Smells like obstruction: Guess what that Trump lawyer who just quit did last June?
It is fascinating that this story has emerged just days after Trump’s criminal defense attorney John Dowd jumped ship. Was he directing a possible move to obstruct justice?
A lawyer for President Trump broached the idea of Mr. Trump pardoning two of his former top advisers, Michael T. Flynn and Paul Manafort, with their lawyers last year, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions.
The discussions came as the special counsel was building cases against both men, and they raise questions about whether the lawyer, John Dowd, was offering pardons to influence their decisions about whether to plead guilty and cooperate in the investigation.
The talks suggest that Mr. Trump’s lawyers were concerned about what Mr. Flynn and Mr. Manafort might reveal were they to cut a deal with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, in exchange for leniency.
Gee, ya think?
During interviews with Mr. Mueller’s investigators in recent months, current and former administration officials have recounted conversations they had with the president about potential pardons for former aides under investigation by the special counsel, according to two people briefed on the interviews.
Keep this in mind: the White House Counsel — in this case, Don McGahn — heads up the pardon process, not the president’s criminal attorney. And that’s not to mention…
BREAKING (and further evidence of a desperate president’s consciousness of guilt): https://t.co/pr6tbuyqa9
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 28, 2018
