Tag: consciousness of guilt

‘Don’t mansplain to me’: Former prosecutor destroys Brietbart reporter’s uninformed claims about the law

AlterNet logoFormer Assistant U.S. Attorney Mimi Rocah ripped a conservative for “mansplaining” his uninformed views about the law.

On Tuesday, Rocah offered her legal analysis of the reporting that President Donald Trump knew of the White House whistleblower’s complaint two weeks before releasing military aid to Ukraine.

“This is what prosecutors call consciousness of guilt,” Rocah explained. “It’s very strong evidence that when he froze the money it was for an illicit purpose.”

View the complete November 27 article by Bob Brigham of Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.

White House review turns up emails showing extensive effort to justify Trump’s decision to block Ukraine military aid

Washington Post logoA confidential White House review of President Trump’s decision to place a hold on military aid to Ukraine has turned up hundreds of documents that reveal extensive efforts to generate an after-the-fact justification for the decision and a debate over whether the delay was legal, according to three people familiar with the records.

The research by the White House Counsel’s Office, which was triggered by a congressional impeachment inquiry announced in September, includes early August email exchanges between acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and White House budget officials seeking to provide an explanation for withholding the funds after the president had already ordered a hold in mid-July on the nearly $400 million in security assistance, according to the three people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.

One person briefed on the records examination said White House lawyers are expressing concern that the review has turned up some unflattering exchanges and facts that could at a minimum embarrass the president. It’s unclear whether the Mulvaney discussions or other records pose any legal problems for Trump in the impeachment inquiry, but some fear they could pose political problems if revealed publicly.

View the complete November 24 article by Josh Dawsey, Carol D. Leonnig and Tom Hamburger on The Washington Post website here.