Robert Mueller reveals to Donald Trump's attorneys that he is the subject of an investigation, but not yet the target.

So I'm the subject, but not the target? So then I win right?

Courtesy of WaPo: 

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III informed President Trump’s attorneys last month that he is continuing to investigate the president but does not consider him a criminal target at this point, according to three people familiar with the discussions. 

In private negotiations in early March about a possible presidential interview, Mueller described Trump as a subject of his investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. Prosecutors view someone as a subject when that person has engaged in conduct that is under investigation but there is not sufficient evidence to bring charges. 

The special counsel also told Trump’s lawyers that he is preparing a report about the president’s actions while in office and potential obstruction of justice, according to two people with knowledge of the conversations. 

Mueller reiterated the need to interview Trump — both to understand whether he had any corrupt intent to thwart the Russia investigation and to complete this portion of his probe, the people said.

Apparently Trump himself took this as good news, because he is a fucking moron, while his attorneys are freaking out as seems appropriate.

I heard Steve Schmidt this morning suggest that the difference between being the subject of the investigation, rather than the target, is relatively the same difference that exists between being engaged to be married, and being married.

Former CIA counter intelligence agent Phil Mudd summed it up thusly: 

"If someone walked in my room—in particular, FBI investigators—I‘ve been questioned as a witness, not a subject. If someone walked in my office and said I was a subject of a multi-year criminal investigation led by a former FBI director, Robert Mueller, I’d wet my pants.”

Yeah, what he said. 

Others are also suggesting the Mueller team is choosing its words carefully in order to convince Trump to sit down for an interview, knowing full well that if Trump realizes he is the target he will flip his shit. 

As it is this report that Mueller is putting together will be out sometime around June or July. 

By the way, this is only one part of the Mueller investigation, he is still pursuing the Russia collusion part as well.  Not to mention all the other parts that he is keeping on the down low.

So Donald Trump is even being mocked on Craigslist.

omg, someone put up a Craigslist ad in DC titled 'SEEKING LEAD ATTORNEY FOR DIFFICULT CLIENT' https://t.co/yJI8HQnKF8 pic.twitter.com/2r0Ry6x8QR

— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) March 27, 2018

Courtesy of The Hill:

A Craiglist ad mocking President Trump over reports he's having difficulty finding lawyers to represent him has gained traction on Twitter. 

The ad, “Seeking lead attorney for difficult client,” was posted Tuesday by an anonymous user, who lists their contact information under the name “General John,” referring to chief of staff John Kelly. 

“Seeking a lead attorney to represent client involved in an ongoing Federal investigation,” the ad reads. “Working knowledge of social media, especially Twitter is a plus, as is a better than average knowledge of the adult film industry and a collection of Playboy magazines from 1985-2010.”

The Craigslist ad includes specific wishes for applicants’ physical appearance. 

“Must look the part — Gregory Peck or Tommy Lee Jones type,” the ad reads. “Prior appearances on Fox News a huge plus. No fatties.” 

“Must be prepared to work with a client who is very forceful and opinionated about his defense and is his own best counsel,” it continues. “Basically your job boils down to keeping him from testifying under oath and hoping the rest comes out in the wash.”

“Prior appearances on Fox News a huge plus. No fatties.” Well that's pretty on point.

As the Robert Mueller Russia probe moves forward Donald Trump's legal team is in tatters.

Jay Sekulow

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

As President Trump heads into one of the most critical phases of the special counsel’s investigation, his personal legal team has shrunk to essentially just one member, and he is struggling to find any top lawyers willing to represent him. 

Working for a president is usually seen as a dream job. But leading white-collar lawyers in Washington and New York have repeatedly spurned overtures to take over the defense of Mr. Trump, a mercurial client who often ignores his advisers’ guidance. In some cases, lawyers’ firms have blocked any talks, fearing a backlash that would hurt business. 

The president lost two lawyers in just the past four days, including one who had been on board for less than a week.

That one remaining lawyer is Jay Sekulow who is essentially a legal spokesperson more than a lawyer at this point, and is wholly unqualified to handle such a complicated and important case.

However Trump's attempts to hire more legal muscle is simply not working out too well.

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:

Two more high-power attorneys have had to turn down President Donald Trump. Tom Buchanan and Dan Webb confirmed to The Daily Beast that Trump reached out to them about representing him, and that they couldn’t do it. 

“President Trump reached out to Dan Webb and Tom Buchanan to provide legal representation,” they said in a statement. “They were unable to take on the representation due to business conflicts. However they consider the opportunity to represent the President to be the highest honor and they sincerely regret that they cannot do so. They wish the president the best and believe he has excellent representation in Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow.”

 Actually Ty Cobb's work to produce legal documentation for the Mueller team is essentially finished and there are questions concerning his ability, or his desire to continue to help defend Trump as the walls start closing in.

Remember it was Cobb who said that this investigation would have ended by Thanksgiving 2016.

I actually think that at some point Trump will find a lawyer or two to defend him in this Russia case, but they will likely be one step up from ambulance chasers who will be quickly ground to dust by Mueller's top notch legal eagles.

Donald Trump takes to Twitter to brag that all the best lawyers want to represent him in the Russia case. Wanna bet?

Many lawyers and top law firms want to represent me in the Russia case...don’t believe the Fake News narrative that it is hard to find a lawyer who wants to take this on. Fame & fortune will NEVER be turned down by a lawyer, though some are conflicted. Problem is that a new......

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 25, 2018

Yes, as we all know lawyers like nothing more than the fame and fortune they receive after losing a high profile case while representing a guilty client.

....lawyer or law firm will take months to get up to speed (if for no other reason than they can bill more), which is unfair to our great country - and I am very happy with my existing team. Besides, there was NO COLLUSION with Russia, except by Crooked Hillary and the Dems!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 25, 2018

Clearly this constant refrain of "No Collusion!" can only be defined as the rantings of a madman at this point.

As are his attempts to smear Hillary and the Democrats by claiming they were the ones who colluded with the Russians to undermine our democracy.

As for Trump's claims that "many lawyers and top law firms" want to represent him, that was proven false when he was turned down by famed lawyer Ted Olson, and a number of others recently.

It is also rendered false by the fact that he just lost lead attorney John Dowd, and the only replacement he could find was Fox News conspiracy theorist Joseph diGenova. (And now he won't even be on the team, because he has too many "conflicts.")

By the way if you want to really understand just how long Trump has been a Russian asset I suggest you pick up the new book "Russian Roulette"  by David Corn and Michael Isikoff.

After you read that you will understand just how compromised this president is, and just who is actually running our country.

Trump attorney John Dowd resigns.

Screw this noise, I am out of here!

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

The president’s lead lawyer for the special counsel investigation, John Dowd, resigned on Thursday, according to two people briefed on the matter, days after the president called for an end to the inquiry. 

Mr. Dowd, who took over the president’s legal team last summer, had considered leaving several times in recent months and ultimately concluded that Mr. Trump was increasingly ignoring his advice, one of the people said. Under Mr. Dowd’s leadership, Mr. Trump’s lawyers had advised him to cooperate with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who is investigating Russia’s election interference and possible ties to Trump associates as well as whether the president obstructed the inquiry.

The president has instead in recent days begun publicly assailing Mr. Mueller, a shift in tone that appears to be born of the president’s concern that the investigation is bearing down on him more directly. He has also privately insisted he should sit for an interview with the special counsel’s office, even though Mr. Dowd believed it was a bad idea. 

Mr. Dowd’s departure marks the most prominent shake-up for the president’s legal team since he took over from the president’s longtime personal lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz.

Hey remember this blast from the not too distant past?

The Failing New York Times purposely wrote a false story stating that I am unhappy with my legal team on the Russia case and am going to add another lawyer to help out. Wrong. I am VERY happy with my lawyers, John Dowd, Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow. They are doing a great job and.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2018

So Dowd is out, and conspiracy theory embracing Joseph E. diGenova is in.

Oh, that does not bode well for the Trump legal defense.

You know I was a little young when the Nixon presidency started to come apart at the seams, so I really did not get to fully enjoy the spectacle.

But I am DEFINITELY enjoying watching it happen this time.

Trump hires lawyer who embraces conspiracy theory that FBI and Justice Department worked together to frame him.

Courtesy of the New York Times: 

President Trump hired the longtime Washington lawyer Joseph E. diGenova on Monday, adding an aggressive voice to his legal team who has pushed the theory on television that the F.B.I. and Justice Department framed Mr. Trump.

“Former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Joe DiGenova will be joining our legal team later this week,” said Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s personal lawyers. “I have worked with Joe for many years and have full confidence that he will be a great asset in our representation of the President.” 

Mr. diGenova has endorsed the notion that a secretive group of F.B.I. agents concocted the Russia investigation as a way to keep Mr. Trump from becoming president. “There was a brazen plot to illegally exonerate Hillary Clinton and, if she didn’t win the election, to then frame Donald Trump with a falsely created crime,” he said on Fox News in January. He added, “Make no mistake about it: A group of F.B.I. and D.O.J. people were trying to frame Donald Trump of a falsely created crime.” 

Little evidence has emerged to support that theory.

Of course as we know Trump loves him some conspiracy theories, after all it was the Obama birth certificate conspiracy that brought him such national attention in the first place. And a conspiracy theory that suggests that he did nothing wrong and is being framed he would love that most of all.

Bringing this bomb thrower into the mix indicates to me that Trump has NO intention of agreeing to that interview with Robert Mueller.

A total WITCH HUNT with massive conflicts of interest!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 19, 2018

I think all signs point to Trump tripling down and stonewalling the Mueller investigators while tweeting out that he is being framed by his own Justice Department, and is the victim of a massive liberal conspiracy to remove him from office without cause.

Just when you thought this whole thing could not possible get any crazier.

P.S. Just a reminder that there is a tweet for EVERYTHING.

The Failing New York Times purposely wrote a false story stating that I am unhappy with my legal team on the Russia case and am going to add another lawyer to help out. Wrong. I am VERY happy with my lawyers, John Dowd, Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow. They are doing a great job and.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2018

Stupid New York Times being a week too early.

Apparently Trump's attorney has been trying to silence Stormy Daniels since way back in 2011.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

The president’s personal attorney Michael Cohen interceded in 2011 to prevent porn star Stormy Daniels from airing her story about an alleged affair with Donald Trump, telling the agent who arranged for its publication that he could harm her career, according to a person involved in the discussions. 

Randy Spears, the ex-husband of agent Gina Rodriguez, told The Washington Post he answered the phone when Cohen called Rodriguez after she arranged for Daniels to earn $15,000 by telling her story to a celebrity publication. 

“You tell Gina that if she ever wants to work in this town again, she’ll call me immediately,” Spears said Cohen told him. He said Rodriguez, who declined to take Cohen’s call, contacted her lawyer instead. 

Spears’s account offers the first look at the original effort by Trump’s lawyer to silence Daniels, who resurfaced again in 2016 as Trump ran for president. Cohen has acknowledged arranging a $130,000 payment in October 2016, using money from his own home equity line of credit, to ensure her silence. Cohen did not respond to questions from The Post.

According to Spears, Stormy Daniels, who was a friend and fellow adult film actor, told him about her affair with Trump right after it happened, and he even took a lie detector test about that in 2011.

The agency that Rodriguez worked for was also threatened with a lawsuit, and this story was essentially killed.

Unfortunately for Donald Trump, and his attack dog lawyers, that story did eventually come out within the pages of In Touch Magazine this last January.

However this is yet more proof that Trump has been trying to keep this story quiet for years, and it provides even more credibility for Stormy Daniels.

Not that she needs it at this point.

Trump lawyers looking for way to stop 60 Minutes from airing interview with Stormy Daniels tonight. Update!

@michaelavenatti@StormyDaniels @andersoncooper@60minutes pic.twitter.com/U3pf6DHEaf

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 8, 2018

Courtesy of Buzzfeed:  

Lawyers associated with President Donald Trump are considering legal action to stop 60 Minutes from airing an interview with Stephanie Clifford, the adult film performer and director who goes by Stormy Daniels, BuzzFeed News has learned. 

“We understand from well-placed sources they are preparing to file for a legal injunction to prevent it from airing,” a person informed of the preparations told BuzzFeed News on Saturday evening. 

It was not immediately clear what legal argument the lawyers would be making to support the considered litigation, and Trump and his legal team often have threatened litigation without following through on those threats in the past.

The action would be the latest in a flurry of developments in a case that began just before the 2016 election when Cohen paid Clifford $130,000 in return for her silence about a sexual relationship she allegedly had with Trump in 2006. At the time, Trump was under intense pressure over comments he’d made about his treatment of women in the run-up to the vote.

The entire way that the Trump team has handled this problem has been clumsy and sophomoric.

It is like one of those stupid sitcoms where the protagonists are trying to break into a room to delete an embarrassing phone message, and it only ends up causing even more problems for them.

Attempting to stop this interview only proves that what Stormy Daniels is going to say is true, and could harm Donald Trump in some way.

Update: So a new update says the interview will not be aired until next Sunday. 

Boy somebody is working overtime to keep this story off of the air.

Donald Trump's attorney is continuing to use intimidation to silence adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Courtesy of NBC News: 

President Donald Trump's lawyer is trying to silence adult-film star Stormy Daniels, obtaining a secret restraining order in a private arbitration proceeding and warning that she will face penalties if she publicly discusses a relationship with the president, NBC News has learned. 

The new pressure on Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, comes a day after she filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court alleging that a nondisclosure agreement she made to keep quiet about an "intimate" relationship with Trump is invalid because he never signed it.

Tuesday's lawsuit says that Trump attorney Michael Cohen — who brokered the agreement with Clifford during the presidential campaign — attempted to "intimidate" Clifford and "shut her up" by initiating what it calls a "bogus arbitration proceeding" against her in Los Angeles on Feb. 27. 

On that day, Cohen obtained a temporary restraining order against Clifford from the private arbitrator, a retired judge, which bars her from disclosing "confidential information" related to the nondisclosure agreement signed in October 2016, according to a copy of the order obtained by NBC News.

Okay so here's a silly question.

If Donald Trump never had a sexual relationship with this woman, as the White House has stated repeatedly, what is the need to keep this woman from telling her, apparently false, story?

And, once again a silly question, why would anybody pay $130,000 to prevent her from telling it in the first place?

By the way as it turns out Sarah Huckabee Sanders was not supposed to spill the beans about that arbitration yesterday.

Courtesy of Mediaite: 

President Donald Trump is reportedly somewhat less than thrilled with his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, for her comments during Wednesday’s briefing addressing the Stormy Daniels story. 

According to CNN’s Abby Phillip (citing reporting from Jim Acosta), Trump believes that Sanders essentially breathed life into the Stormy Daniels controversy with her Wednesday remarks. 

“According to this source, Sarah Sanders’ comments were essentially putting the Stormy Daniels storyline on steroids yesterday,” Phillip said.

Oops, Rachel Maddow better make more room on her wall, because it looks like another White House staff may get tossed to the curb.

Damn, this Stormy Daniels story is getting more interesting by the day.

Donald Trump's attorneys are advising him not to agree to be interviewed by Robert Mueller.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

Lawyers for President Trump have advised him against sitting down for a wide-ranging interview with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to four people briefed on the matter, raising the specter of a monthslong court battle over whether the president must answer questions under oath. 

His lawyers are concerned that the president, who has a history of making false statements and contradicting himself, could be charged with lying to investigators. Their stance puts them at odds with Mr. Trump, who has said publicly and privately that he is eager to speak with Mr. Mueller as part of the investigation into possible ties between his associates and Russia’s election interference, and whether he obstructed justice. 

Mr. Trump’s decision about whether to speak to prosecutors, expected in the coming weeks, will shape one of the most consequential moments of the investigation. Refusing to sit for an interview opens the possibility that Mr. Mueller will subpoena the president to testify before a grand jury, setting up a court fight that would drastically escalate the investigation and could be decided by the Supreme Court.

First of all you could see this coming from outer space.

Of COURSE Trump's attorneys are going to tell him to resist being interviewed until there is no longer any way to avoid it.

Because once he does it's game over.

But this is not the only tactic that Trump's lawyers have up their sleeves.

Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah told reporters that Trump's attorneys have already approved the idea of appointing a second special counsel to investigate the FBI and Justice Department's actions during the 2016 presidential campaign. https://t.co/wRxgxMy8Oh

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 5, 2018

That's right there is now going to be a special counsel investigating the way Robert Mueller came up with his evidence. 

Someday when schoolchildren learn about presidential abuses of power this will likely be lesson number one.

While many opine that Robert Mueller will never lay a glove on Donald Trump, two lawyers representing clients targeted in the Russian probe, strongly disagree.

Courtesy of Politico:  

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation has gathered enough steam that some lawyers representing key Donald Trump associates are considering the possibility of a historic first: an indictment against a sitting president. 

While many legal experts contend that Mueller lacks the standing to bring criminal charges against Trump, at least two attorneys working with clients swept up in the Russia probe told POLITICO they consider it possible that Mueller could indict the president for obstruction of justice. 

Neither attorney claimed to have specific knowledge of Mueller’s plans. Both based their opinions on their understanding of the law; one also cited his interactions with the special counsel’s team, whose interviews have recently examined whether Trump tried to derail the probe into his campaign’s Russia ties. 

“If I were a betting man, I’d bet against the president,” said one of the lawyers. 

The second attorney, who represents a senior Trump official, speculated that Mueller could try to bring an indictment against Trump even if he expects the move to draw fierce procedural challenges from the president’s lawyers – if only to demonstrate the gravity of his findings. 

“It’s entirely possible that Mueller may go that route on the theory that, as an open question, it should be for the courts to decide,” the attorney said. “Even if the indictment is dismissed, it puts maximum pressure on Congress to treat this with the independence and intellectual honesty that it will never, ever get."

Well that's interesting, isn't it?

There is of course lots of speculation flying around right now, but you do have to give a large dose of credibility to those who have faced off against Mueller in this particular investigation process.

Further down the article offers opinions from legal experts who say that Mueller has no path to an indictment.

But let's also keep in mind that from what we have seen recently it is clear that something has Trump in almost a blind panic.

Pres. Trump has now targeted *every* senior investigator who has touched the Russia probe.

Evidence shows the memo battle is about Rosenstein, not FISA warrants — he and Mueller are the only people left: pic.twitter.com/n675mRcCaS

— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) February 1, 2018

And these are certainly the actions of a person who fears the outcome of this investigation.

Trump lawyer says that his client is "very eager" to speak to Robert Mueller, but expresses concern it might be a "perjury trap."

Courtesy of CBS News:  

President Trump's attorney Ty Cobb says the president is "very eager" to speak to special counsel Robert Mueller for his Russia investigation. In an interview with CBS News' chief White House correspondent Major Garrett on this week's "The Takeout" podcast, Cobb said Mr. Trump wants to put the matter to rest, and he told Garrett there are "active discussions" about a special counsel interview, but no formal request has yet been made. 

It is Cobb's belief that the Mueller investigation will ultimately be immaterial to Mr. Trump and his presidency. Cobb said he expects it to be wrapped up in 4-6 weeks. 

"There's a big difference between a shooting star and a planet," Cobb told Garrett, referring to the big headlines for the legal issues of Papadopoulos, Manafort and Flynn. Cobb said he believes these pleas and indictment will not impact the president. 

"I think it's more than appropriate for the Mueller people to explore anything they're interested in," Cobb said. Cobb said he is focused on "getting the facts out." 

But despite this, he said he considers the investigation to be a drag on the presidency. "It's very difficult for him to do anything other than to fight for his place in history," Cobb said. 

Cobb said if Mueller did interview Mr. Trump, it could be a perjury trap -- that is, a situation in which his story does not match the evidence -- something Cobb said "foolish" was not to consider. But Cobb said he has known Mueller for a long time, and doesn't believe that is his aim.

Interesting term "perjury trap."

Is it a "trap" to ask somebody a question to which they then provide a false answer?

Because the simple solution to that is to not fucking lie to the Special Counsel.

But apparently Cobb realizes that his client cannot be expected to do that, so of course he is worried that he will perjure himself.

And do you know what? He is undoubtedly correct.

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has lawyered up. Update!

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:  

Corey Lewandowski, the president’s erstwhile campaign manager, has lawyered up. The Daily Beast has learned that Peter Chavkin, of Mintz Levin, is representing Lewandowski for purposes of the Russia investigations. Lewandowski helmed Trump’s campaign until Paul Manafort took over on May 19, 2016. A month later, the campaign announced that Lewandowski was out. There’s significant animosity between the two men. 

Apparently Lewandowsky is testifying today to the House Intelligence Committee.

JUST IN: Ex-Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to appear before House panel in Russia investigation pic.twitter.com/7AMnJjgB1q

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 17, 2018

I have no idea what Lewandowski knows, or doesn't know.

But I have faith that once his testimony is released that it will prove quite entertaining.

Is it just me or does anybody else hear the tune "Another One Bites the Dust" every time another former Trump campaign or current White House staffer is identified as a potential witness in these investigations?

Update: It looks like Lewandowski is taking a page from the Steve Bannon playbook.

Schiff: Lewandowski not answering Intell qs from period after he left Trump campaign, including whether he's talked to Trump about his testimony.

— Billy House (@HouseInSession) January 17, 2018

Included in the questions Lewandowski would not answer was: "Did you have a conversation with the president of the United States within the last 24 hours where you discussed your testimony?" said Schiff.

— Billy House (@HouseInSession) January 17, 2018

I bet he sings like a canary for Mueller as well.

Talks are underway for Robert Mueller to interview Donald Trump. More popcorn anyone?

Courtesy of NBC News: 

Anticipating that Special Counsel Robert Mueller will ask to interview President Donald Trump, the president’s legal team is discussing a range of potential options for the format, including written responses to questions in lieu of a formal sit-down, according to three people familiar with the matter. 

Lawyers for Trump have been discussing with FBI investigators a possible interview by the special counsel with the president as part of the inquiry into whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. 

The discussions were described by one person with direct knowledge as preliminary and ongoing. Trump’s legal team is seeking clarification on whether the president would be interviewed directly by Mueller, as well as the legal standard for when a president can be interviewed, the location of a possible interview, the topics and the duration. But the president’s team is also seeking potential compromises that could avoid an interview altogether, two of those interviewed told NBC News.

With the possibility now looming that the president himself could be subject to an interview by the FBI or Mueller’s investigators, Trump’s legal team has been debating whether it would be possible to simply avoid it. One individual familiar with the strategy said those internal discussions within Trump’s legal team began shortly after the president’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was indicted in late October for money laundering in connection with his business dealings with Ukraine.

Yeah, you bet your ass Trump's attorneys want to avoid having him sit down for a direct interview with Mueller, or one of his prosecutors.

There is video of Trump giving a deposition online, and he does not do well under that kind of scrutiny, and he is all but guaranteed to perjure himself.

However there is almost no chance that Mueller will let Trump avoid this.

Justice Department veterans cast doubt on the possibility that Mueller, who served as FBI director for 12 years, would forgo the chance to interview the president directly. 

“Prosecutors want to see and hear folks in person,” said Chuck Rosenberg, former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and chief of staff to FBI Director Comey. “They want to probe and follow up. Body language and tone are important,” said Rosenberg, now an NBC News analyst. “And they want answers directly from witnesses, not from their lawyers. The odds of prosecutors agreeing to written responses are somewhere between infinitesimally small and zero."

My feeling is that once Mueller gets Trump into a room to answer direct questions, that it is game over for Trump. 

And I think Trump's legal counsel is all too aware of that fact.

Trump lawyers send cease and desist order to Steve Bannon to keep him from making disparaging remarks that are already in a book by Michael Wolff. Seems a little late to me.

No, no, no, no. no. no!

Courtesy of ABC News: 

The letter comes after excerpts from a forthcoming book by journalist Michael Wolff were made public Wednesday, causing a stir. 

Trump attorney Charles J. Harder of the firm Harder Mirell & Abrams LLP, said in a statement, "This law firm represents President Donald J. Trump and Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. On behalf of our clients, legal notice was issued today to Stephen K. Bannon, that his actions of communicating with author Michael Wolff regarding an upcoming book give rise to numerous legal claims including defamation by libel and slander, and breach of his written confidentiality and non-disparagement agreement with our clients. Legal action is imminent." 

In the letter to Bannon, Harder, writes, "You [Bannon] have breached the Agreement by, among other things, communicating with author Michael Wolff about Mr. Trump, his family members, and the Company, disclosing Confidential Information to Mr. Wolff, and making disparaging statements and in some cases outright defamatory statements to Mr. Wolff about Mr. Trump, his family members, and the Company, knowing that they would be included in Mr. Wolff’s book and publicity surrounding the marketing and sale of his book."

You know a confidentiality agreement may work for keeping things quiet during a campaign, but when Bannon worked in the White House he was then employed by the American people, not Donald J. Trump.  So he was no longer bound by an NDA he may have signed in years past.

And if he sent a letter like this to Bannon, did he also send one to his daughter?

Courtesy of the New York Post:

Daughter Ivanka Trump often makes fun of her dad’s comb-over to friends and delights in explaining how the crazy coiffure comes together, according to “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” 

“She often described the mechanics behind it to friends: an absolutely clean pate — a contained island after scalp-reduction ­surgery — surrounded by a furry circle of hair around the sides and front, from which all ends are drawn up to meet in the center and then swept back and secured by a stiffening spray,” journalist Michael Wolff writes in the book, out Jan. 9. 

“The color, she would point out to comical effect, was from a product called Just for Men — the longer it was left on, the darker it got. Impatience resulted in Trump’s orange-blond hair color.”

Oh that's going to leave a mark.

Apparently at least one of Trump's attorneys realized that you cannot stop a book by attacking its sources.

NEW this am: Trump attorneys send cease-and-desist letter this morning to Wolff and book publisher @HenryHolt demanding they stop publication and issue an apology to @realDonaldTrump for defamatory statements made thus far.

— Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) January 4, 2018

Okay let's all hold our breath waiting for this to happen.

And if Trump's attorneys want to pursue this line of attack they may want to keep this in mind:

Michael Wolff has tapes to back up quotes in his incendiary book — dozens of hours of them. 

Among the sources he taped, I'm told, are Bannon and former White House deputy chief of staff Katie Walsh. 

I imagine that Wolff and his publishers are desperate for Trump to try and sue them, as that will ensure that this book is a bestseller. 

No the time to stop this book was while Michael Wolff was wandering the White House gathering the information, not after huge chunks have already been leaked to the media.

I can hardly wait to buy my copy.

Famed Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein says that Trump's lawyers have an "out of control client" who they are trying desperately to manage.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

Addressing Trump’s belief that he will be exonerated, Bernstein said Trump is lying but also may be in the dark because his legal team is afraid of what he might say or do if he knew what was really going on. 

“There is no reason to believe almost anything Donald Trump says because what we know is that the president of the United States and his presidency is characterized, above all else, by the lying of the president of the United States,” Bernstein explained.”That doesn’t mean that lying by the president is a crime, but it does mean that we see him covering up events, but not necessarily criminally covering up events. And where this is going definitively we don’t know.” 

“He has expressed, I am told by people in the White House, the desire to fire Mueller and the desire to pardon people under investigation including his family,” Bernstein continued. “His lawyers are telling him what he wants to hear; that’s what I’m told by lawyers in the White House.” 

“They are telling him what he wants to hear to keep him from going off and firing Mueller in a rage because they have an out of control client” he stated. “The president of the United States is out of control a good deal of the time, especially when it comes to this investigation.”

So the troubling question to ask as 2017 comes to an end, is for how long can Trump's lawyer keep him  reined in before the news becomes too much for him to take and he essentially snaps?

And the follow up question would be, what happens when he snaps?

Update: Track Palin now has a lawyer.

I'm keeping my eye on this case for any further developments, and as of yesterday Track finally has a lawyer assigned to his case.

The lawyer is one Patrick Bergt, and he does not appear to be any of the numerous lawyers that the Palins have used in the past.

Which more or less reinforces by contention that Track is not getting any help from his family at this time.

In fact it's quite possible that Bergt was assigned to the case as a public defender, though it does not specify that in the Court View documents.

Whatever the case I do not think that Track has a steady source of income, so if I were this Bergt character I would make sure to collect my fee up front.

There is a bail hearing at 1:00 today so Track may soon be out and ready to go finish Todd off by 2:00 PM.

Update: Courtesy of the Daily Mail:  

Things are quickly spiraling out of control for Track Palin following his arrest on Saturday at his parent's home in Alaska. 

Court records show that on Monday his ex-wife Britta Hanson filed a petition for a protective order against Track. 

Britta, who is the mother of Track's 6-year-old daughter Kayla, was granted a short-term order by the judge and will be back in court early next month to try and get a long-term order keeping her ex away from her and possibly their daughter. 

At the same time, Track's ex Jordan Loewe also filed an emergency motion to change the child custody agreement that is in place between the couple. 

Track and Jordan are the parents of a son Charlie, who is almost two. 

The part about Britta we report the other day, but that Jordan Loewe part I did not see at Court View.

Well even if Track manages to get out of jail today, it appears unlikely that he will spend his Christmas with any of his kids, or probably even with any of his family.

Update 2: Just as we suspected Track never finished his court ordered rehab from the 2016 incident.

Courtesy of ADN: 

Track Palin, the son of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, opted not to finish a therapeutic court program for military veterans to address a 2016 domestic-violence arrest. 

Police arrested him last year for punching a woman in the head and threatening to fire a rifle. He was charged with fourth-degree assault, interfering with the report of a domestic-violence crime and possessing a weapon while intoxicated. 

But rather than pursuing a traditional path through the court system, Palin chose an alternative sentencing agreement through Anchorage Veterans Court, according to his attorney and the Anchorage district attorney. 

Veterans Court offers eligible service members reduced or dismissed charges in exchange for going to weekly hearings and undergoing treatment — counseling, substance abuse programs — available through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 

"We don't force anybody. You have an option," said Rick Allen, who coordinates the program through his position as Anchorage district attorney. "It's a major time commitment. You're going to have to do lots of rehab stuff, you're going to have to do constant (urine tests). It's a major ordeal." 

Apparently Track's excuse is that he had work commitments at some oil company. 

I seriously doubt this employment thing, but even if real since when do job responsibilities take precedent over completing a treatment program to avoid jail time?

Trump lawyer claims that Robert Mueller has finished questioning White House witnesses, expects investigation to be over soon and the president to be exonerated.

Courtesy of Politico: 

Special counsel Robert Mueller on Tuesday completed interviews with the last in a slate of about two dozen current and former White House witnesses he’s initially requested as part of the investigation into Russia's actions in the presidential election, White House attorney Ty Cobb said. 

It’s unclear if Mueller will seek follow-up interviews or seek to question additional people beyond the initial batch of witnesses, but the completion of this round of questioning tracks with the goal Cobb has long stated publicly that President Donald Trump’s White House was cooperating with the Russia investigators in search of a speedy resolution to the probe. 

White House attorneys have declined to name specific staffers interviewed, but sources tracking the investigation said people questioned have included former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, presidential spokesman Sean Spicer, White House communications director and former campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks, and current White House counsel Don McGahn. 

Cobb had previously said he expected the interviews to wrap up by Thanksgiving but, as the holiday approached, he backed away from that timeline. Cobb has also said he was looking for Mueller to issue a statement by the end of the year exonerating the president. 

Mueller’s office declined to comment on Cobb’s characterization of the special counsel probe. 

But longtime observers of special counsel cases have cast doubt on Cobb’s timeline.

Cobb has to know that his rosy scenario is pure bullshit, and that most people know it, which indicates to me that his statements are for an audience of one.

I think Cobb is blowing smoke up Donald Trump's skirt just to keep him calm while Mueller finishes the investigation that will end his presidency.

He may know that once Trump realizes how much trouble he is in, that he will completely lose his shit. 

Trump's legal team wants to appoint a second Special Counsel to investigate the investigators.

Jay Sekulow.

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

President Donald Trump’s legal team says it’s fed up with the Justice Department and FBI “witch hunt” into whether his campaign colluded with the Russian government. 

One of Trump’s lawyers said the president’s legal team wants a second special counsel ― one to investigate the investigators ― after a Fox News report unearthed what the lawyer called a conflict of interest in the Department of Justice. 

Fox News reported late Monday that Nellie H. Ohr, the wife of a senior Justice Department official who was demoted last week for not being forthcoming about meetings with Fusion GPS, the firm behind the anti-Trump dossier, worked for Fusion for a part of last year. The dossier reportedly contains salacious but unverified allegations against Trump. 

″The Department of Justice and FBI cannot ignore the multiple problems that have been created by these obvious conflicts of interests,” Jay Sekulow, one of Trump’s lawyers, told Axios on Monday night after the Fox report. “These new revelations require the appointment of a special counsel to investigate.” 

Trump has repeatedly complained Mueller’s probe into Russia and Trump’s campaign is a “witch hunt” and reportedly has considered firing the special counsel. 

Nevertheless, the president’s legal team said they trust Mueller and want to “get to the finish line” with him. They said they plan to fully cooperate with Mueller’s investigation, confident that Trump will be cleared of wrongdoing. 

Yeah this has nothing to do with undermining the Mueller investigation just like Trump's tweet this morning had nothing to do with suggesting that Kirsten Gillibrand was willing to trade sexual favors for  campaign contributions.

Can you say "deflection?" I knew that you could.

New tactic for Trump lawyers is to make the case that collusion is not a crime.

Ty Cobb

This from The New Yorker: 

For now, Sekulow and Cobb are sticking to their original strategy. They have advertised their willingness to coöperate with Mueller as a sign that Trump has nothing to hide, and their reaction to Flynn’s guilty plea reflects this view. “Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn,” Cobb said. With regard to Mueller’s broader investigation, the White House lawyers’ position continues to be that President Trump didn’t commit a crime because no one did—or could—because there is no federal crime called “collusion,” and Rosenstein’s order did not refer to any criminal statutes that may have been violated. In several conversations with me, Sekulow emphasized that collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, even if it did take place, wouldn’t be illegal. “For something to be a crime, there has to be a statute that you claim is being violated,” Sekulow told me. “There is not a statute that refers to criminal collusion. There is no crime of collusion.”

Well now that is certainly a different approach.

Just the other day Trump was claiming to reporters that there was no evidence of collusion after the story broke about Michael Flynn's plea deal. 
What the lawyers are saying now kind of sounds like the sovereign citizen argument to me.

"No officer I will not give you my driver's license because I do not recognize your authority to ask for it, and besides speed limits are a deep state conspiracy to control my God given right to drive recklessly."