The recent departure of Hope Hicks from the White House is perhaps the most pointed example yet that the closer you are to Donald Trump, the more legally toxic your fortunes become. That's because the only way to limit one's legal exposure in Trump's White House is to totally avoid any discussion of the very topic Trump is both obsessed with and incapable of showing one iota of impulse control about: Russia. Politico writes:
Speaking freely about an ongoing investigation is a major mistake, say veteran defense attorneys with White House experience.
“Every defense lawyer will advise his client don’t talk to people about the facts of the case. But when you work for the president and the president is not only constantly talking, but tweeting, I’m sure that’s doubly difficult,” said William Jeffress, a Washington attorney who represented former President Richard Nixon after his resignation and former George W. Bush White House senior aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. [...]
But there is little they can do about a president both consumed by allegations against him and resistant to advice about what subjects he should avoid discussing.
White House officials are reportedly frightened of talking to each other, but the person who really poses the greatest legal threat to them is the boss man himself. That was doubly true for former communications director Hicks, who was practically glued to Trump's side. Although she clearly had many personal reasons for leaving, chief among them was trying to stay on the right side of the law.
Vanity Fair writes:
Hicks has racked up substantial legal fees, one source told me. “She’s in immense personal jeopardy,” one Republican close to the White House said yesterday. “This is a sign the Mueller investigation is a lot more serious than any one of us thought.” (Hicks and the White House declined to comment.)
One Trump official agreed:
“I think the president has put her in a very precarious position,” a senior Trump administration official said in a recent interview.