Eric Trump once dismissed objections to his father’s use of nepotism by saying that “nepotism is kind of a fact of life.” That is true. It is also a part of presidential history, but it is not a good part. I have long been a critic of nepotism in government. What is interesting is how costly the practice can be. The current controversy involving Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner are illustrative of those costs. Absent the family connection, neither Trump Jr. nor Kushner would likely have been able to avoid a separation from the White House (as was the case with Manafort and Flynn). Instead, Trump has had to double down and his defenders belittle the fact that Donald Jr. not only took the bait of this meeting but said that he would “love” to get information directly from the Russian government to help in the election. As I stated this weekend on NPR, while the collusion was not successful, there was clearly as willingness, if not an eagerness, to collude with the Russians in their seeking to influence the presidential election.
Below is my column in USA Today on the subject:
Today, Chris Wallace (who continues to make a strong case that he is the best interviewer in news today) crossed swords with President Donald Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulow on who is paying his fees to represent the President. Sekulow said that he does not know since he bills the law firm of Marc E. Kasowitz. The question was legitimate and the answer does not resolve concerns. It is common to confirm the source of fees to confirm that there is no conflict of interest or other concerns raised by such fee payment. However, there is another report that confirms one source of fees . . . for Donald Trump Jr.
Below is my column in the Hill Newspaper on the curious coverage surrounding James Comey and his leaking of his memos on meetings with President Donald Trump. With the confirmation hearings of Comey’s replacement, Chris Wray, today, the status of the memos may come up in the Senate.
Yesterday, I posted a column in the Hill detailing how the media and various legal experts have worked mightily to avoid the fact that former FBI Director James Comey (1) leaked his memos to the media, (2) the memos were presumptively government material, and (3) the memos were likely classified and/or privileged under long-standing FBI rules. As I said in the column and in earlier columns, none of this takes away from the underlying allegations or the importance of the investigation into possible obstruction of justice. However, the response to the recent Senate Homeland Security majority report and the Hill Newspaper story was precisely what the column discussed: a concerted effort to deny any wrongdoing by Comey (who has assumed the position of an immaculate hero in this political narrative). One such denial of any wrongdoing came from Comey’s friend Columbia Law Professor Daniel Richman. Professor Richman invoked a familiar defense: the memos he was given had no classification markings – the very same defense made by Hillary Clinton and rejected by then FBI Director James Comey.
The New York Times is reporting
Richard Painter, an ethics lawyer under former President George W. Bush, has declared that
Donald Trump
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There are various reports confirming that Justice Anthony Kennedy has told staff that he is seriously thinking of resigning and has notably not selected clerks for the October 2018 term. That raises some intriguing issues, including how such a vacancy would play in the midterm elections when there are 33 seats up for grabs in the United States Senate. The vacancy could be used to rally conservatives and liberals alike. As for Kennedy, it could be the difference between a lasting and short-lived legacy.
It appears that Qatari will be left “waiting for Gadot” for some time after the government banned the move “Wonder Women.” The reason is that lead actress Gal Gadot (who plays Diana Prince) is Israeli. The government joins Lebanon and Tunisia in banning the film. The Muslim countries appear to agree with Wonder Woman in saying ” It’s about what you believe.” Gadot believes in the Torah and that is enough for the Qatar government. (Of course, Wonder Woman added “And I believe in love. Only love will truly save the world.”) That part is clearly not part of this decision.
