Trump lawyers spill beans, thanks to terrible choice of restaurant

[sandensea]

Source: Washington Post

Sitting at the next table from Ty Cobb and John Dowd, lawyers for President Trump, according to the Times, was Kenneth Vogel, one of Washington’s most skillful investigative reporters. Vogel is a former reporter for Politico, which is based in Virginia, who arrived at the Times just in time for the Russia investigation and, as it turned out, just in time for lunch.

Vogel overheard the lawyers talking about White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II and Jared Kushner, president Trump’s son-in-law, as well as the infamous Trump Tower meeting. Here’s a sample from the article bearing the bylines of Vogel and Peter Baker:

Mr. Cobb was heard talking about a White House lawyer he deemed “a McGahn spy” and saying Mr. McGahn had “a couple documents locked in a safe” that he seemed to suggest he wanted access to. He also mentioned a colleague whom he blamed for “some of these earlier leaks,” and who he said “tried to push Jared out …”

“The White House Counsel’s Office is being very conservative with this stuff,” Mr. Cobb told Mr. Dowd. “Our view is we’re not hiding anything.” Referring to Mr. McGahn, he added, “He’s got a couple documents locked in a safe.”

… Mr. Cobb also discussed the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting — and the White House’s response to it — saying that “there was no perception that there was an exchange.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/09/18/trump-lawyers-spill-beans-after-terrible-restaurant-choice-next-to-nyt/?utm_term=.09a24415547a

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Maybe Ty Cobb Just Doesnt Get This Whole Client Confidentiality Thing

Maybe Ty Cobb Just Doesn’t Get This Whole ‘Client Confidentiality’ Thing

Trump's top lawyers regale restaurant with claims of hidden documents.

By JOE PATRICE
at 10:33 AM

Donald Trump attorney and self-appointed “adult in the room” Ty Cobb has a lot of us wondering if there’s just too low a bar for “adult” at this point. Because holding strategy meetings about the single most important criminal probe in the country at a popular restaurant in a city absolutely lousy with reporters seems like a rookie mistake. ... On the other hand, if this case goes awry, Cobb may have a future in dinner theater.

It’s another bizarre flub from Cobb, the former Hogan Lovells partner who joined the Trump team to provide a steadying influence that seemed more imperative than ever after Marc Kasowitz finally bowed out under public scrutiny for engaging in a flame war with a random online critic. Since then, Cobb has… engaged in a flame war with a random online critic. Baby steps.

Yesterday, Peter Baker and Kenneth P. Vogel of the New York Times broke the news that Ty Cobb and fellow Trump team heavy John Dowd had a leisurely lunch last week at BLT Steak, a restaurant near the White House, and decided to use the time productively by loudly divulging all manner of internal gripes about the defense strategy.

Here's a photo of Ty Cobb & John Dowd casually & loudly discussing details of Russia investigation at @BLTSteakDC while I sat at next table.

Link to tweet

I guess Dowd and Cobb thought the patron was just Snapchatting their food, and not writing their editor, “THIS IS WHY I EXPENSE MY F**KING LUNCHES, TOM!!!” (1)

(1) http://abovethelaw.com/2017/09/maybe-ty-cobb-just-doesnt-get-this-whole-client-confidentiality-thing/#f1

I love this comment:

Replying to @kenvogel @BLTSteakDC
Like watergate, but with stupid people.

Link to tweet

[sandensea]

2. Criminals, it's been said, often want to be caught.

Thanks for that, mahatmakanejeeves. Say, how do you add inline cites like that? ('adult in the room', and so on).

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. That's done through the "link" button.

Copy the URL address of the link where you want your cite to go.

Highlight the text that, when clicked, will lead to another source.

Click on "link."

Enter the URL address of the link.

Click "OK" or "Cancel," depending on whether the address is right or not.

You're done.

Great thread. I cross-posted in Editorials & Other Articles, out of sheer amazement.

-- -- --

One thing you can forget about in DC, if you are someone who is in any way recognizable, is having any expectation of privacy. If you're in line at the Target, someone will make note of what brand of underwear or beer you're buying. Count on it.

[sandensea]

4. Great. Thanks again!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. You can trim the link too.

Say it's this:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/fearing-revolt-from-businesses-dc-to-shift-focus-away-from-worker-protections/2017/09/17/348d940a-97d8-11e7-b569-3360011663b4_story.html?utm_term=.9b85f4eb091e

You can trim that, by removing the question mark and everything that comes after it, to:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/fearing-revolt-from-businesses-dc-to-shift-focus-away-from-worker-protections/2017/09/17/348d940a-97d8-11e7-b569-3360011663b4_story.html

[Gothmog]

5. This is amazing and so very unprofessional

[QED]

7. What's locked in the safe?

Was it handed over to Mueller? That's the big question I get from this.

[sandensea]

8. Your guess is as good as mine.

But I bet it's got lots of Russian names on it.