Donald Trump’s new attorney is marching him straight to his demise
Donald Trump has reached the point where he realizes he needs an attorney to represent him in the exploding Trump-Russia scandal. What he’s failed to grasp is what he’s up against, and what that attorney is supposed to be for. When you’re facing mounting evidence that you committed serious crimes, you hire an attorney who’s willing and able to try to get you off the hook legally. Instead, Trump has hired an attorney who’s acting as the legal equivalent of Sean Spicer.
Trump’s newly hired attorney seems to be simply doing whatever Trump whatever Trump asks him to. After Comey’s advance testimony was posted online, his attorney released a statement generically insisting that the testimony had vindicated Trump. Of course this was a faulty legal strategy, because by default he was giving credibility to Comey’s testimony in the process. It was the kind of silliness that no attorney would have come up with on his own, or think was a good idea. Instead it was the kind of silliness that Trump wants, and he’s found an attorney who’s willing to oblige him on it.
After Comey’s live testimony the next day was largely seen by the media an the public as being truthful and as being a major nail in Donald Trump’s coffin, his attorney suddenly changed course. Now the attorney is filing a complaint against Comey with the Department of Justice Inspector General. The charge is that Comey is an illegal leaker (link). This is yet another ridiculous legal strategy, because Comey’s memos weren’t classified to begin with, meaning there was no law for him to violate when he got word to a newspaper that his memos existed.
These stunts are the kinds of things that make Donald Trump feel good. He thinks this is a personal battle of wits with James Comey, or whoever the designated bad guy is in any given week, and that he’s winning his feuds by having his attorney play these games. He doesn’t grasp that this actually a legal battle against Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and that these stunts are harming his own case.
Donald Trump could have hired an attorney who was focused on helping him survive the legal sharknado he’s about to find himself enveloped in. Instead, Trump hired an attorney who’s perfectly happy to get paid to do whatever stupid and legally self destructive things Trump wants him to at any given moment. It’ll only get more ridiculous from here. Those who want Trump to take a fall should be pleased as this latest development.
