Lawyered Up! Trump's Russia Scandal Enters Whole New Chapter

[DonViejo]

By ALICE OLLSTEIN Published JUNE 1, 2017 6:57 AM

White House press secretary Sean Spicer announced Wednesday in a off-camera briefing that he will no longer answer any questions on the federal investigation into Russian election interference and alleged collusion with the Trump campaign, and will instead refer everything to President Donald Trump’s private attorney Marc Kasowitz.

Both the hiring of private counsel and the referral of questions to Kasowitz signal the beginning of a whole new chapter in the President’s ongoing legal saga—with some echoes of the tension between the private lawyers and White House counsel who defended President Bill Clinton when he came under multiple investigations.


Former White House attorneys, special independent counsels and presidential advisers who have handled both sides of those past federal investigations tell TPM to expect sharp internal divisions, a journey into uncharted legal territory and an official information blackout. The attorneys said both Kasowitz and special counsel Robert Mueller—who is leading the Russia investigation at the FBI—will be loath to give updates and will do their best to crack down on leaks.

Adam Goldberg, White House special associate counsel from 1996-1999, said that if Kasowitz follows the precedent set by Clinton’s private attorney, David Kendall, many questions may go unanswered in the months to come.

“There was just a shutdown of information,” recalled Goldberg. “For close to a year, the President didn’t go out and answer questions, he didn’t admit what happened or talk about it. It made it very, very difficult for us to communicate with the public. We were cut off and blindsided by news events. I think that was part of why he got impeached. He didn’t control the message.”

more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-russia-investigation-outside-counsel-what-happens

[L. Coyote]

1. OMG: Putin admits Russian hackers may have been involved in 2016 election

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/6/1/1667885/-OMG-Putin-admits-Russian-hackers-may-have-been-involved-in-2016-election

[YCHDT]

3. I read this, the current rethug excuse is it was a tongue in cheek admission and it wasn't ....

... in context it was a strong admission and Putin's trying to distance his government from what happened last year.

Read the Russian translation, Putin at the MINIMUM knows there's something wrong going on ... he laughed at first and in this statement he's no longer laughing.

[LaydeeBug]

4. I wonder if any motherfuckers will eat crow now...maybe they'll just tell us to hone our message.

assholes.

[L. Coyote]

5. Maybe Putin is covering for pal Trump's hackers. If Manafort ran the hack from Russian and Ukraine.

That would certainly fit the pattern of expected behavior, cover-up, cover-up, deceive, deceive.

[LaydeeBug]

7. pardon, pardon, pardon. There is a special place in hell for traitors. nt

[imanamerican63]

2. Seannnnn! Come backkkkkk!!!!!!!

We won't be mean anymore!!!!!!

[ProudLib72]

6. I'm not worried at all

We will get all the info we need via the early AM Twitter feed.