President Trump: The NEW one and only politics thread

That McGahn wasn't Trump's personal lawyer doesn't mean Trump could not have still exerted presidential privilege to prevent him from talking to Mueller about conversations he had with McGahn.

Trump should be given credit for allowing such transparency, and this was Cobb and Dowd's strategy all along. Cooperate with the investigation, because there was no collusion.

Instead, the media wants to portray Trump as a dummy, who doesn't realize what he did in allowing McGahn to talk.

The administration's cooperation has been extraordinary.

And, despite the "bombshell" nature of the article, the most important line is getting ignored in the discussion:

In fact, Mr. McGahn laid out how Mr. Trump tried to ensure control of the investigation, giving investigators a mix of information both potentially damaging and favorable to the president. Mr. McGahn cautioned to investigators that he never saw Mr. Trump go beyond his legal authorities, though the limits of executive power are murky.

 

Executive time from the White House Water Closet.

 

All of these folks who have covered this story extensively, trying to act like McGahn talking to Mueller is huge, new news is also odd.

They're either lying to the public, or they haven't actually followed the story very closely, and then aren't qualified to be reporting on it.

We've known since at least February that McGahn -- and other lawyers in his office -- was talking to Mueller:

McGahn has frequently been at odds with the other White House attorneys, particularly Ty Cobb, who has been assigned to deal with the Russia investigation. Late last year, for example, McGahn thought Cobb should try to limit the questions he and his team would face from Mueller and protect the White House by asserting attorney-client privilege, according to people McGahn talked to at the time.

But Cobb, who has said he is eager to show the White House is cooperating, said all aides would answer questions freely. McGahn spent two days with the special counsel’s office in December and later told associates he was “thrown to the wolves,” according to people who have spoken to him. Seven other lawyers also spoke to Mueller.

McGahn has told others that Cobb is not a careful lawyer and is not carefully reviewing documents or preparing people to testify. In private conversations, McGahn has questioned whether Cobb leaked stories to the news media that could imperil McGahn’s standing in the White House. Cobb declined to comment.

White House counsel walks a fine line in serving Trump’s demands

It's funny too how the Times portrays McGahn as believing his is the institution of the Presidency's lawyer, and not Trump's, yet the WaPo article from February states that he did believe that attorney-client privilege would have protected his conversations with Trump.

Trump and his personal attorney's decided long ago to be as transparent as possible with Mueller, going so far as to waive constitutionally ensured rights.

 

In the old days Stephen Miller would have become a serial killer of young women because of his repressed homosexuality and self loathing. Now he becomes a beknighted genocidal terrorist in support of a dictator

 

I was mistaken.

We've known since at least January that McGahn was cooperating with, and speaking to, Mueller's team:

Now, Mr. McGahn has been thrust squarely into the public eye by the disclosure that in June he threatened to resign in order to stop President Trump from firing Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel leading the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and into whether Mr. Trump committed obstruction of justice. And it is increasingly clear that Mr. McGahn has been at the center of nearly everything Mr. Mueller’s obstruction investigation is scrutinizing.

Mr. McGahn was the first White House official to hear the Justice Department’s concerns that Michael T. Flynn, Mr. Trump’s first national security adviser, was vulnerable to blackmail by Russia. On Mr. Trump’s orders, he tried to persuade Attorney General Jeff Sessions not to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. He also took part in Mr. Trump’s dismissal of the F.B.I. director James B. Comey.

As a participant in those events, Mr. McGahn has been interviewed at length by Mr. Mueller’s team as it has sought to understand the president’s motivations and thinking. The investigators have also obtained memos, notes and emails about how Mr. McGahn tried to carry out Mr. Trump’s decisions in legally appropriate ways — such as objecting to a first draft of Mr. Trump’s letter firing Mr. Comey that mentioned the Russia investigation.

Counsel Quietly Trying to Corral Trump While Pushing G.O.P.’s Agenda

 

Other than, “he’s rich!,” what makes you think Trump isn’t a dummy?

 

Trump might be the dumbest guy on the planet, but he wasn't surprised to learn that MacGahn was talking to Mueller and his team, when he read about it in the Times last night.

He specifically allowed McGahn to talk, despite McGahn's belief that their conversations were privileged.

He's known all along about McGahn's cooperation, and anyone following the story has also known it for six months.

 

ffs

 

So, let's assume he shouldn't call "Fake News" the "enemy of the people.

How should he respond to these kinds of news reports that paint a false impression?

Is he supposed to just sit back and allow the media to destroy him?

Is that how Bill or Hillary Clinton ever responded to legitimate investigations into their activities?

 

Republicanism is dead.

 

Seems fair. After all, Obama (as Trump said for years) was an illegitimate president. Trump is completely legitimate.