As special counsel Jack Smith’s office moves forward with its investigation into the post-2020-election crisis, it’s difficult to predict what, if anything, will come of the probe. What’s increasingly clear, however, is that the scope of the investigation isn’t leaving many unturned stones.
A Washington Post report summarized last week: “The Justice Department’s investigation of efforts by Donald Trump and his advisers to overturn the 2020 election results is barreling forward on multiple tracks, according to people familiar with the matter, with prosecutors focused on ads and fundraising pitches claiming election fraud as well as plans for ‘fake electors’ that would swing the election to the incumbent president.”
But this week, The Wall Street Journal helped widen the aperture further, noting that the special counsel’s office has also taken “a growing interest in the role of lawyers and other figures involved in legal efforts aimed at reversing Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election.” From the article:
Prosecutors from Smith’s team have issued subpoenas and asked questions centered on several key figures in those postelection efforts, including Sidney Powell, a pro-Trump lawyer who spread baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. The subpoenas have also requested communications with Emily Newman, a lawyer who worked with Powell, and Mike Roman, a Republican operative who headed Election Day operations for the Trump campaign and dispatched lawyers to swing states before November 2020. Federal prosecutors also recently interviewed Rudy Giuliani, who served as Trump’s personal lawyer at the time, for roughly eight hours on topics including Powell, people familiar with the testimony said.
The Journal’s report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News added that when prosecutors sat down with Giuliani, they were especially interested in an infamous December 2020 meeting in the Oval Office, “during which Powell pitched a plan to have the U.S. military seize control of the voting machines.”
The article went on to note, “Prosecutors have also been asking other witnesses about the involvement of Giuliani and other Trump lawyers, including Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Chesebro, people familiar with the matter said. “
Over the last year or so, a joke has made the rounds in Republican circles: Perhaps “MAGA” stands for “Make Attorneys Get Attorneys.” We could probably think of some folks who don’t find the line especially amusing.
Nearly a month ago, we discussed the four problems surrounding Trump his hapless legal operations. As it turns out, I might’ve understated the case.
Problem #1: Trump’s lawyers keep quitting: In May, as the threat of a possible federal indictment in the classified documents scandal grew, Timothy Parlatore, a key member of Trump’s legal defense team in the classified documents case, resigned. Soon after, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, two of the former president’s top lawyers in the case, also “abruptly resigned.”
Problem #2: Trump is (again) struggling to hire new lawyers: In recent years, the Republican has struggled to hire legal counsel — many top-tier lawyers simply don’t want to represent him — and he’s facing related troubles now. The Messenger’s Marc Caputo recently reported, “[S]ome attorneys who have been contacted by Trump’s team declined to work for the former president.” The article quoted one top federal criminal defense attorney in the Southern District of Florida who said, “The problem is none of us want to work for the guy. He’s a nightmare client.”
Problem #3: One of Trump’s top lawyers is being used against him: As The New York Times reported, “In the 49-page federal indictment accusing him of retaining classified documents after leaving the White House and scheming to block government efforts to retrieve them, some of the most potentially damning evidence came from notes made by one of those lawyers, M. Evan Corcoran.” Problem #4: Trump’s former lawyers keep saying what he doesn’t want to hear: Parlatore, former Attorney General Bill Barr, and Ty Cobb, who represented Trump during the investigation into the Russia scandal, keep speaking out publicly in ways that don’t do the former president any favors. Problem #5: Some high-profile pro-Trump lawyers are facing real consequences: Look no further than the proceedings surrounding L. Lin Wood, John Eastman, and Jeffrey Clark. Problem #6: Lawyers in Trump’s orbit are facing special counsel scrutiny: And that’s probably not what any attorney wants to hear right now. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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