This is becoming so utterly bizarre – and at the same time hilarious – that one struggles to figure out the best way to communicate the sheer desperation inherent in these moves.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump lawyer (and man who should have been a cattle baron) Ty Cobb told ABC News that an interview between Trump and Robert Mueller hasn’t been ruled out.
“It’s certainly not off the table and people are working hard to make decisions and work towards an interview,” he said.
That comes amid growing frustration from Donald Trump, whose recent tweets and comments delivered during a truly insane diatribe on Fox & Friends last week, seem to indicate he is an (orange) pubic hair away from firing some folks at DoJ.
A Rigged System – They don’t want to turn over Documents to Congress. What are they afraid of? Why so much redacting? Why such unequal “justice?” At some point I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to the Presidency and get involved!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2018
On Monday, the New York Times published a list of some 49 questions Robert Mueller supposedly wants to ask Trump as part of an interview, and on Tuesday evening, we learned that the list was actually compiled by Jay Sekulow after a meeting with Mueller’s team on March 5. That meeting reportedly prompted John Dowd to resign a week later.
Through it all, Trump has insisted he has faith in Ty Cobb, tweeting this just three weeks ago:
I have agreed with the historically cooperative, disciplined approach that we have engaged in with Robert Mueller (Unlike the Clintons!). I have full confidence in Ty Cobb, my Special Counsel, and have been fully advised throughout each phase of this process.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2018
Well guess what? Ty Cobb is on his way out. They’re calling it a “retirement”. Here’s The New York Times:
President Trump plans to hire Emmet T. Flood, the veteran Washington lawyer who represented Bill Clinton during his impeachment, to replace Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer who has taken the lead in dealing with the special counsel investigation, who is retiring, according to two people briefed on the matter.
In a phone interview, Mr. Cobb said he informed the president weeks ago that he wanted to retire. He said he planned to stay at the White House, likely through the end of the month, to help Mr. Flood transition into the new job.
“It has been an honor to serve the country in this capacity at the White House,” he said. “I wish everybody well moving forward.”
Sarah Sanders subsequently confirmed the reports:
- SANDERS SAYS TY COBB IS RETIRING
You’ll recall that this isn’t the first time ol’ Emmet’s name has come up here. Last month, Trump was said to be in talks with Flood. Here’s an excerpt from our piece on that:
Flood would reportedly replace Ty Cobb who has been completely ineffective unless you count rounding up and delivering all the documents Mueller has demanded and making sure all of Trump’s aides show up on time to help put their boss in prison, in which case he’s been great.
I realize this sounds bad as it seems to suggest that Trump is getting even more worried than he already was, but according to two people close to the White House who spoke t the Times, “the overture to Mr. Flood does not indicate any new concerns about the inquiry.”
And while you can read all about that in the piece linked below, you can actually divine everything you need to know from the title:
Nothing further.
Flood is a brilliant lawyer. He is up there with Ted Olson, David Boise and that ilk in the brain category. Everything about the way Flood thinks, his approach to people, law, institutions, courts, government, and the like is categorically opposite to Destructo. It’s impossible to imagine what agreement they came to so as to avoid the kind of irreconcilable conflicts that shall arise between them.
Hold on to your tuchus, here we go again!
Where’s Rudi G ?
Telling the world he needs several more weeks to announce that he needs several more weeks because there’s new counsel or Trump ain’t talking.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/385912-exclusive-giuliani-says-decision-on-trump-mueller-interview-several?userid=298021
Shortly, Rudi G will be “quietly” following Ty Cobb’s path out the door.