The president is having a really awful time with lawyers. If they’re not being investigated for corruption, themselves, they just don’t want anything to do with him.
Seriously. Most attorneys would stab their own mothers with a fork for the opportunity to represent the president of the United States. That is the kind of gig that raises profiles and makes simple lawyers into legal superstars.
That was before the president was a walking tumor on all things decent and good, a carnival barker, short-fingered vulgarian, and gilded toad with all the self-control of a rabid alley cat.
Taking on Donald Trump as a client is a risky proposition, even for the most hardened of attorneys. The man has a long (and known) history of corruption. Who knows what skeletons are still in the closet?
Along with his corrupt history is his reputation for not paying his debts. That doesn’t exactly make taking on the monumental task of working his case appealing to most lawyers.
With the ongoing Russia probe, he’s been turned down by more legal firms and lawyers than not, and we can add one more to the list.
CNN reported New York attorney Steven Molo — a former special prosecutor who specializes in white collar defense — was contacted by people close to Trump.
Molo declined the offer due to an unidentified conflict.
“I regret a current conflict related to the investigation prevents me from representing the President at this time,” Molo told CNN.
Current conflict, eh?
Other than, “I want to get paid,” I’m really curious to find out what that “current conflict” may be.
Trump’s lead attorney on the Russia case, John Dowd, stepped down in March, after it became clear his client preferred to do things his own way, attacking special counsel Robert Mueller, directly, and attempting to hire Fox News guest attorneys, Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing. DiGenova and Toensing have perfectly carried the Fox News/Trump line of attacking Mueller and anyone else who questions Trump’s purity. Trump wanted bomb throwers to protect him.
In the end, after a brief meeting with Trump’s remaining attorneys, diGenova and Toensing backed out, citing “conflicts.”
Last month, Tom Buchanan and Dan Webb, who are partners at Winston & Strawn, said the president reached out to them to see if they would join his legal team. They turned down the offer, citing business conflicts.
Former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson also turned down an offer to join the team.
Meanwhile, Mueller is grinding on, tightening his case, and seemingly getting closer to the president.
You can tell just how close he is by how maniacal Trump’s tweets become.
With this lack of support from the legal community, don’t be surprised to hear Trump has recruited one of those lawyers that advertises his services at 3am on cable networks.
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