How is this not obstruction of justice?
President Trump has promised to spend at least $430,000 of his own money to defray legal costs incurred by campaign associates and White House staff due to the Russia investigations, a White House official tells Axios.
The chief suspect pays for the witnesses lawyers?
It’s Trumpland, silly! It’s a maga-cal place where the president believes he’s a king and none of the laws or rules apply to him. After all, when in this country has a president spent 1/3 of his term playing golf? Who owns and profits from his businesses while in office? Who never released tax forms? Who lies openly and often and suffers no repercussions? Who makes decisions and tweets them out before donsulting anyone else?
This is just another egregious case of Trump doing what he wants, everyone else be damned.
Trump Land extends the whole world over. There’s a free floating anxiety, because America can’t lead with Trumpo The Clown Pretender at the helm. I have a few British friends who are more concerned with a rudderless America than they are with Brexit. I think both Brexit and Trump Land are a result of Russian poker hand played extremely well by Putin Inc. They got exactly what they wanted: A divided Europe and a drifting America. Not a bad return at all on a Faux Populism investment.
I believe it was James Madison who said, “It’s not illegal if the president does it.”
No.
Wait.
That was Nixon
That feels like something he did without consulting with his atty. Like Josh Marshall at TPM I also feel like next week is going to be worst.
The only thing that’s different is Trump is yelling about paying for their lawyers. Lol at anyone who would keep their mouth shut for this asshole– potentially implicating themselves in the conspiracy due to uncovering of other evidence.
If I were one of his “friends” I would be careful about taking his money. It,could be used to save his ass and imprison yours, and I don’t see anything particularly illegal about this. But then I am not an attorney.
It’s a good thing that the whole Russia investigation is completely bogus and made up and lalalalalalalala I CAN’T HEAR YOU.
They better ask for a cashier’s check.
When Trump says ‘his own money’ he means donors money.
Of course all con men believe it’s theirs, not the people they have fleeced.
Trump could never pay their fees from his ‘own’ money because he is broke. I dont mean he has no money broke…I mean he has always lived year to year, he has no cash on hand that he could use. He’s cash poor.
.
what makes anybody think that he will actually come up with the money. he lies about everything else so he is probably lying about this also
The attorneys can’t take his money. The conflict is blatant.
So he’s offering to do something he can’t, so it won’t cost him anything.
You write:
This is mainstream, Booman. Corporations pay for their employee’s court costs if they are called as witnesses/potential defendants in a case that could lead to the corporation. So do mobsters, hospitals, political parties, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and any other semi-criminal organizations you can think of.
Trump is despicable.
But he is not alone.
He is no more despicable than a great deal of the rest of the system as it now stands here in the United Staes of Omertica.
Bet on it.
Want to get rid of Trump?
Great.
Want to replace him with another, more…nuanced…crook?
Please!!!
Fix the system, not the symptoms.
How to do this within the confines of the system as it now stands?
The only two ways that I can see are:
1-Reform the Democratic Party so that it is not controlled by corporate bought-and-sold hustlers.
or
2-Start another party that it is not controlled by the exact same corporate bought-and-sold hustlers, using the power of the internet and social media as a tool to do so.
#1 is unlikely judging from the recent actions in the DNC and #2 is a long shot, but what the hell…#3 would be to just wait around until the whole crooked shambles falls apart and then pray that what arises is better. Looking at what happened when the U.S.S.R fell apart, #3 is also a long shot.
A longer shot.
So it goes.
AG
I mean…isn’t #2 above basically what Trump did? (And continues to do, quite successfully?) Only he did it to an existing party? Using the power of the internet and social media to fight the established powers-that-be?
Damned right it is.
Trump proved that this can be done!!!
I presently see no one inside of (or even on the peripheries of) the Democratic Party who could pull this off. It’s a charisma thing. And what is “charisma,” after all is said and done? It is a form of total self-belief combined with a high level of personal energy. Lots of money helps, too. I think that there are a number of tech execs who posess this combination of tools, but so far none of them have shown a real, serious interest in the presidency.
It’s still early in the 2020 game, though.
Watch.
AG
We’ll see when Mueller asks the same question and the lawyers have to start getting lawyered up.
The commentary by the American Bar Association, Center on Professional Responsibility on Rule 1.8 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, concerning permissibility of a lawyer’s accepting payment for his services by a third party who is not his client: “lawyers are prohibited from accepting or continuing such representations unless the lawyer determines that there will be no interference with the lawyer’s independent professional judgment and there is informed consent from the client. See also Rule 5.4(c) (prohibiting interference with a lawyer’s professional judgment by one who recommends, employs or pays the lawyer to render legal services for another).”
I cannot imagine #45’s paying for his aides’ lawyers and not trying to dictate to them what they will do.
Here is the link: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professio
nal_conduct/rule_1_8_current_clients_specific_rules/comment_on_rule_1_8.html
Meaning Trump’s offer is unethical. I doubt it’s illegal unless one can prove a quid pro quo exists.
Eh? Teflon Don may remain teflon here, too.
I don’t get it myself, but I’m just a PEE-on.
It’s not exactly a surprise that big-time Democratic donor, Harvey Weinstein, would pay a price when he was finally busted for his serial bullying/sexual harassment.
But even Roger Aisles and Billo Reilly had to pay a similar price for similar harassment charges.
But Teflon Don? Nah. Nope. Nyet. Nuh-uh. Telfon Don’s had women come forward with similar complaints, and we all saw the Billy Bush tape. But something like 53% of white women voted for Telfon Don.
I don’t get it, but there you have it.
Do I think Dolt 45 will pay a price for this?
Nah. Nope. Nyet. Not gonna happen.
IOKIYDT.
Trump never spends “his own money”. Pretty sure this will be RNC money earmarked for his re-election (especially since the FEC is a total joke nowadays) and diverted to protect him.