This weekend I discussed a surprising, and unreported, allegation made on CNN by former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili against the latest cooperating witness of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, former Republican lobbyist and Paul Manafort associate, Sam Patten. Saakashvili preceded me on CNN and accused Patten of threatening to ruin him if he went public with allegations about Patten’s work with Russian interests in Georgia. Since Saakashvili could easily be called as a rebuttal witness to Patten, the threats could be viewed as witness tampering. Saakashvili viewed them as outright Russian-style blackmail. Since I ran that column, I have heard from a great number of people on both sides, but I received an email this morning from Christina Pushaw, who identifies herself as Saakashvili’s representative. Pushaw sent the underlying material supporting Saakashvili’s charges and confirmed that they have given the allegation and evidence to the FBI today. The complaint to the FBI only magnifies the problems for both Patten and Mueller that I discussed earlier. A submission to the FBI, including a criminal allegation, comes with added penalties for false statements or submissions. Both sides in this dispute have been the subject of serious criminal allegations in Europe. Yet, such communications (if true) from a cooperating witness would unlikely be approved by prosecutors. Mueller’s team is about to present its prosecution of Paul Manafort for witnessing tampering for contacting potential witnesses to shape their accounts. That creates a rather awkward situation when its most recent cooperative witness is allegedly the subject of a complaint to the FBI.
Category: Media
A curious thing happened this Labor Day weekend when one of Robert Mueller’s most recent cooperating witnesses may have burst into flames on national television – but no one seemed to notice. Former Republican lobbyist and Paul Manafort associate, Sam Patten, only pleaded guilty on Friday, but on Sunday a world leader leveled a serious allegation of criminal conduct committed after his plea bargain. Obviously, this is only one side and Patten could well deny either the email or its meaning. However, the implications of the allegations aired on national television are very serious not only for Patten but Mueller. Update: a complaint has now reportedly been made to the FBI. Continue reading “Mueller Witness Accused Of Blackmailing World Leader After Plea Agreement [Updated]”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the departure of White House Counsel Don McGahn. Trump is now strongly suggesting that he may allow Attorney General Jeff Sessions to remain but only until after the approaching November elections. At that point, the situation could change rapidly and dangerously with a divided Congress. With the expected departure of both McGahn and Sessions, the next chapter appears a paraphrase of Dick the Butcher in Henry VI ”The first thing we do, let’s kill fire all the lawyers.” Obviously, much will depend on their replacements but Sessions’ removal (and the reason for the removal) is far more problematic. Continue reading “In Search Of The “Happier Prospect”: Trump Moves Toward The Removal Of McGahn and Sessions”
CNN is facing rising questions over its refusal to correct its earlier bombshell story entitled “Cohen Claims Trump Knew In Advance Of 2016 Trump Tower Meeting.” As I discussed recently, Cohen’s attorney Lanny Davis now admits that he was the anonymous source for that story (after publicly denying that he was the source) and that he has no information to support the allegation. Cohen himself testified to Congress that he had no such information. One would think that the denial of both Cohen and his lawyer (and original source) would alter that story that “Cohen claims Trump knew . . . ” CNN however says that it had multiple sources for the story and sticks with the reporting by Jim Sciutto, Carl Bernstein and Marshall Cohen. Continue reading “CNN Sticks With Story That Cohen Alleges Trump Knew Of Trump Tower Meeting Despite Cohen and His Lawyer Denying The Story”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the recent admission by Michael Cohen’s lawyer that he was the source on what appears a false story on the meeting at Trump Tower with Russians and Trump officials. Davis also admitted that he lied to the media in denying that he was the source of the story. It may be too early to predict the demise of Davis. We discussed earlier the controversy surrounding former CNN commentator and DNC official Donna Brazile lied to the public about being the author of hacked emails giving Hillary Clinton debate questions in advance. She is back as a commentator on various networks.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Lanny Davis And The Year Of Lawyers Living Dangerously”
There is an interesting C-SPAN survey out this week where ninety-one percent of citizens agreed that decisions on the Supreme Court impacted the lives of every American but a majority lack the ability to name a single justice.
Continue reading “Supremely Forgettable: A Majority Of Americans Cannot Name A Single Justice”
Below is my column in The Hill on the curious role that Gofundme is playing in the ongoing controversies surrounding the Trump Administration. There is an emerging type of market for witnesses on both sides where they compete for donors based on their potential value attacking or defending President Donald Trump.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Great American Witness Auction: How Michael Cohen And Others Are Making Millions In A Testimony Market”
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on Michael Cohen’s emergence as a witness against President Donald Trump. The man who declared that he would take a bullet for the President just took a plea. In the meantime, Trump friend David Pecker has been given immunity and reportedly implicated Trump in knowing about the hush money payments before they were made. In what could well be the worst development, Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, has been granted immunity. Weisselberg is referred in the tapes Cohen secretly recorded with Trump and could offer highly damaging and detailed evidence of any criminal conduct.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Michael Cohen’s New Role As The “Liberated” Liar “Speaking Truth To Power””
I have previously written about Michael Cohen’s allegation that President Donald Trump knew and approved the meeting with the Russians in Trump Tower in 2016. It was a bombshell story from an anonymous source and has reverberated in the news for weeks. Some of us questioned the account after no one came forward to corroborate Cohen despite his saying that Trump was briefed in a room with multiple people. Now, Davis (who some have claimed was the source for CNN) is admitting it is untrue.
Continue reading “Davis Denies Prior Allegations That Trump Knew In Advance About Russian Meeting”
Below is my column in USA Today on the increasingly dire situation for Paul Manafort who is looking at roughly a decade of potential jail time after the convictions in Alexandria — and substantially more jail time if convicted in the upcoming trial in Washington, D.C. In the meantime, yesterday, White House said that no decision has been made yet on a possible pardon for Manafort.
Manafort once said, while he listens to everyone, Trump’s voice was louder than others. That voice must be uncomfortably quiet in the aftermath of the verdict.
Here is the column: Continue reading “One Voice Louder Than Others: Manafort’s Diminishing Options”
Earlier this year, I was critical of the handling of the prosecution of various protesters in North Carolina who torn down a statue in public and then celebrated their criminal acts in broad daylight. Because the statue of a civil war memorial, the act of property destruction was condoned by many and Durham District Attorney Roger Echols caved to the pressure in dropping all charges against everyone. It was effective immunity for a popular criminal act — a dangerous concept in any legal system. Not surprisingly, others are now claiming the right to unilaterally destroy property. The latest were protesters on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s campus who took it upon themselves to destroy the controversial Silent Sam Confederate statue.
In a interview painfully reminiscent of the “alternative facts” statement of Kelly Anne Conway, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani triggered another firestorm by declaring on NBC’s Meet the Press that “truth isn’t truth.” I actually can see what Conway was trying to say with her “alternative facts” comment, but the Giuliani comment left me mystified why a lawyer would frame such an argument. He was understandably trying to convey that prosecutors can frame the facts in ways to trap a witness. However, it came out in a terribly mangled way. In the meantime, President Trump was on Twitter asserting that White House Counsel Don McGahn is “no RAT” like John Dean in the Nixon Administration. Both statements took the worst possible framing of their respective arguments and predictably led to another wave of criticism. Continue reading “Giuliani: “Truth Isn’t Truth””
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the continuing controversy surrounding the release of the tell-all book by Omarosa Manigault Newman. Manigault Newman has continued her release of secret tapes featuring the President and his staff. Her latest tape captures a private conservation with Lara Trump who offers Manigault Newman a $15,000 a month job with the Trump campaign on the promise that she will “stay positive.” Trump refers to the rumor that Manigault Newman has dirt of Trump as she offered a job with few apparent duties or expectations other than “staying positive.” Of course, many of us are still wondering what Manigault Newman did in the White House. Nevertheless, the taping shows the utter lack of loyalty or honestly by Manigault Newman in dealing with friends and coworkers.
The Trump campaign has now filed a civil action, which is discussed as a possibility in the column below. The potential for criminal liability however is limited in this case.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The False Friend Dilemma: Why Trump Has Few Options In Dealing With Omarosa”
In a highly controversial move, President Donald Trump has revoked the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan and ordered the review of other officials who all share one obvious distinguishing characteristic: they are all fierce critics of Trump. The move has been widely condemned as Nixonian and amounting to a black or enemies list. While I have been highly critical of everyone on the list (and called for some to be fired and, in a couple cases, prosecuted), I find the move very troubling from a free speech perspective. Indeed, I am still uncertain about the rationale for the actions and why the list would be composed entirely of Trump critics if based on a consistent, apolitical basis. Continue reading “Trump Revokes Clearance Of John Brennan and Orders Review Of Other Former Officials”