How Trump and Harris Converge on Key Policies Despite Political Polarization

[rooster59]

White House lawyer Cobb predicts quick end to Mueller probe

By Karen Freifeld

 

Special Counsel Robert Mueller (R) departs after briefing members of the U.S. Senate on his investigation into potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House special counsel Ty Cobb predicts the cloud of an investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. election will soon be lifted from President Donald Trump and says he would be "embarrassed" if it still hangs over the president in 2018.

 

Cobb told Reuters this week that he talks to Trump on an almost daily basis and has been in contact with the team of Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

 

Mueller is investigating possible collusion between Trump's campaign team and Russia, as well as possible money laundering by at least one former aide.

 

But Cobb, who resigned from law firm Hogan Lovells to take the White House job on July 31, said in interviews on Tuesday and Wednesday he believed Mueller's probe was "narrow" and that by the end of the year Trump should no longer be threatened by it.

 

"I’d be embarrassed if this is still haunting the White House by Thanksgiving and worse if it's still haunting him by year end," Cobb told Reuters, adding: "I think the relevant areas of inquiry by the special counsel are narrow."

 

He declined to provide specifics backing his projected timeline, which suggests a speedier end to Mueller's probe than several outside experts believe is likely.

 

"The White House would be lucky if sometime in the spring of 2018 this started to wrap up, but even that I think is pretty optimistic," said Andy Wright, former associate counsel in former President Barack Obama's White House. "It's a very complicated investigation."

 

Wright said Mueller's team would have to track down many leads in the United States and overseas, and gather evidence from email accounts, intelligence reports and other sources.

 

Russia's government has denied interfering in the election and the president has denied collusion took place.

 

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment on any timeline for the probe, the scope of the investigation or any interactions with the White House.

 

Like all senior White House staff, Cobb, 66, reports to retired general John Kelly, Trump's chief of staff.

 

As a White House lawyer, he is in a different position than the president's outside lawyers John Dowd and Jay Sekulow. Cobb would not be able to assert attorney-client privilege to protect his conversations with Trump from a grand jury subpoena.

 

Trump has said he believes any investigations of his and his family's finances would be beyond the scope of Mueller's probe.

 

Cobb said he believed Mueller's 16-lawyer team was "appropriately focused" and understood "the urgency to the country and to the presidency" of finishing the probe quickly.

 

"We have one objective, which is to bring this to a conclusion as quickly as possible," Cobb said.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-19

[pegman]

In your dreams Ty.

[rudi49jr]

'White House lawyer Cobb predicts quick end to Mueller probe'

 

Shouldn't that read: 'many people predict quick end to Trump's presidency because of Mueller probe'?

[retarius]

Bet that Cobb is let go next week.

[metisdead]

A post containing a video from a commercial YouTube blogger has been removed.  

[Srikcir]

11 hours ago, rooster59 said:

"We have one objective, which is to bring this to a conclusion as quickly as possible," Cobb said.

I don't believe that's Mueller's objective however.

Very likely to continue to Summer 2018 with several indictments.

[spidermike007]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House special counsel Ty Cobb predicts the cloud of an investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. election will soon be lifted from President Donald Trump and says he would be "embarrassed" if it still hangs over the president in 2018.

 

The correct thing to say, is that he would be embarrassed if he still worked for this absolute fool in 2018. It is a bit like saying you are a street walker, or a toilet bowl cleaner. Nothing prestigious about working for an incompetent circus huckster.

 

Donald Trump. I cannot make a deal to save my life. Tales from the deflector in chief.

 

Personally, I would be embarrassed if Trump is still president in 2018. Get used to saying President Pence.

[boomerangutang]

Has there been one thing stated by WH or Trump Sr's, Jr's, Jared's, lawyers which have NOT been lies or deception?

 

Message to Ty Cobb:  Get ready to be embarassed.  BTW, what a dumb choice for a word.  'Embarrassed?'   These are legal issues, not singing a song in front of your 4th grade elementary school class.   

[boomerangutang]

Maybe Cobb will justifiably be embarrassed if he's cheated out of his lawyer's earnings, as other of Trump Sr's lawyers (and real estate agents, and contractors) have been.

 

Cobb should probably lawyer-up, as other of Trump's lawyers have.  Every person close to Trump get tainted by him.  

[iReason]

Oh Ty, you should have done your homework...

 

Four top law firms turned down Trump: report

 

"Brendan Sullivan of Williams & Connolly, Ted Olson of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Paul Clement and Mark Filip of Kirkland & Ellis and Robert Giuffra of Sullivan & Cromwell are reportedly among those who turned the White House down."

 

"Some lawyers familiar with the situation cited existing commitments, upcoming trials,  possible damage to a firm's reputation and potential conflicts with clients as part of their reasoning for not representing Trump."

 

“The concerns were, ‘The guy won’t pay and he won’t listen,’ ” one lawyer close to the White House told Yahoo."

 

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/336489-four-top-law-firms-turned-down-trump-report

https://www.yahoo.com/news/four-top-law-firms-turned-requests-represent-trump-122423972.html

 

 

"damage to a firm's reputation"

"The guy won’t pay and he won’t listen"

 

They appear to know the huckster well.

[boomerangutang]

                             Cobb was a dummy for taking a job supporting Trump, similar to how Kelly was a dummy to accept the job of Chief of Staff.   It can only turn out bad for them.  

 

                           It reminds me of when General Colin Powell was picked to give a highly televised presentation to UN and the world - proving Iraq had wmd.  Bush/Cheney and all the other top bananas at the time, knew (or should have known) their data was flawed - yet they put Powell in the spotlight, and didn't care that he would be shot down.  His career has been in the dumps ever since.   Similar will happen with Kelly, and possibly also with Cobb.  Trump is toxic, and anyone closely associated with him will get muddied .......or worse.

[Srikcir]

28 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

Trump is toxic, and anyone closely associated with him will get muddied .......or worse.

Secretary of State Tillerson (Texas) and UN Ambassador Haley (South Carolina) have shown themselves to be political jewels in Trump's cabinet. There has been little or no criticism from either congressional political parties and they don't seem to be infected or blinded by Trump's political and social "aberrations." Both seem to have credibility with US military leaders as well as with foreign leaders.

I see a possible Tillerson/Haley or Haley/Tillerson presidential ticket in 2020.

[boomerangutang]

On 8/21/2017 at 10:06 AM, Srikcir said:

Secretary of State Tillerson (Texas) and UN Ambassador Haley (South Carolina) have shown themselves to be political jewels in Trump's cabinet. There has been little or no criticism from either congressional political parties and they don't seem to be infected or blinded by Trump's political and social "aberrations." Both seem to have credibility with US military leaders as well as with foreign leaders.

I see a possible Tillerson/Haley or Haley/Tillerson presidential ticket in 2020.

                      Maybe so, at this time.  But neither have yet been booted out by Trump.  

                               Tillerson, to me, seems too plodding, dense and cut-off-from-the-public (abhors press questions) to be much use.  Plus, he agrees with Trump (and it fits with his laziness) to have State woefully understaffed.  

 

                         The more Trump's people drop the baton re; international decisions, the more other countries like China and Russia are going to take over.  Maybe that's good from isolationists' view, but I think it's better that the US is actively involved, than to leave policing to the Chinese and Russkies, who don't give a hoot about humanitarian crises unless they hurt their corporate escapades.

 

The same could be said for the US actions of the past, but I still prefer US influence to have precedence over Russian and Chinese - in world dynamics.

[Redline]

16 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

                      Maybe so, at this time.  But neither have yet been booted out by Trump.  

                               Tillerson, to me, seems too plodding, dense and cut-off-from-the-public (abhors press questions) to be much use.  Plus, he agrees with Trump (and it fits with his laziness) to have State woefully understaffed.  

 

                         The more Trump's people drop the baton re; international decisions, the more other countries like China and Russia are going to take over.  Maybe that's good from isolationists' view, but I think it's better that the US is actively involved, than to leave policing to the Chinese and Russkies, who don't give a hoot about humanitarian crises unless they hurt their corporate escapades.

 

The same could be said for the US actions of the past, but I still prefer US influence to have precedence over Russian and Chinese - in world dynamics.

I think Haley is whispering sweet nothings into DTs ear, and poor Tillerson is only trying to hold on to his pride, only to flee quickly when this is over

[iReason]

Quick end?

pfft...

It's just starting to get heated up:

 

Exclusive: Top Trump aide's email draws new scrutiny in Russia inquiry

 

"Congressional investigators have unearthed an email from a top Trump aide that referenced a previously unreported effort to arrange a meeting last year between Trump campaign officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter."

 

"The aide, Rick Dearborn, who is now President Donald Trump's deputy chief of staff, sent a brief email to campaign officials last year relaying information about an individual who was seeking to connect top Trump officials with Putin, the sources said."

 

"Sources said the email occurred in June 2016 around the time of the recently revealed Trump Tower meeting where Russians with Kremlin ties met with the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., his son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort."

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/23/politics/donald-trump-rick-dearborn-email-russia-investigation/index.html

 

White House Deputy Chief of Staff you say?

Former Sen. Jeff Sessions' chief of staff, you say?

[Srikcir]

15 minutes ago, iReason said:

Top Trump aide's email draws new scrutiny in Russia inquiry

It's beginning to look as if investigators can't find anyone in the Trump election campaign who didn't try to contact the Russians. It's getting close to having all Trump's closest campaign advisors making or attempting contacts with the Russians except the man who leads the entire campaign organization. That person is either totally incompetent or a mastermind of the contact operation. Unfortunately, both are conceivable.

[iReason]

Public relations firms with ties to Flynn, Manafort, subpoenaed by Mueller

 

"Six public relations firms with ties to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort or former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn have received subpoenas from special counsel Robert Mueller, ABC News has learned from sources with knowledge of the situation."

 

"The subpoenas relate to the probe Mueller is leading that is investigating Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election and potential Russian collusion with Trump campaign associates."

 

Mueller's prosecutors are now using a Washington, D.C. grand jury for matters related to their investigation."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/public-relations-firms-ties-flynn-manafort-subpoenaed-mueller/story?id=49425589

 

Stand by for a canary chorus.