Mueller Report and the President’s Personal Lawyers: Did They Violate Criminal Law and Ethical Rules?

Because Justice Department coverage forbids an indictment of a sitting president, Robert Mueller selected now not to mention the President obstructed justice. But Mueller additionally refused to mention that “the President honestly did not commit obstruction of justice.” So the President is neither accused nor exonerated. What approximately the President’s private lawyers? They don’t revel in the President’s immunity from indictment. The Mueller Report has dozens of references to the conduct of Rudolph Giuliani and plenty of greater references to “the President’s private counsel,” a collection that consists of Giuliani, Jay Sekulow, and others. Here are only a few of the Report’s references:
Pardons for Manafort
Immediately following the revocation of Manafort’s bail, the President’s personal legal professional, Rudolph Giuliani, gave a series of interviews in which he raised the possibility of a pardon for Manafort. Giuliani advised the New York Daily News that “[w]fowl everything is over, things may get wiped clean up with some presidential pardons.” Giuliani also said in an interview that, despite the fact that the President need to now not pardon everyone while the Special Counsel’s investigation become ongoing, “whilst the research is concluded, he’s form of on his very own, proper?,” (Vol. 2, p. 124.)
[T]he President’s personal recommend said that people worried in the Special Counsel’s research should get hold of a pardon “if in truth the [P]resident and his advisors . . . Come to the conclusion that you had been treated unfairly”—the use of language that paralleled how the President had already described the treatment of Manafort.” (Vol. 2, p. 131.)
On November 26, 2018, the Special Counsel’s Office disclosed in a public courtroom filing that Manafort had breached his plea settlement by way of lying approximately multiple topics. The subsequent day, Giuliani stated that the President were “disenchanted for weeks” about what he considered to be “the un-American, terrible remedy of Manford.” (Vol. 2, pp. 127-28.)
Manafort advised Gates that he had talked to the President’s personal counsel and they have been “going to take care of us.” Manafort instructed Gates it become stupid to plead, saying that he were in contact with the President’s non-public suggest and repeating that they need to “sit tight” and “we’ll be looked after.” Gates asked Manafort outright if everyone referred to pardons and Manafort said no person used that phrase. (Vol. 2, p. 123.)
Threatening General Flynn
After Flynn withdrew from a joint protection settlement [JDA] with the President and started cooperating with the authorities, the President’s private recommend left a message for Flynn’s legal professionals reminding them of the President’s heat emotions in the direction of Flynn, which he said “nevertheless remains,” and inquiring for a “heads up” if Flynn knew “records that implicates the President.” When Flynn’s counsel reiterated that Flynn ought to not share facts pursuant to a joint protection settlement, the President’s non-public suggest said he could make certain that the President knew that Flynn’s actions reflected “hostility” closer to the President. (Vol. 2, p. 6.)
Cohen’s False Testimony to Congress
In the months leading up to his congressional testimony, Cohen frequently spoke with the President’s non-public suggest. Cohen stated that during the ones conversations the President’s personal suggest would once in a while say that he had just been with the President. Cohen recalled that the President’s non-public recommend instructed him the JDA become working nicely collectively and confident him that there has been nothing there and in the event that they stayed on message the investigations might come to an quit quickly. At that point, Cohen’s criminal bills were being paid through the Trump Organization, and Cohen was told now not to fear because the investigations could be over via summer time or fall of 2017. Cohen said that the President’s personal counsel additionally conveyed that, as part of the JDA, Cohen become protected, which he would no longer be if he “went rogue.” Cohen recalled that the President’s personal suggest reminded him that “the President loves you” and instructed him that if he stayed on message, the President had his lower back.
In August 2017, Cohen started drafting an assertion approximately Trump Tower Moscow to put up to Congress along together with his record manufacturing….