Yesterday, Politico reported what should have been a bombshell of a story: that Donald Trump had interviewed two attorneys for vacant US attorney positions that would have an influence on Mueller's investigation.
Why This Matters
This is a huge story because as Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) put it, "To be very blunt, these three jurisdictions will have authority to bring indictments over the ongoing special counsel investigation into Trump campaign collusion with the Russians and potential obstruction of justice by the president of the United States."
It is almost unheard of for a sitting president to interview US Attorneys for their positions. As Politico pointed out:
It is rare for a president to interview candidates for the 93 U.S. attorney jobs. Former President Barack Obama never interviewed a U.S. attorney candidate during his two terms, according to Matthew Miller, who served as Justice Department spokesman under the Obama administration.
Trump has already interviewed and appointed another US Attorney with such jurisdiction. Jessie Liu met with Trump before being nominated for the District of Columbia position. She was approved even though Democrats voiced concern over being personally interviewed by Trump. If Trump decides to nominate these other attorneys, he will have a lock on any federal investigations involving Trump Tower, the Trump Organization and himself personally since he conducted his campaign and transitional meetings at Trump Tower.
What Politico failed to mention is that both attorneys are from firms that have represented Trump in his past business dealings. In fact, Trump's history with these firms goes back decades.
Geoffrey Berman
Geoffrey Berman of Greenberg Traurig is reportedly being considered for the Southern District of NY position. Greenberg Traurig has represented Trump and his businesses in both lobbying politicians and in court cases. In 2010, they are listed as representing Trump in Landau v. Trump et al in Florida's Southern District Court.
A former Greenberg Traurig attorney has also left the firm and is now working for the Trump Organization. From 2006 to 2010, Adam L. Rosen was an associate at Greenberg Traurig. He left in 2014 to serve as general counsel to the Trump Organization and according to his Linkedin profile, continues to do so. Additionally, Trump's BFF Rudy Giuliani took a position with Greenberg Traurig during the election in 2016.
Readers may recall that Trump claimed that some members of Mueller's team could not be impartial in the Russia/Trump collusion investigation because they had contributed to Hillary Clinton's campaign. By Trump's own illogical logic, Berman should not be confirmed as Federal Election Campaign (FEC) records show he donated the maximum contribution for an individual of $5,400 to the Donald J. Trump for President campaign in 2016.
Ed McNally
Ed McNally is an attorney for Kasowitz, Benson, Torres and Friedman (AKA Kasowitz, Benson). Trump has apparently interviewed him for the Eastern District US Attorney position.
It is common knowledge that Trump and Marc E. Kasowitz go back decades. Kasowitz has represented Trump in many legal cases involving his business dealings and most notably, has represented him in the Russia/Trump collusion case.
According to FEC filings, Kasowitz and his wife, Lori, personally donated $310,800 to Trump through both the Donald J. Trump for President and Trump Victory campaigns. More troubling is a donation from the Kasowitz Benson firm itself to Trump's inaugural campaign of $300,000.
Instead of worrying about who Trump disrespected today or yesterday, this story should be the top priority of the media before it's too late.
What is he trying to hide?
