![Trump lawyer Christina Bobb may need her own attorney. She may have put herself in the middle of the FBI's classified documents probe.](https://san.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Trump-Lawyer-may-need-Lawyer-in-documents-probe.jpg?w=1920)
Commentary
-
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
Okay. Trump attorneys now all basically need attorneys. Yeah. That’s what’s happening. Trump is such a problematic client that his attorneys need representation themselves. MAGA – Making Attorneys Get Attorneys. Let me give you the latest in the saga with Trump. Okay? Former U.S. attorney, her name is Joyce Vance. Joyce Vance went on MSNBC and talked about the newly-unsealed portion of the Department of Justice affidavit behind the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago. It suggests that the former president Donald Trump did in fact help to conceal, helped to conceal, the truth about the additional classified information at his home.
The reason why this is a big deal is because one of his attorneys decided to sign an affidavit swearing and affirming under penalty of perjury and prosecution, that Trump no longer had classified information. Now Mr. Trump could have signed that document, but he didn’t. I wonder why? Could it be because he knew good and damn well he still had classified information and he did not want to affix his signature to a legally binding document?
Did he set his own attorney up to take a criminal fall, like this? Or was the attorney aware that Mr. Trump probably did in fact have more classified information? If the latter is true, that means the attorney engaged in criminal conspiracy, but all of these attorneys are now needing attorneys.
There’s more. That’s appeared to be referring to the certified letter that former OAN host and Trump lawyer Christina Bobb reportedly signed, declaring that all materials taken from the White House to Mar-a-Lago had been returned to the National Archives. Now number one, that is admission of guilt. A lot of people have missed that part. When the attorney signed the affidavit saying all of the things my client stole from the White House and transported to his home in Mar-a-Lago, they have now been returned…the crime is the theft…it’s not retaining the documents. It’s stealing the documents. So your attorney, Mr. Trump, has already convicted you in a court of law. That statement turned out to not be true when the attorney said there were no more classified information. There was no more classified documents. That was untrue. This is a big deal because she signed an affidavit under penalty of perjury and prosecution. Now the spin may be, the attorney says, “Oh, I was misinformed by my client.”
Doesn’t work in lawyer-land, not like that. When you have a good faith reason to believe that your, that your client misrepresented things to you as an attorney, that means you have to do additional due diligence and you are required based on your code of ethics and professional standard as an attorney to go beyond. To do, due diligence in order to maintain and verify the truth. So the attorney saying, “Well, you know, I just said what my client said.” No, ma’am.
Your client should have signed the affidavit, then. You signed it. And you said, you knew. And if you did not know, that’s already an admission that you lied on the affidavit because the affidavit requires that you swear and affirm to facts you know, not facts you believe. So yes, attorney, you’re in trouble.
There’s more. According to Vance, she said and I quote – remember former U.S. attorney – there’s more of an implication in this newly-released information that the former president did in fact play a role in the provision of information about document to whoever the lawyer who certified the information to the Justice Department. Vance continued and said this gives DOJ more of a basis to move forward. She’s talking about in the investigation.
Now, why does this give the DOJ an opportunity to continue to move? Remember, the judge crippled the DOJ’s investigation when she appointed the special master and gave the special master special powers that a judge has never given a third-party attorney before. You see, a special master is appointed to do one thing: To figure out what evidence is attorney-client privilege or, in preparation of litigation, which is all protected, and what is not; what can be used. The FBI said, “Wait, wait, wait, wait a minute, judge. We’ve already gone through everything. We’ve separated it out. We have an internal process for this.” The judge said, “Oh no, I don’t trust you.” That’s fine.
Remember, the FBI has already said, “we have separated the information.” Which means they did what? They’ve read it all. This is not about what the FBI knows. This is about stopping the FBI from using that information they know in their criminal investigation against Trump and what can or cannot be allowed in front of a jury. That’s what this is about. The special powers that Judge Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge, gave to this special master was to figure out what was covered by executive privilege of a president.
The reason why that’s a bad ruling is because it’s unsettled law. There’s no Supreme Court ruling on this. There’s no statutory law about what is covered under executive privilege in conversation or correspondence. Nothing. So you mean to tell me that this is not going to be left up to the Supreme Court to decide? This is not going to be left up to the U.S. Congress to decide? This is going to be left up to a special master appointed by a Trump appointee? Now here’s what Democrats may not want to tell you.
Joe Biden could resolve this conflict today. If Joe Biden declares that privilege or executive privilege does not exist beyond the presidency, this becomes a nothing burger. I hope at some point Biden does. So because these cats are all slippery when wet.
-
Don’t fall for GOP’s cheap racist attacks on Kamala Harris
Republican rhetorical attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, the leading Democratic candidate for president, escalated as soon as President Biden announced that he was stepping back from the election. Many Republicans accused Harris of being “a DEI hire” and indicated that she only got her position because of her skin color or gender, not her…
-
Violent rhetoric in politics amplified by Republican leaders
In the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, some Republicans were quick to blame Democrats for the attack, linking it to “incendiary rhetoric” about Trump. One recent example cited by his supporters is President Joe Biden’s comment: “It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye. He’s gotten away with doing nothing…
-
America is in trouble
President Biden’s debate performance drew a variety of reactions from Democrats, with some calling for him to step down, others saying that he should support another candidate, and some still insisting that Biden remains the best choice. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded presidential powers and criminal immunity in its Trump v. United States decision…
-
Americans deserve younger candidates, better ideas
On March 7, President Joe Biden delivered a well-received State of the Union address, speaking clearly and in detail about the challenges that the nation must confront. Less than four months later, on June 28, a very different-looking president took the stage to debate Donald Trump. In both speech and physical appearance, this Biden suddenly…
-
Time for Christian evangelicals to part ways with Trump
As former President Trump vies for another shot at the White House, one loyal demographic he is counting on is white Christian evangelicals. More than 80% of evangelicals backed Trump in the 2020 election, and after endorsing a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, he’s gearing up for…
Latest Opinions
-
U.S. Department of Defense
Congress still trying to figure out how to reduce wasteful military spending
-
DVIDS
US Navy, Air Force making waves with new weapons at RIMPAC
-
Getty Images
Israeli PM Netanyahu meets with Trump at Mar-a-Lago
-
Getty Images
Growing US nuclear power resurgence reaches the nation’s heartland
-
Getty Images
Beer from the sun, other solar thermal projects get government funding
Popular Opinions
-
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.