Mueller team defends obtaining Trump transition emails

[highplainsdem]

Source: The Hill

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s office on Sunday defended its work after a lawyer for President Trump’s transition team accused investigators of improperly obtaining thousands of emails from transition officials.

“When we have obtained emails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have secured either the account owner’s consent or appropriate criminal process,” Peter Carr, a spokesman for the special counsel’s office, said in a statement to The Hill.

Axios reported Saturday that Mueller’s team is now in possession of tens of thousands of emails from the Trump transition team, including messages from Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, as well as other members of the transition’s political leadership and foreign policy team.

Mueller's prosecutors reportedly used the emails to question witnesses, and are also looking to the messages to confirm information and follow new leads.

-snip-

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/365318-mueller-team-defends-obtaining-trump-transition-emails

[C_U_L8R]

1. The Trumps are so screwed.

Through all their sworn statements, they lied their asses off ...and Mueller had the proof all along.

[Perseus]

6. I hope you are right

and I hope that Muller set clauses to impede the man-child from making pardons on all those criminals, including himself.

[Wounded Bear]

2. Building that wall...

[7962]

4. Thats hilarious! nt

[NCjack]

3. There is probably an obscure and never used law that prohibits using government facilities and

communication devices to commit crimes, e.g., treason and money laundering.

[pnwmom]

12. There is an official written policy, outlined in an agreement all the DT users signed,

that says that all the documents produced on equipment from the GSA is OWNED by the GSA.

[NCjack]

15. See -- I was right. No one ever reads that stuff. nt

[FarPoint]

17. who is GSA?

Not sure...

[Drahthaardogs]

18. Government Agency

They own the vehicles, equipment, etc

[FarPoint]

23. Thanks..I have a headache... hahaha

So, tRump can't control the GSA ....it's not his property....my line of thinking.

[BlueIdaho]

5. Gotta be totally legal

The FBI has been gathering evidence to convict felons for a long damn time. I doubt they would do anything that could get a case thrown out of court. At least not at this level.

[RandomAccess]

7. I LOVE this response!

It's like the ultimate put down of a spurious charge. It doesn't just say "No," it says not only "Hell No," but "here's a slapdown for your trouble."

Heheh.

[mpcamb]

8. It's a criminal investigation. The transition team is littered with criminals. Where's the problem?

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Just thought of this - wonder if there was a NSA letter on some of this stuff? nt

[L. Coyote]

10. "we have secured either the account owners consent or appropriate criminal process ..."

In other words, they did not rely on Putin's hackers

[Lurks Often]

11. It will likely be up to SCOTUS to decide if this was legal or not

And if SCOTUS decides the e-mails were illegally obtained then any information found through the e-mails will likely be inadmissible, which will probably include Flynn's plea bargain and anything he said to Mueller.

[emulatorloo]

16. Trumps lawyers are just complaining to Republicans in congress so far, no talk of taking it to court

They don't have a case. They are just blowing smoke at Republicans and trying to muddy the waters. Ultimate goal, trumpet it on the Fox News Propaganda Channel for the easily manipulated base.

Mueller's a very experienced investigator and prosecutor. Highly unlikely he did anything that was 'illegal", it just isn't plausible.

As Peter Carr, spokesman for the Special Counsel's Office, said,: "When we have obtained emails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have secured either the account owner's consent or appropriate criminal process."

[Lurks Often]

20. We'll find out soon enough, but I don't share your optimism

[emulatorloo]

22. 'Optimism' has nothing to do with it.

More like history and track records.

See also

Trump charges Mueller obtained emails improperly, but legal experts challenge those claims
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029995120

But ( Eliason)said that if Trump's team had a valid legal claim, there is a standard avenue to pursue - they would file a sealed motion to the judge supervising the grand jury and ask the judge to rule the emails were improperly seized and provide a remedy, like requiring Mueller's team to return the emails or excluding their use in the investigation.

"You go to the judge and complain," he said. "You don't issue a press release or go to Congress. It appears from the outside that this is part of a pattern of trying to undermine Mueller's investigation."

[Dopers_Greed]

13. I knew that Team Chump were hypocrites, but attacking the FBI is audacious even for them

Red Don is whining about the FBI legally obtaining his team's emails, when he publicly asked Russia to illegally hack Clinton's emails during the election.

[Nitram]

21. It is not audacious. It is very, very stupid.

Suicidal, even.

[safeinOhio]

14. Was it a crime for trump lawyers to

delete relavent emails?

[Nitram]

19. And to bring charges every time what they said is contradicted by the emails.

They can go to prison for ever, or they can rat on people higher up the food chain.