Proof Trump's lawyer didn't write his Flynn quote.

[Cattledog]

"I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!"

A lawyer would have wrote "He pleaded guilty". Pled is not "legal speak". Any lawyer want to weigh in?

[samnsara]

1. trumps so stupid..

[lame54]

2. How come no one has asked the lawyer why he fired Flynn

[dchill]

3. Is Trump's lawyer's name John Barron?

[Wellstone ruled]

5. Blame it on the Kid.

[PJMcK]

4. Dowd's lie is silly

Trump HAS committed obstruction of justice. Dowd's attempt to protect his client is laughable because it invites so many more questions.

Trump is an idiot and so is anyone who works for him.

[FiveGoodMen]

6. "would have written"

As long as we're picking language apart.

[charlyvi]

7. Here's what the American Bar Asssn says

As for "pleaded" versus "pled," did you take a look at Bryan Garner's book, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage? (As you may know, Garner is, among other things, the current editor of Black's Law Dictionary.) Garner states that "The best course is to treat plead as a weak verb, so that the correct past tense, as well as past participle, is pleaded." He goes on to say that pled and plead are alternative past- tense forms with "some standing" in American English (and that "pled" is a common variant in legal usage).

https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/solosez/PleadedVsPled.authcheckdam.pdf

There are more examples and opinions at the link. The gist is, I think, that either pled or pleaded is acceptable. However, I always thought pled was the preferred usage. But I'm old.

[gratuitous]

8. 35 years as a legal secretary - I've typed it both ways my entire career

No standard formulation across the profession. "Pleaded" and "pled" are both in current usage.

As for the use of the first person pronoun, however, lawyers do not routinely say "I had to fire General Flynn" when they really mean "I advised my client to fire General Flynn" or "My client had to fire General Flynn." Lawyers are pretty careful not to ascribe their client's actions to themselves. It's not good for the health of your standing with the Bar.

[lagomorph777]

9. Best and clearest answer!

Thanks!