Latest in Special Counsel
The unnamed foreign corporation challenging a subpoena issued by Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed a cert petition seeking Supreme Court review of the D.C. Circuit's decision in favor of Mueller. The petition is available in partially redacted form below.
President Trump’s attorney general nominee William Barr says he has the “the utmost respect” for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but during his confirmation hearings he would not pledge to release any report produced by Mueller’s office. Some see an inconsistency. They’re wrong.
The New York Times has reported that, in the wake of President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, the bureau opened a counterintelligence investigation into the president. At one level, of course, this is not surprising—John Bellinger identified Donald Trump as a potential danger to U.S.
The new Congress is poised to investigate possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller has finished his work or not. This task will be at once unprecedented and familiar. Never before in the history of the republic has Congress investigated credible allegations that the president obtained the highest office in the land by conspiring with a hostile foreign power in violation of federal law.
When Michael Cohen first pleaded guilty back in August, the President of the United States declared that his former lawyer had, in fact, not committed campaign finance crimes:
Michael Cohen plead guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations that are not a crime. President Obama had a big campaign finance violation and it was easily settled!
The president shouldn’t hold his breath for the court to have any serious objections to the special counsel’s appointment.
Is Whitaker’s appointment constitutional? Does the president have authority in this case to make an appointment under the FVRA? Does Whitaker have any recusal obligations related to the special counsel’s investigation?
The acting attorney general’s past statements about the Russia probe raise genuine concerns about his service overseeing it.
Back in 2002, I published a book entitled Starr: A Reassessment, which took a nuanced look at the history of Kenneth Starr’s service as independent counsel. The book focused on Starr’s understanding of his role under the now-defunct independent counsel law, specifically his ambitious understanding of that role not as a traditional prosecutor but as a kind of truth commissioner.
Roger Stone associate Andrew Miller has filed his brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit challenging Special Counsel Robert Mueller's authority to subpoena him. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a contempt order against Miller in August 2018 for his refusal to comply with the subpoena, which Miller is now appealing. The brief is available in full below.
Andrew Miller Brief Challenging Special Counsel's Authority