President trump more inclined to choose an external consultant who would have helped him to conduct an investigation in connection with his election campaign and the intervention of Russia in last year’s elections. In the last days he and his advisers privately courted by several eminent lawyers, trying to seduce them to participate in this work.
On Monday, according to four persons knowledgeable about the discussions on this topic appeared in the list of candidates who passed the final selection and offered a place in the legal team.
The process of exploration in which trump was personally expected in the coming days will result in the creation of legal enterprises, which will include lawyers from several companies. According to sources, they will work together, guiding trump in the ongoing Federal investigations and investigations initiated by Congress.
Although the list of “finalists” selection is still open for changes, and it may be added the names, two sources close to the process of the search, said: the President has come to the conclusion that he prefers to be represented by a team of lawyers and not one person. This team will manage the assigned leaders.
Four persons, knowledgeable about the discussions said on condition of anonymity, as they have no right to talk about this subject publicly.
Lawyers who spoke with the White house and included in the list of finalists is mark Kasowitz (Marc E. Kasowitz), Robert Giuffra Jr (Robert J. Giuffra Jr.), Reid Weingarten (Reid H. Weingarten) and Theodore Olson (Theodore B. Olson), the sources said.
Two lawyers, who initially were also considered as candidates, but since then, at least for the moment, was excluded from the list in connection with legal or professional obstacles is Brandon Sullivan, Jr. (Brendan V. Sullivan Jr.) from of Williams & Connolly and A. B. Culvahouse, Jr., (A. B. Culvahouse Jr.), co-owner of O Melveny & Myers, which is known that checks of political candidates.
Kasowitz familiar with the trump for a couple of decades is expected to get the role of leader. Co-founder of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman in new York, Kasowitz represented trump many times, including divorces, real estate transactions and allegations of fraud at the University of trump.
A potential complication for Kezovica is the fact that former Senator Joseph Lieberman (Joseph I. Lieberman), the main candidate trump for the position of leader of the FBI, now works as a senior consultant in his firm. If Lieberman officially appointed to manage FBI and Kasovich to provide Trump legal aid, both of them — one being the leader of the organization, investigating the possible intervention of Russia and the other a consultant for trump on the same subject, are representatives of a single firm, what will be the probable conflict of interest.
Giuffra, Olson and Weingarten have already spoken with senior administration officials about the team, according to a person informed about the process.
The white house did not respond to a request for comments on how trump is going to pay for the work of the external legal teams, the cost of which can not be covered by the Federal government. However, counsel on financing of the election campaign said that trump probably could raise funds from his Committee to re-elect to cover legal costs associated with investigations in Russia, including the money donated this year.
“When it comes to legal costs, the criterion is that would these costs are incurred regardless of the campaign or not, says Daniel Petalas (Daniel Petalas), a lawyer involved in the financing of the Washington campaign and who served as acting General counsel Federal election Commission and the chief Executive. — So if it turns out that trump is as a candidate and as officials — faced with legal costs associated with his public position, he has the right to use funds from his campaign to cover such legal costs.”
Breaking the tradition, the election Committee trump continues to aggressively collect donations after his election. In recent days in connection with letters and text messages, e-mail, the White house constantly heard the controversy.
“What you see in the news, is a WITCH HUNT, says Friday’s letter, designed to collect donations of one dollar. But the real victim — not me. It is YOU and millions of other brave Americans who refused to bow to Washington and voted for a REAL CHANCE last November.”
The President, former new York real estate developer and star of TV reality shows, there are personal funds to cover their legal costs.
Some independent experts note that the President’s decision to prefer a team of legal advisers, and not choose a single, can aggravate an existing problem in connection with the struggle for power in the walls and so wrapped up in the chaos of the White house.
“The only goal that he pursues, is to try to deal with some mess that seems to have affected his legal position, says the lawyer of the previous administration in a Frank conversation about the President on the condition of anonymity. And creating this tower of Babel in the framework of its legal team in some way reflects those problems in the first place and put him in a difficult position. That’s really what’s really superfluous — so it’s kind of a complex team effort, in which various people compete for the right to be heard”.
Giuffra, co-founder of Sullivan & Cromwell in new York, consultant for the coordination of the company Volkswagen, which admitted poor conduct test of emissions in the United States.
Olson, a former American General consultant, has achieved promotion in 2000, when he participated in the case of election to the Supreme Court, which ensured the victory of George Bush. Later he teamed up with his former democratic opponent in the case “Bush vs. Gore” David Boise (David Boies) in order to successfully challenge in 2008 established the California ban on same-sex marriage.
Olson’s wife, Barbara, was killed September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when the plane she was flying crashed into the Pentagon. Now Olson, co-owner of the Washington office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher”s married to lady Booth Olson (Booth Olson) that all life identify themselves as Democrats.
Weingarten, an influential lawyer in Washington company Steptoe & Johnson, known for his folksy style, an unlikely candidate as representing the interests of our clients are Democrats and close friends with Eric Holder, Jr. (Eric H. Holder Jr.), who was attorney General under President Barack Obama. Holder and Weingarten met in the beginning of his career in the Department of justice.
None of the four selected candidates didn’t respond to a request for comment. Employee of the White house said the administration has no comments.
Michael Cohen (Michael D. Cohen), a long-time associate of trump and Executive Vice-President of Trump Organization, is a personal lawyer of the President and his attorney and also involved in the discussions, the sources said.
External legal group will work separately from the office of the White house, led by Donald Boston (Donald F. McGahn), before carrying out the function of a lawyer of the election headquarters of the trump. In past administrations of such presidents, like bill Clinton, appointed external advisors to help cope with acute legal problems.
A government lawyer who participated in the legal defense of Clinton, said the former President was paid millions of dollars in compensation for the fact that the firm he represented him.
Trump’s attempt to collect external legal team starts with the fact that Robert Mueller III (Robert S. Mueller III), a respected former Federal Prosecutor and head of the FBI, began working in the role of special Advisor to the Ministry of justice on the question of possible links between members of the electoral headquarters of the trump and Russian officials.
Controversy and political drama swirling around alleged ties with Russia, from the beginning has swept the presidency, trump, fuelling anger in the White house whose inhabitants feel themselves the target of threats and unfair suspicion. It is this sense, in particular, prompted the President to dismiss James Comey (James B. Comey) as Director of the FBI, and the consequences of this measure led to the fact that officials of the Department of justice drew Muller as a special adviser.
Komi, who agreed to testify at the public hearing of the Senate intelligence Committee, told friends that constantly kept notes about all your contacts with trump this year. The Democrats took this new information as evidence of a potential breach of justice, as some critics of the trump guess in the end, even probable impeachment.
