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Only in Trumpworld, would Trump’s Lawyers be this incompetent. And shifty, in responding to subpoenas from the Special Counsel.
One Lawyer wants to turn over as much as credibly possible, in order to appear to be “cooperating” with the Russia Investigation.
The other Lawyer wants to “hold back” what gets turned over, in order to keep the President’s options open. There is also an argument over using “the safe” at the White House, just for such situations.
All this arguing happened at a New York City Washington DC sidewalk cafe — within earshot of New York Times’ “Kenneth Vogel, one of Washington’s most skillful investigative reporters.”
Here are some excerpts from Vogel’s inevitable report of their vocal exchange:
by PETER BAKER and KENNETH P. VOGEL, NY Times — SEPT. 17, 2017
[...]
Mr. Trump’s aides said they were scrambling to respond to the requests to avoid a subpoena that might make it look as if the White House was not cooperating. Mr. Cobb hoped to turn over a trove of documents this week, according to people close to the legal team.
Mr. Cobb argues that the best strategy is to be as forthcoming as possible, even erring on the side of inclusion when it comes to producing documents, because he maintains the evidence will show Mr. Trump did nothing wrong. Mr. McGahn has told colleagues that he is concerned that Mr. Cobb’s liberal approach could limit any later assertion of executive privilege. He has also blamed Mr. Cobb for the slow collection of documents.
[...]
The friction escalated in recent days after Mr. Cobb was overheard by a reporter for The New York Times discussing the dispute during a lunchtime conversation at a popular Washington steakhouse. Mr. Cobb was heard talking about a White House lawyer he deemed “a McGahn spy” and saying Mr. McGahn had “a couple documents locked in a safe” that he seemed to suggest he wanted access to. He also mentioned a colleague whom he blamed for “some of these earlier leaks,” and who he said “tried to push Jared out,” meaning Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, who has been a previous source of dispute for the legal team.
Subpoena the Safe!
Subpoena the Safe!
Unlock the Docs!
Unlock the Docs!
Note to Reporters: Buy a parabolic Mic. Then follow Trump Lawyers and Advisors around, whenever they go to lunch.