Tag: Trump thinks he’s above the law

Appeals court rules DOJ must give sealed Mueller materials to Congress

The Hill logoA federal appeals court in Washington ruled on Tuesday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) must hand over grand jury materials from former special counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation to Congress.

A three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge’s decision that the House’s impeachment inquiry justified its request for the sealed documents.

“In short, it is the district court, not the Executive or the Department, that controls access to the grand jury materials at issue here,” Judge Judith Rogers wrote in an opinion for the panel’s 2-1 majority. “The Department has objected to disclosure of the redacted grand jury materials, but the Department has no interest in objecting to the release of these materials outside of the general purposes and policies of grand jury secrecy, which as discussed, do not outweigh the Committee’s compelling need for disclosure.” Continue reading.

Why Mick Mulvaney Wants To Remain ‘Acting’ White House Chief

Mick Mulvaney has been Donald Trump’s “acting” chief of staff for more than 14 months, making him the longest-serving of the three chiefs of staff Trump’s had since taking office.

Given Mulvaney has been around so long, it’s curious why “acting” is still part of his job title given he’s been around for so long.

But on Wednesday, Mulvaney revealed the real reason he keeps the “acting” as part of his job title: money. Continue reading.

Roger Stone asked for a judge’s removal. It may be more fuel for a Trump pardon, experts say.

Washington Post logoRoger Stone, just sentenced to 40 months in prison for impeding a congressional investigation of Russian election interference, is seeking the removal of the federal judge who sentenced him, in the latest turn of a bizarre legal odyssey involving President Trump’s longtime friend and political adviser.

The case has been fraught with political overtones as President Trump and conservative commentators have leveled broadsides against U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson and the jury’s forewoman, saying political bias has tainted the proceedings.

And that, former federal prosecutors say, is why Stone’s defense team may have thrown a Hail Mary in its motion for Jackson to recuse herself — not to win a new trial, but to win political intervention in the future. Continue reading.

Roger Stone asks for new trial

The Hill logoAttorneys for Roger Stone on Friday requested a new trial, a day after saying they were looking into potential bias by a juror who voted to convict the longtime Trump associate of lying to Congress and witness tampering.

The request also comes after President Trump accused the juror of harboring “significant bias” following reports that her social media activity contained posts that were critical of Trump.

“Now it looks like the fore person in the jury, in the Roger Stone case, had significant bias. Add that to everything else, and this is not looking good for the “Justice” Department. @foxandfriends @FoxNews,” Trump tweeted Thursday. Continue reading.

Trump maintains he can intervene in cases after Barr urges him to curb tweeting

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Friday asserted he has “the legal right” to insert himself into the Justice Department’s handling of criminal cases one day after Attorney General William Barr said the president’s tweets were making his job more difficult.

Trump cited Barr’s comments from an ABC News interview in which the attorney general said Trump had not asked him to take certain action in a criminal case.

“This doesn’t mean that I do not have, as President, the legal right to do so, I do, but I have so far chosen not to!” Trump tweeted. Continue reading.

Trump seeks to bend the executive branch as part of impeachment vendetta

Washington Post logoPresident Trump is testing the rule of law one week after his acquittal in his Senate impeachment trial, seeking to bend the executive branch into an instrument for his personal and political vendetta against perceived enemies.

And Trump — simmering with rage, fixated on exacting revenge against those he feels betrayed him and insulated by a compliant Republican Party — is increasingly comfortable doing so to the point of feeling untouchable, according to the president’s advisers and allies.

In the span of 48 hours this week, the president has sought to protect his friends and punish his foes, even at the risk of compromising the Justice Department’s independence and integrity — a stance that his defenders see as entirely justified. Continue reading.

Trump just made the DOJ’s Roger Stone intervention look even worse

Washington Post logoTrump directly implicated Attorney General William P. Barr, which will only increase questions about Barr doing his political bidding.

Amid a growing storm Tuesday within the Justice Department over its unorthodox intervention in the sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone, a longtime ally of President Trump, officials maintained that there was nothing untoward about what happened. They said the decision was made independent of Trump’s very public gripes about the matter. They said it was the result of a “breakdown” in communication.

Then Trump tweeted.

The president took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to congratulate Attorney General William P. Barr for “taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought.” Continue reading.

DOJ: Congress must meet high bar for Trump tax information

Cases set for March 31 oral argument

The Justice Department on Monday night backed President Donald Trump in the Supreme Court fight over congressional subpoenas for his financial documents, telling the justices that lawmakers must meet a higher bar when seeking a sitting president’s personal records.

The cases, set for March 31 oral argument, center on subpoenas from three House committees to accounting firm Mazars USA, Deutsche Bank and Capital One Financial Corp. House Democrats are seeking eight years of Trump’s financial and tax records.

Trump filed lawsuits to challenge the subpoenas in his personal capacity, and a Supreme Court decision expected by the end of the term at the end of June could reshape the limits for impeachment and other oversight investigations into a sitting president. Continue reading.

Lawyers for Trump and Stormy Daniels face off in court over libel suit

Federal appeals judges heard arguments in Daniels’ effort to revive a lawsuit she filed over a hard-hitting Trump tweet.

Lawyers for the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and President Donald Trump squared off before a federal appeals court on Tuesday over Daniels’ effort to revive a libel lawsuit she filed over a hard-hitting Trump tweet that appeared to call her a liar.

In the Twitter message, Trump accused Daniels of “a total con job” for claiming that she was threatened by an unknown man in a casino parking lot in 2011— an episode she has suggested was an act of intimidation aimed at hushing up her contention that she and Trump had a sexual encounter several years earlier.

U.S. District Court Judge James Otero, based in Los Angeles, threw out the suit in 2018, ruling that Trump’s tweet amounted to “rhetorical hyperbole” and not an assertion of fact. Otero ordered Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, to pay Trump nearly $300,000 in legal fees and sanctions under a Texas law aimed at discouraging lawsuits intended to silence participants in political disputes. Continue reading.

Roberts under pressure from both sides in witness fight

The Hill logoSenate Democrats are pressing Chief Justice John Roberts to rule in favor of calling witnesses at President Trump‘s impeachment trial, while Republicans argue it could force his recusal from potential Supreme Court cases. 

Democrats say it’s simple: A trial can’t be a fair one without witnesses. Republicans counter that if Roberts rules on witnesses, he will have to recuse himself from any Supreme Court case on Trump’s claims of executive privilege over potential witnesses like former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

“I don’t know how you have a serious trial unless you hear from witnesses who know in fact what the facts are, what happened,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. Continue reading.