Congress, Constitutional Law

Report: Trump Intervened To Give Ivanka A Security Clearance

On the heels of the story that President Donald Trump did order intelligence and legal staff to give his son-in-law Jared Kushner a high security clearance, CNN is reporting that he also intervened in his daughter’s security clearance despite both their denials of his playing such a role. The report is likely to deepen the growing rift with Congress over the House Oversight Committee demands for evidence on the controversy.

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Media, Politics

Poll: 64 Percent Of Voters Believe Trump Committed Crimes Before Office

Almost two-thirds of registered voters think President Donald Trump committed crimes before becoming president — a truly staggering figure that shows that Trump may have damaged his critics but has done little to improve his own standing. According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday, nearly half of voters — 45% — think Trump committed crimes while serving as President. Nevertheless, as previously reported, Trump still holds overwhelming support among Republicans and a 46 percent favorability response.

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Congress, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics

WSJ: Michael Cohen’s Lawyer Asked Trump Legal Team About Pardon

One of the curious aspects of the public hearing before the House Oversight Committee was the limited interest in past discussions of a pardon by Cohen with Trump or his legal team. Only a passing reference was made in the hearing, but Cohen said unequivocally that “I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from Mr. Trump.” The Wall Street Journal has a report that cast some doubt on that sworn statement. It is reporting that Cohen’s lawyer at the time Stephen Ryan not only pressed for a pardon after the FBI raid on Cohen but suggested that, absent a pardon, he might flip. If true, the story could be another instance where the truth of Cohen’s testimony is subject to challenge despite a pledge from the Committee Chair Elijah Cummings that he would push for a perjury prosecution for any false statements. Cohen already has been accused of perjury and there has already been a call for a request for a perjury investigation from GOP members.

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Columns, Congress, Criminal law

Rosenstein’s Revenge: Trump To Fight 100 Duck-Sized Horses

Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on how President Donald Trump may be facing a changing threat as the Special Counsel moves closer to submitting his final report and new allegations of criminal conduct have been raised by Michael Cohen and the Southern District of New York. There are viable criminal allegations raised with regard to Donald Trump’s business practices as well as his payment of hush money to alleged former mistresses. However, some of these claims present their own challenges as criminal theories.

Here is the column:

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Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics

Report: Trump Pressured The Justice Department To Oppose The AT&T Warner Merger

The New Yorker is reporting that President Donald Trump ordered Gary Cohn, then Trump’s chief economic adviser, to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger last summer. If true, the action could raise an additional allegation of the abuse of power and a direct lie to the American public. Months later, Trump expressly denied playing any role in the decision to sue to oppose the $85 billion merger. Trump’s intense dislike for CNN (owned by Time Warner) had been a long source of speculation that he was seeking to punish the cable network for its criticism of him and his Administration.

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Politics

Polls Show Trump Holding Base And Even Improving Among Voters

While there is a general view that the Trump Administration is in a free fall with ominous investigations and calls for impeachment, the polls show a different picture. Trump actually has not dropped with all of the bad press and is holding his base. Indeed, he is close to where President Barack Obama was at this time in his term. Moreover, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll,the polls shows people with a highly negative view of the socialist wing of the Democratic party and less than forty percent believe Michael Cohen. Those are all good signs for Trump even as the legal developments loom negatively on his future. Trump however is registering at a 46 percent popularity in the latest polling.

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Columns, Criminal law, Politics

Cohen Gives Democrats Roadmap For Collateral Crimes

Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the implications of the testimony of Michael Cohen last week. This weekend, House and Senate Democrats publicly claimed to have evidence of obstruction and collusion, though the most important news is that all of the Committees are issuing a storm of subpoenas.

Here is the column:

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Politics

Pitchman or President? Trump Under Fire For Tweet Boosting Trump Golf Course

The Trump Administration has long had a troubling pattern of referencing Trump properties or products, including ethics warnings being given high-ranking officials. Other complaints, including those filed in federal court, allege that use of Trump properties like the Trump Hotel in Washington constitute unconstitutional emoluments. That history makes President Donald Trump’s recent tweet pitching the Trump golf course in Scotland all the more baffling, particularly when it made a direct reference to the golf course between great for the “U.K. relationship” with the United States.

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Academia, Criminal law

Berkeley Police Arrest Attacker Of Conservative Activist

Zachary Greenberg, 28, has been arrested by Berkeley police after the attack on conservative activist Hayden Williams, 26, on UC Berkeley campus while trying to recruit students for a conservative group. While President Donald Trump encouraged Williams to sue Berkeley, the university actually condemned the attack and launched an investigation. For that reason, I cannot understand Trump’s criticism. I have objected to the treatment of conservatives on campuses including Berkeley, but in this instance the university seems to have acted quickly and responsibly. I fail to be the basis for a lawsuit against the university or the President’s attack on the university’s actions.

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Criminal law, Lawyering, Media

Dershowitz Under Fire For Move That Could Partially Close Hearing On Infamous Epstein Case

Media groups are contesting an effort by Alan Dershowitz to close part of the oral arguments before the Second Circuit in the ongoing litigation over the handling of the case of his former client, Jeffrey Epstein (left), who was an alleged sex trafficker for powerful men ranging from Bill Clinton to Dershowitz himself. Dershowitz has denied the allegations of one of Epstein’s alleged victims that she was coerced into having sex with Dershowitz.

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Bizarre, Congress

Report: Cohen Pitched Book Praising Trump [Updated]

There is a new interesting twist on the tour of Michael Cohen as a redemptive sinner in various congressional committees. For those of us who have been long critics of Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, he remains an admitted perjurer and disbarred lawyer. That does not mean that everything he says is untrue. However, many of us noted that Cohen’s testimony this week contained elements that directly contradicted media reports. That is includes his insistence that he never wanted a job in the White House where reports indicate that he fought hard for such a position. Another statement was that he changed his view of Trump after the controversial meeting of Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin where Trump was seen as fawning and blindly deferential. However, as I wrote when Cohen counsel Lanny Davis made this claim, it is ridiculous to suggest that Cohen (after a career as a legal thug) had a change in heart about his work due to a diplomatic controversy in Finland. Now, reports indicate that, long after Helsinki, Cohen was still trying to get people to buy a book praising Trump for his leadership and refuting critics. However, reports indicate that the book deal was scrapped before the Helsinki meeting.

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Lawyering, Politics

Report: Trump Ordered Kushner Clearance Over Objections Of Intelligence and Legal Staff

There is a deeply troubling story in the New York Times concerning the long fight over President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’ security clearance. After a long refusal to give him a top secret clearance, Kushner was finally cleared and President Trump indicated that he played no role in the decision and that it was made by the intelligence officials. There is now a report that intelligence officials refused to change their position and maintained that Kushner should not be given a clearance. Trump then reportedly overrode the opposition from both his national security and legal staffs in ordering that Kushner be given the clearance. The order was sufficiently alarming that both Trump Chief of Staff, (former Gen. and Homeland Security Secretary) John Kelly, and his White House Counsel Don McGahn, wrote internal memos on their objections as a record. As someone who has worked in the field with a top secret special intelligence clearance since the Reagan Administration, I find this report to be chilling. It is exceptionally rare and the further highlights the problems caused by nepotism in government. Congress has also objected that the White House has not cooperated into its oversight investigation into the matter.

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International, Politics

“I Will Take Him At His Word”: Trump States That He Believes Kim Jong Un Had No Knowledge Of Warmbier’s Mistreatment

President Donald Trump shocked many around the world on Thursday by declaring that he believes North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is innocent of any knowledge of the mistreatment of American Otto Warmbier that led to his death. That statement smacked of willful blindness to the guilt of a man who routinely orders the execution of officials and makes others transcribe copious notes to be sure that he continues to exercise tight control over the country. The comment rekindled memories of Trump saying that he believed Vladimir Putin on Russian meddling in the election and rejected the views of American intelligence on North Korea in favor of Putin’s assurances on that country’s missile program. It also reminded many of Trump’s continued opposition to hold the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia accountable for the murder of a Washington Post journalist in Turkey despite the contrary findings of U.S. intelligence. Update: Warmbier’s parents have issued a scathing rebuke in response to the President’s statement.

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