel’s investigation.
And for another thing, Bayer, whose to say that the mysterious documents in Don McGahn’s White House safe might not be Comey’s notification of the Trump campaign’s legal counsel that the FBI had opened an investigation into Russia’s efforts to cultivate members of the Trump campaign? After all, McGahn took swift action to sever Carter Page’s ties with the Trump campaign and to fire Paul Manafort as campaign manager. Why Rick Gates was left in place during the transition remains something of a mystery. Go figure.
P. S. Does anyone remember exactly when Trump severed his connection to George Papadopoulos?
O! Bother! Make that who’s to say–not whose to say. Confounded spell-checker automated-editing hooey.
LOL — right, sure, uh huh — the spellchecker (ONE non-hyphenated word) is your problem — LOL — except that the spellchecker doesn’t differentiate between who’s and whose.
You’d better find something or someone else to blame for your deficiency, Hillary.
William Bayer – it is Sunday and the start of a new week. Who is Hillary going to blame for her loss this week? Who is left? Has she attacked the illegals who failed to vote is sufficient numbers? Maybe that’s it.
No, in retrospect I think Late4School finally hit on something. After blaming the entire population of planet Earth (every except people named Hillary, that is) for her loss, by the process of elimination the final suspect has been uncovered.
It’s the “Confounded spell-checker automated-editing hooey” that was the real evil genius that stopped the unprosecuted multiple felon formerly known as “Hillary in a landslide” from becoming President of California and all of those other useless-appendage states.
Above,: In which proud Bayer studiously ignores the rebuttal to his lame-brained conspiracy to commit misprision of justice theory.
BTW, spell-checker automated-editing hooey doesn’t tell Bayer what L4D typed in the first place. And that reveals the critical flaw in Bayer’s thought process: Bayer is exclusively reactive in his thinking.
Writing tip, melon head — people haven’t used the word, “Sirah,” to address and insult others since the Elizabethan Age.
Then go to, Bayer. Anon.
Diane – Methink’st thou art a general offense and all men should beat thee.
Amphibole coupled to wishful thinking: Heads men win; tails women lose. And if all of the men close their eyes, none of the women will be able to beat them.
Besides being a singularly debauched and depraved human being, Trump is none too bright. He brought diGenova on board because he saw him on Faux News, apparently his sole source of information.
Cordially, Bill
wildbill99, you’re probably right. But I have a pet theory of my own. Trump makes all of his decisions on the basis of his Twitter scores for Likes, Follows and Retweets. In that way it may actually be the tin-foil hat conventioneers who are pulling Trump’s strings, working Trump’s stops and playing Trump like a tweetwall ocarina cross-wired to a ventriloquist’s kazoo.
Catachrestically, L4D
“apparently his sole source of information” — LOL LOL LOL — I thought you MORONS claimed that Trump got his information from Putin.
childish insults seem to be your stock in trade. My victory will be in not responding in kind.
Have a Great Day
LOL LOL LOL (hang on — gotta catch my breath — OK) LOL LOL LOL
Cordially, Bill:
“… Trump is none too bright.”
**************************
He’s a billionaire with a great family and won the most powerful political job in the world in a historic electoral landslide. How’s your life, wildbill? Still working on that first billion and eyeing that elected dogcatcher post, I bet.
Not juicy enough for the Daily Tatler today. Sorry but this is spiked.
Trump has gained absolutely nothing with his generally hands off approach to Mueller. Hands off has not precluded Trump Tweeting about the investigation, only mentioning Mueller by name very recently.
IMHO Sessions should absolutely appoint an Independent Counsel Re. the total FBI fraud they called an “investigation” into HRC regarding: Russia’s bribing then-SOS HRC by giving multiple millions to the Clinton Foundation so the US would agree to give 20% of its plutonium to Russia, HRC committing thousands of email felonies, Stroszk and Page and McCabe manipulating the judge who signed off on the FISA warrants allowing the FBI to illegally tap Trump’s guy and likely Trump (the same judge to whom Flynn plead guilty who did not know at that time about the earlier manipulation…..if you don’t think that guilty plea and Flynn’s entire case likely is tossed, keep dreaming), Obama’s security witch Susan Rice (a black with white spouse) who illegally revealed the name of Trump’s guy on the FISA warrant to tap and destroy Trump’s campaign, etc. etc. etc.
Mueller ran the FBI when all or some of the above occurred. Of course, the very person this new IC should investigate thoroughly is Mueller, who by law must recuse himself from his current post. Then Rosenstein appoints a more reasonable replacement and case closed (someone who does not hire 90% DNC operatives).
The Clinton/Uranium canard is played out, you’ll have to go back to youtube to find a new whacky conspiracy. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hillary-clinton-uranium-russia-deal/
Have a nice day.
While your opinion is just that, lawyers–who know the law–have opinions which are opposite, but theirs are based on knowledge, not the braying of an addle-brained talking head on Pravda Faux News. Reddit is down the hall. Drive safely.
this is to “I have a ‘hannity was here’ tattoo across my lower back” joey
Marky Mark Mark – we might be inclined to take your advice, but there is nothing you have done or written that shows that you are an attorney who makes an opinion based on knowledge. Is this something that you are hoping to achieve at some point in your life? Or is this something that you overheard in a classroom?
Mueller may have a desk full of subpoenas but he has a trail of bad cases behind him, as does Wiseman (sp?). They don’t play nice in the sandbox, so you want an attorney who does not play nice in the sandbox. I think Trump has found one.
Trump is a depraved lout as a person and a disgrace as President. This latest move at shopping for a lawyer who tells him what he wants to hear will blow up in his face because God, in his infinte wisdom and mercy, made Trump an imbecile as well. Cordially, Bill
wildbill99 – regardless of what you think of Trump as a person, he has a right to representation of his choice.
Paul – I admire his choices, I think he should keep doing exactly what he’s doing because how could that go wrong?
Seriously, I think several of the missteps by his lawyers are because he hasn’t told them the truth either. The play nice and it will be over shortly would only have worked if he was indeed innocent.
How can Trump tell his lawyers the truth, when he doesn’t live there.
Maybe Trump visits the truth every now and then. Or not. Either way, the truth may visit Trump in the end.
Good point, Trump lies as if it was his job description. IMHO he has already eclipsed Bill Clinton in that regard, and clearly holds the edge in Bimbos as well.
Cordially, Bill
Yes, PCS, Trump has the right to make poor choices – as he has amply demonstrated with those around him – from Ben “31K”, co-president/money launderer Kushner et al. Michel Cohen is one of his shrewdest choices.
billmcwilliams – if he got rid of his daughter and son-in-law from the WH, I would be a happy camper. I did not want them there, to begin with. However, Kushner seems to have made some headway as a frontman for our diplomatic efforts in difficult areas. For that, I will give him credit, it cannot have been easy. Overall though, I am with you on this one, Bill. 🙂
Who said that he didn’t? I support the right to counsel for every accused person, now matter how vile and despicable they may be. Even Trump.
Have a Great Day
I agree, and would add that Mueller doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on, since his appointment was not only unlawful but was the result of corrupt practices by James Comey and others.
Mueller’s appointment to take over the unlawful FBI investigation was not lawful for two reasons at least two reasons.
Firstly, Comey testified that the investigation into Trump-Russia was a “counterintelligence investigation,” however a special counsel can only be appointed to conduct a criminal investigation, NOT a counterintelligence investigation. (28 CFR 600.1) Through some slight-of-hand maneuvering, that “counterintelligence investigation” got swapped for an alleged criminal investigation as a direct result of Comey’s decision to violate both the law and the FBI Employment Agreement by engaging in unauthorized disclosure of his “memos” to the NYT. That was Comey’s purpose, testified to under oath — that he leaked his memos to assure that a special counsel would be appointed. You can’t have a legitimate investigation when it’s launched and/or perpetuated by criminal conduct on the part of the investigators.
Secondly, being that a special counsel can only be appointed to conduct a criminal investigation, there is a requirement that the crime to be investigated needs to be identified — which STILL hasn’t happened concerning Mueller’s unlawful investigation. You don’t appoint a special counsel to go fishing to find out whether some unknown crime might have been committed — you have to have an idea that some specific crime has been committed and needs to be investigated, and you need some minimal evidence to back up that notion. You can’t say that someone needs to be investigated merely because you don’t like him, or in Comey’s case, in Comey’s own words, that he didn’t “trust” Trump.
The USA isn’t 1962 East Germany (not yet, anyway), and police powers aren’t unlimited, nor do those in charge of police get to make up the law as they go along, or ignore the law whenever it’s inconvenient to their plans.
Setting politics aside, I’d rather be in Trump’s legal shoes than Comey’s or Mueller’s. It’s not even close.
William Bayer – it will be interesting to see if Mueller gets a mention in the IGs report, which we are all waiting for. Also what these double secret DoJ attorneys Sessions have working in the background have going. We live in interesting times.
I doubt that Mueller will get a mention in this particular IG report, but those that have worked under him — some of whom might still be working under him will certainly get a mention, and by inference some of the critique will splash on Mueller.
But I could be wrong. Some of those people were so far out of bounds, it could be that Mueller has no excuse for not knowing what they were up to before the IG pointed it out, in which case Mueller could also get slammed by the IG.
But I suspect that that will happen in a separate report. I’m also not entirely certain that Mueller falls under the authority of the IG, since the IG has authority over the DOJ and FBI, and Mueller’s special counsel title specifies that he’s outside the DOJ. But he’s using FBI personnel, so who knows.
By the way, Paul — there’s something unusual happening on this page. A number of replies that I received earlier have disappeared, and I can’t even locate the most recent reply you sent me.
Someone’s been editing the comment section. Never noticed that happening before.
Anyway, in case you’re interested: Here’s a link to a 7-minute outtake from an old CBS special where George Szell was rehearsing Beethoven’s 5th with the Cleveland Orchestra. One of his comments to the musicians I found interesting, where he says (paraphrased) that a “rest” (as indicated on the pages of music they were reading) doesn’t mean that the musicians are supposed to rest. Rather they’re supposed to be getting ready for when they hit their next note. Something like that.
Szell really worked the orchestra into perfection, and had another famous quote, that the Cleveland orchestra gives 7 performances a week, and the public is invited to two of them. (paraphrased again)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlyUti7BbCY
That link should behttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlyUti7BbCY
One more try:
William Bayer – thanks for the clip. You were lucky to have him in Cleveland. He was a great loss to us all. 🙁
William Bayer – JT or Darren will sometimes come in and “clean” the comments section. I am sure I lose a lot of them. 🙂 In the olden days, JT would chastise us and we would apologize. Now, the comments just “disappear” as do commenters, who violate the Civility Code too often.
William Bayer – Auturo Toscanini was the conductor recorded at Carnegie Hall. Not sure who the orchestra was. Recorded in 1952. Part of a set of all 9 symphonies.
William Bayer said, “Through some slight-of-hand maneuvering, that “counterintelligence investigation” got swapped for an alleged criminal investigation as a direct result of Comey’s decision to violate both the law and the FBI Employment Agreement by engaging in unauthorized disclosure of his “memos” to the NYT.”
There you go again, Bayer. Trump fired Comey. Had Trump not fired Comey, Mueller would not have taken over the FBI’s counter-intelligence investigation into Russia’s efforts at cultivating members of the Trump campaign in the form of a special counsel’s investigation.
To call the firing of Comey by Trump “some slight-of-hand maneuvering” is to engage in “prestidigitation and legerdemain right here on the Turley blawg, Sirah.