Trump lawyer refuses to co-operate with Congress's investigation

[mikeymikec]

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/30/p...017michael-cohen-wont-cooperate-with-congress

One of President Donald Trump's personal attorneys, Michael Cohen, has received an "invitation to provide information and testimony" that pertains to the Russia investigation to House and Senate intelligence committees, Cohen has confirmed.

"I declined the invitation to participate, as the request was poorly phrased, overly broad and not capable of being answered," Cohen told CNN Tuesday, adding that he considered it a "total fishing expedition."

"They have yet to produce one single piece of credible evidence that would corroborate the Russia narrative," Cohen said. He called the investigation a "rush to judgment."

The general line from the Trump administration is that there's no substance to any Russia/Trump admin collusion allegations; what I don't understand is surely if they want this out of the way as soon as possible and they know they're innocent on all counts, then they should co-operate with the inquiry? Wouldn't it make a lot more sense to not act in such a newsworthy manner and allow media attention to go elsewhere until there's something really newsworthy to report?

Furthermore, the least damaging way of handling a situation like this is simply to co-operate without disparaging every critical party as often as possible? Let's say the outcome is as the Trump admin generally decrees it to be, entirely without substance and they're completely exonerated of all allegations, then at some point in the future, they need an independent investigation performed by the exact same organisations they're currently disparaging (and outright accusing of dishonesty / incompetence etc): How does that work?

 

[trenchfoot]

Classic case of a fighting retreat. Trump is going to give up ground in a very stingy kind of way as he puts up a new line of defense on territory that he is better able to prepare and defend himself with.

The almost insurmountable problem he has though is the fact that he is very poorly armed to fight this battle due to his suffering from "neophytitis" and he is fighting this battle while attempting to keep some things hidden and buried so deep that it will never ever see the light of day of which everyone else besides his lunatic base and his rubber stamp Repub controlled Congress is deeply invested in revealing.

Add to that the fact that there is already too much blood in the water to ignore and/or pass off as something of little or no consequence towards Trump's ability to stay in office.

One of Trump's biggest mistakes was to pick a fight with our Intelligence Community and then doubled down it as he is wont to do. Those folks in the IC don't fvck around when it comes to anyone or any thing challenging their pedigree and integrity.

 

[JSt0rm]

smart. He wont get impeached by any of the traitors on the right so he is safe.

 

[fskimospy]

I like how he called the investigation a 'rush to judgment', considering the whole purpose of an investigation is to get the necessary information to make a judgment.

lol. They can't even lie competently.

 

[Moonbeam]

I like how he called the investigation a 'rush to judgment', considering the whole purpose of an investigation is to get the necessary information to make a judgment.

lol. They can't even lie competently.

That's just your logic talking. It doesn't affect people even slightly who don't have any or see it as completely irrelevant.

Trump is good, Supporting him is good. He is on the right side of a twisted morality and people support morality above all other things.

So your logic if followed would tell Trump supporters they are evil. Good luck with that.

What liberals look like telling conservatives they are immoral is people who know nothing about morality telling people who have extensive moral concerns of which liberals can't even dream, all about right and wrong. Every conservative knows that Satan can quote scripture and is a master of tridky thinking. Faith is what saves the believer, faith in the absolute nature of good.

Can you first get on board, then, with the fact there's an absolute good?

 

[Jhhnn]

Meh. Calling on Cohen to testify defies the rules of attorney client privilege. Cohen just turned it into an opportunity to spout the Trump Admin line.

It's all about the posturing & creating opportunities for it.

 

[mikeymikec]

Meh. Calling on Cohen to testify defies the rules of attorney client privilege. Cohen just turned it into an opportunity to spout the Trump Admin line.

It's all about the posturing & creating opportunities for it.

IANAL, but 1) if there is no substance to the allegations then there isn't anything confidential and relevant for him to protect, or 2) if they're asking him about his own actions as opposed to interactions involving his boss, then attorney client privilege isn't relevant (since Cohen would be the one who might need a lawyer).

Considering that many politicians are lawyers themselves and those conducting much of the investigation are law enforcement, I'm fairly sure they have a reasonable grasp of relevant laws and so therefore will have a line of inquiry with the lawyer that doesn't violate oaths that even the average couch potato has heard of, let alone people investigating a presidential administration.

 

[Jhhnn]

IANAL, but 1) if there is no substance to the allegations then there isn't anything confidential and relevant for him to protect, or 2) if they're asking him about his own actions as opposed to interactions involving his boss, then attorney client privilege isn't relevant (since Cohen would be the one who might need a lawyer).

Considering that many politicians are lawyers themselves and those conducting much of the investigation are law enforcement, I'm fairly sure they have a reasonable grasp of relevant laws and so therefore will have a line of inquiry with the lawyer that doesn't violate oaths that even the average couch potato has heard of, let alone people investigating a presidential administration.

The people behind the "request" know full well that Cohen cannot be compelled to testify. They merely enlisted another voice in the "nothing to see" chorus. It's Tee-ball.

 

[mikeymikec]

The people behind the "request" know full well that Cohen cannot be compelled to testify. They merely enlisted another voice in the "nothing to see" chorus. It's Tee-ball.

Is this you dropping the "attorney client privilege" argument and moving on to another one? This seems like a different argument to me, but I could be incorrect in treating it as such.

"Tee-ball"?

 

[sdifox]

Is this you dropping the "attorney client privilege" argument and moving on to another one? This seems like a different argument to me, but I could be incorrect in treating it as such.

"Tee-ball"?

 

[Pens1566]

Of course there will be some attorney/client info that he'll rightfully not be able to discuss. That won't cover his shady real estate deals (as they had nothing to do with Trump) or his using an alias for some transactions, or his travels to Europe last summer (yeah, that did actually happen).

 

[MomentsofSanity]

From what I've read he's said he is declining to testify but will adhere to any subpoena request. This isn't really surprising for a lawyer. No big deal really.

 

[Jhhnn]

Of course there will be some attorney/client info that he'll rightfully not be able to discuss. That won't cover his shady real estate deals (as they had nothing to do with Trump) or his using an alias for some transactions, or his travels to Europe last summer (yeah, that did actually happen).

None of which is within the purview of the committee. That's not what they're investigating.

 

[Jhhnn]

Is this you dropping the "attorney client privilege" argument and moving on to another one? This seems like a different argument to me, but I could be incorrect in treating it as such.

"Tee-ball"?

Not at all. Communications between lawyer & client are privileged & confidential.

Repubs on the committee put the ball up on the tee so that Cohen could hit it for team Trump. So persecuted!

 

[Pens1566]

None of which is within the purview of the committee. That's not what they're investigating.

Cohen is specifically called out in the Steele Dossier for some of what I listed. It's all related.

 

[mikeymikec]

Not at all. Communications between lawyer & client are privileged & confidential.

Of course they are; no-one has argued otherwise. I believe I've already countered your comments on this topic and your response to that did not seem relevant to that argument, nor have you made any attempt to explain the relevance.

I think your overall point here may be that you think republicans on the committee are simply engaging in a bit of smoke-screening and trying to de-value the investigation by diluting the public perception of the relevance of the questions it is asking. If so, you have a roundabout way of making your point, and I would be surprised if I was the only person who got the impression that you were implying that there's nothing to the allegations and in lieu of that the committee as a whole is making substance-free fodder for the media against Trump.

 

[outriding]

I demand to see his birth certificate!

 

[woolfe9998]

Meh. Calling on Cohen to testify defies the rules of attorney client privilege. Cohen just turned it into an opportunity to spout the Trump Admin line.

It's all about the posturing & creating opportunities for it.

Attorney-client privilege only pertains to his communications with Trump. It wouldn't cover, for example, Cohen's "back channel diplomacy" with Putin by way of his meeting with Felix Slater and Andrii Artemenko.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/us/politics/donald-trump-ukraine-russia.html?_r=0

And who knows what else.