Trump has no plans to add legal firepower for impeachment fight - lawyer

By Karen Freifeld

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a Keep America Great rally at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, on September 16, 2019. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - President Donald Trump has no plans to add fresh blood to his legal team to respond to the fast-moving U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry, one of his lawyers said, a stance some legal experts questioned, especially if the showdown culminates in a Senate trial over removing Trump from office.

 

"We're going to use our existing team," said Jay Sekulow, one of the most prominent figures on the Republican president's legal team during Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. "This is not a legal issue as much as a political one."

 

White House Counsel Pat Cipollone is expected to lead the response to any allegations in the Democratic-led House inquiry that Trump abused his office, with outside support from Sekulow and a team that includes Washington lawyer William Consovoy.

 

Rudy Giuliani, a Trump personal lawyer who is a central figure in the events that led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to launch the official impeachment inquiry last Tuesday, also is representing the president.

 

According to a complaint brought by a whistleblower within the U.S. intelligence community, Giuliani made extensive contacts with Ukrainian officials as part of an effort by Trump to solicit interference by a foreign country in the 2020 election.

 

A detailed summary of a July 25 telephone call showed Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden, a leading Democratic presidential candidate, in coordination with Giuliani and U.S. Attorney General William Barr - a move Democrats have called an effort to use Ukraine to smear a domestic political rival.

 

Sekulow said he expects the legal approach in the impeachment inquiry to be "very much like it was with Mueller."

 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's legal team.

 

A senior administration official told Reuters there are some internal concerns that the White House response thus far has been limited to the lawyers when the impeachment fight is a political issue, and that politically astute senior officials will get more involved.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the House has the power to vote to impeach a president for "high crimes and misdemeanours." The Constitution calls for the Senate then to hold a trial on whether to convict and remove the president from office. No president has even been removed from office by impeachment, though lesser federal officials have been removed.

    

'GREATER PERIL'

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, who represented a federal judge in the last Senate impeachment trial in 2010, said Trump now needs a different approach and fresh lawyers.

 

"This is not another political bar brawl," Turley said. "In the Russia investigation, the president followed his signature style in attacking the special counsel and many of the witnesses. ... If the Trump team adopts the same approach for impeachment, it will put already endangered Republican senators in greater peril."

 

Turley added that Trump needs lawyers untouched by the whistleblower report or matters related to the Russia probe, which could find their way into any articles of impeachment approved in the House.

 

Alabama lawyer Jack Sharman, a former special counsel to the House Banking Committee in the 1990s Whitewater investigation involving Democratic former President Bill Clinton, agreed that Trump should consider new representation.

 

"The administration probably would be well-advised to bring in somebody who has some understanding about how impeachment proceedings work," Sharman said. "If (impeachment) doesn't happen, there's very little downside. If it does, you need it."

 

Robert Ray, who succeeded Ken Starr in 1999 as independent counsel during the Clinton administration, said new legal firepower may be necessary for Trump, but only if a Senate trial occurs. At that point, "it would be desirable to have legal counsel who have some distance from the matter," Ray said.

 

Ray said Giuliani can go on television, as he is doing, but that he is likely to be called as a witness and cannot represent Trump in the impeachment process.

 

Cipollone and lawyers in his office, Ray added, are "perfectly capable" of fielding subpoena requests from the House now, but could have conflicts as well based on whether they were involved in any way in the Ukraine matter.

 

According to the whistleblower report, White House lawyers "directed" officials to move the transcript of the Trump-Zelenskiy call from the computer system in which such transcripts usually are kept into a separate system used to store classified and highly sensitive material - an act Democrats have called part of a cover-up.

 

Sekulow, who has been the point person for Trump's legal response to various inquiries, is chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, a group that advocates for religious liberty cases, and has argued a dozen cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Consovoy served as a clerk in 2008 for conservative U.S. Supreme Justice Clarence Thomas and represents clients on constitutional issues. Of late, Consovoy has been battling efforts by House Democrats and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. to obtain Trump's tax returns from his time as a real estate developer.

 

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-30

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Why should he? Giuliani already nailed the coffin shut. Why throw good money after bad?

If Giuliani is your lawyer save your money, cut your throat, he is more pre dementia than Trump.

Might want to go to pet store and get a muzzle for Rudy.

Seems like he should be doing the opposite not that I care about his defense because he is indefensible.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

No crime committed other than hurting snowflakes feelings but Trump should probably lawyer-up to the max in any case. 

Trump's lawyers are doing a fine job. Let's remember this hysteria has been going on unabated for 3 years now and he's still making America great not sitting behind bars. I would like to see him bringing Corey Lewandowski back into the fold, and after Tom Homan's incredible and brilliant performance recently he would make a great addition to team Trump.

Considering the gravity of the potential Articles of Impeachment, the various House committees involved (3?) in the impeachment investigation will likely be able to expedite White House refusal to comply with subpoenas to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the Court upholds the subpoenas then it remains to be seen if Trump further refuses cooperation. Refusing to comply with a USSC ruling to uphold the subpoena would be a fast track to Obstruction of Justice and impeachable in its own right. 

This is why Trump needs REAL lawyers and not TV lawyers. Every statement and twitter Trumps make henceforth can be used against him in the Court of the House.

24 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Considering the gravity of the potential Articles of Impeachment, the various House committees involved (3?) in the impeachment investigation will likely be able to expedite White House refusal to comply with subpoenas to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the Court upholds the subpoenas then it remains to be seen if Trump further refuses cooperation. Refusing to comply with a USSC ruling to uphold the subpoena would be a fast track to Obstruction of Justice and impeachable in its own right. 

This is why Trump needs REAL lawyers and not TV lawyers. Every statement and twitter Trumps make henceforth can be used against him in the Court of the House.

why would more legal fire power be needed since dems are baited and played by trump. dems up to now have not understood that procedure.

 

wbr

roobaa01

11 minutes ago, roobaa01 said:

why would more legal fire power be needed since dems are baited and played by trump. dems up to now have not understood that procedure.

 

wbr

roobaa01

The baiter has become the baitee. He has totally lost control of the narrative. Calling that damning call a "perfect call" 1000 times won't work this time. Enjoy.

 

The realness has arrived.

The jig is up.

The tide has turned.

The American emperor has no clothes.

 

A decent human being in this situation that cared about the future of his country would simply resign.

But this person occupying the white house cares only about HIMSELF. 

Edited September 30, 20196 yr by Jingthing

45 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

The baiter has become the baitee. He has totally lost control of the narrative. Calling that damning call a "perfect call" 1000 times won't work this time. Enjoy.

 

The realness has arrived.

The jig is up.

The tide has turned.

The American emperor has no clothes.

 

A decent human being in this situation that cared about the future of his country would simply resign.

But this person occupying the white house cares only about HIMSELF. 

absolutely agreed uon that sick speaker hen pelosi announcing an impeachment lie on tv without having looked on the transcript or on the partisan non-whistleblower complaint, she as speaker third in line  after the president and vp should resign next to nadler and schiff already 3 baitees.

imo the president went intentionally into the impeachment escalation to parade the dem fools around in the public. the more talk about him the better it is.

 

wbr

roobaa01

3 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

No crime committed other than hurting snowflakes feelings but Trump should probably lawyer-up to the max in any case. 

Boon mee you don’t think selling out our sovereignty by asking foreigners to interfere in our elections is ok do you?cause that’s what he did 

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Rudy Giuliani, a Trump personal lawyer who is a central figure in the events that led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to launch the official impeachment inquiry last Tuesday, also is representing the president.

Excellent.

10 hours ago, webfact said:

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, who represented a federal judge in the last Senate impeachment trial in 2010, said Trump now needs a different approach and fresh lawyers.

If it ain't broke don't fix it! Mr. Turley ,the American people that voted for change can't trust fresh lawyers! This Trump team got him out of the biggest political hoax of all time! Besides Rudy is on the offensive and judging by the unhinged attacks on him from the left he's succeeding again 

44 minutes ago, riclag said:

If it ain't broke don't fix it! Mr. Turley ,the American people that voted for change can't trust fresh lawyers! This Trump team got him out of the biggest political hoax of all time! Besides Rudy is on the offensive and judging by the unhinged attacks on him from the left he's succeeding again 

 

What I like is that when Trump does new legal firepower in two days to a week's time, you'll come on here and explain how it's the best move ever, how it was all planned ahead and whatnot.

40 minutes ago, riclag said:

If it ain't broke don't fix it! Mr. Turley ,the American people that voted for change can't trust fresh lawyers! This Trump team got him out of the biggest political hoax of all time! Besides Rudy is on the offensive and judging by the unhinged attacks on him from the left he's succeeding again 

The one and only reason Donald hasent been charged with obstructing Justice is because he is potus so you saying the got him out of it is bs it’s not a hoax he is beeing shielded because he is potus the day he realized he got away with selling out our sovereignty to russa he tryed to do the same thing with Ukraine the dude is the definition of corruption he needs to be fired and jailed.bill Barr (your avatar) is also imo corrupt he is supposed to represent the United States not trump 

On 9/30/2019 at 3:12 PM, Boon Mee said:

No crime committed other than hurting snowflakes feelings but Trump should probably lawyer-up to the max in any case. 

I know you always throw these out for a laugh, but this one ain't funny. The man used the power of his office (the one with the largest military including more nukes than any other country) to influence the outcome of the 2020 election. You can't really support that (or at least I HOPE you can't).