Tag: Trump transition

Robert Mueller just dunked on the chairman of the Federalist Society

The bad news is that the Federalist Society is still picking Trump judges.

A federal appeals court that is widely viewed as the second-most powerful court in the country handed down an opinion on Tuesday holding that Robert Mueller’s appointment as special counsel is constitutional. This isn’t exactly a surprising decision.

Many of the issues raised in In re Grand Jury Investigation rehash questions that were settled in previous cases involving special or independent counsels. And the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s decision was joined by Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson — an arch-conservative judge who fairly often dissented from Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s right when Kavanaugh served on her court.

Yet, while the arguments in Grand Jury are not especially controversial, they’ve been treated as such by one of the most powerful organizations in the country. Steven Calabresi, a law professor and chairman of the Federalist Society’s board of directors, published a 21-page memo arguing that Mueller’s appointment is unconstitutional. The Federalist Society itself touted this argument in a teleconference that many journalists — including this reporter — were invited to attend.

View the complete February 26 article by Ian Hillhiser on the ThinkProgress website here.

In echoes of Watergate, Trump’s ex-lawyer is expected to tell all to House committee

Credit: Spencer Platt, Getty Images

After more than a decade as the keeper of Donald Trump’s secrets, Michael Cohen has been spilling the beans about the president’s private business deals, foreign interests and alleged mistresses to federal prosecutors in Washington and New York.

But apart from brief comments in the courtroom where he was sentenced to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to several crimes, the president’s former personal lawyer, fixer and attack dog has not spoken publicly about what he now calls Trump’s “dirty deeds.”

That is likely to change Wednesday when Cohen testifies before the House Oversight Committee in a hearing that could be the most damaging for a president since former White House Counsel John Dean helped bring down Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal.

View the complete February 26 article by Chris Megerian on The Los Angeles Times website here.

The perils of investigating a complete buffoon

Democrats are probing a mess. If they’re not careful, they’ll join it

OPINION — Only President Donald Trump could announce the parameters of his relationship with the newly Democratic House with a bite-sized limerick in his State of the Union address. “If there is going to be peace and legislation … there cannot be war and investigation,” Trump said with a did-you-see-what-I-did-there smile on his face. “It just doesn’t work that way.”

Was it a threat? Was it a poem? Is there a war happening that we don’t know about? Whatever Trump meant with his rhyme, it illustrated the very real challenge Democrats have on their hands, with a fleet of committee chairmen eager to investigate the president, a progressive base hungry for results, and a president who has never played by (and has often broken) the rules in his personal life, in his business affairs, and as president — right down to that little ditty in the State of the Union.

Unlike some past Congresses, which used to have to dig for years to find an area where they could effectively investigate the White House, Trump’s life and administration almost present more conflicts, curiosities and potential crimes than any Congress could digest. From the Russia conspiracy to the Trump family finances to the Trump hotel’s guest lists, it’s a target-rich environment. But the challenge for Democrats will be to not become part of the mess in the process.

View the complete February 26 commentary by Patricia Murphy on The Roll Call website here.

Why the collusion matters: Here’s what almost everyone misses about the origins of Robert Mueller’s investigation

Special Counsel Robert Mueller may soon be wrapping up his Russia investigation, according to multiple reports. Or, he may not be. No one really knows, and conflicting reports all appear to be coming from sources outside of Mueller’s tight-lipped team, giving independent commentators little hope of discerning their accuracy.

But as many have begun to expect the end of the investigation, observers have are starting to reflect on what we have learned so far. And opinions vary wildly.

Some are convinced Mueller has already come up empty. Some believe he may be on the cusp of something big, but he may struggle to prove it. Others are sure that new, devastating revelations are just around the corner. Some think that the special counsel had shown serious problems around the Trump campaign but nothing that could possibly warrant impeachment of the president. Many of Trump’s conservative defenders think Mueller has gotten desperate and is only charging people with “process crimes” because he couldn’t find anything more serious. And yet another group says that while worse may be coming, what we already know amounts to a damning imputation of Trump and his allies.

View the complete February 24 article by Cody Fenwick on the AlterNet website here.

Manafort doesn’t deserve leniency, Mueller filing argues

Special counsel Robert Mueller says in a new filing that he’s not taking a position on how much time Paul Manafort should spend in prison for charges in Washington, D.C., but told the judge presiding over his case that he doesn’t deserve leniency.

“Nothing about Manafort’s upbringing, schooling, legal education, or family and financial circumstances mitigates his criminality,” Mueller said in a heavily redacted sentencing memo released Saturday, which details Manafort’s crimes.

In the document, originally filed under seal on Friday night, Mueller said that the onetime Trump campaign chairman agreed in his plea deal that anything less than the government’s 17.5 to 22-year estimated sentence is not warranted.

View the complete February 23 article by Lydia Wheeler, John Bowden and Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

Michael Cohen to testify before House panel on Feb. 27

Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, will testify before the House Oversight Committee next week, the panel announced Wednesday night.

Cohen will testify at 10 a.m. on Feb. 27, the committee’s chairman, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), said in a statement.

“I am pleased to announce that Michael Cohen’s public testimony before the Oversight Committee is back on, despite efforts by some to intimidate his family members and prevent him from appearing,” Cummings said. “Congress has an obligation under the Constitution to conduct independent and robust oversight of the Executive Branch, and this hearing is one step in that process.”

View the complete February 20 article by Felicia Sonmez on The Washington Post website here.

Trump blasts former FBI official McCabe after explosive interview

President Trump on Thursday lashed out at Andrew McCabe after the former FBI deputy director revealed he opened a probe into whether Trump obstructed justice when the president fired James Comey as FBI chief in 2017 amid the Russia investigation.

In a string of morning tweets, Trump wrote that the “disgraced” McCabe “pretends to be a ‘poor little Angel’ when in fact he was a big part of the Crooked Hillary Scandal & the Russia Hoax” and “a puppet for Leakin’ James Comey.”

The president added that an internal watchdog report that was used to justify McCabe’s ouster was “devastating.”

View the complete February 14 article by Jordan Fabian on The Hill website here.

Drama hits Senate Intel panel’s Russia inquiry

Drama is building around the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation after the panel’s top Republican and Democrat clashed over what their findings reveal two years after they opened their inquiry.

The Senate probe is viewed as the most bipartisan congressional investigation into Russian interference, with committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) walking in lockstep on most matters.

However, fractures have emerged recently after Burr publicly stated that none of their evidence indicates the Trump campaign conspired with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.

View the complete February 14 article by Olivia Beavers and Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

Mueller probe filings raise prospect of more indictments

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s references to “uncharged individuals” in recent court filings that aim to restrict certain evidence are being read by some as an indication more people could be indicted in his sprawling investigation.

Despite rampant speculation that Mueller is close to finalizing his report, the language used in court documents over the past few months offers clues that suggest his probe might ensnare more individuals.

The latest example came last week, when Mueller said sensitive files in the case involving a Russian troll farm identified “uncharged individuals” suspected of engaging in operations “that interfere with lawful U.S. government functions.” Mueller’s filing sought to keep the evidence restricted from defendants in Russia.

View the complete article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

Federal prosecutors issue sweeping subpoena for documents from Trump inaugural committee, a sign of a deepening criminal probe

Federal prosecutors in New York on Monday delivered a sweeping request for documents related to donations and spending by President Trump’s inaugural committee, a sign of a deepening criminal investigation into activities related to the nonprofit organization.

A wide-ranging subpoena served on the inaugural committee Monday seeks an array of documents, including all information related to inaugural donors, vendors, contractors, bank accounts of the inaugural committee and any information related to foreign contributors to the committee, according to a copy reviewed by The Washington Post.

Only U.S. citizens and legal residents can legally donate to a committee established to finance presidential inaugural festivities.

View the complete February 4 article by Rosalind S. Helderman and Michael Kranish on The Washington Post website here.