Trump tweet on firing Flynn was authored by Trump's lawyer: report

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill



BY BROOKE SEIPEL - 12/02/17 08:07 PM EST

President Trump's tweet Saturday saying he had fired Michael Flynn as national security adviser because he lied to Vice President Pence and the FBI was reportedly authored by Trump's personal lawyer, John Dowd.

Two sources familiar with the tweet told The Washington Post Saturday that Dowd, Trump's chief counsel, had crafted the tweet. The White House has not yet made a statement about the tweet, but its authorship could change the tweet's pertinence in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian election meddling.

Trump early Saturday tweeted, "I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies."

"It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!" he added.



Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/362967-trump-tweet-on-firing-flynn-for-lying-to-fbi-was-authored-by-trumps

---

The Washington Post

Update: The Post is now reporting that the tweet was authored by Trump's personal lawyer, John Dowd, according to two people familiar with the situation. The fact that Dowd authored the tweet could limit its salience to the investigation, but the White House still hasn't publicly corrected anything.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/12/02/trumps-first-tweet-about-michael-flynns-guilty-plea-could-be-a-problem-for-him/?utm_term=.8dbfb87fa614

[Squinch]

1. Suuuuuuure it was.

[FarPoint]

73. tRump said/ Tweets it...he owns it.

Being advised is only taking in information to make an informed choice..

tRump chose poorly for himself.

[Squinch]

74. The big kids made him do it, his grandmother made him do it, the dog peed on his homework.

Wait... no it wasn't the dog peeing... someone was peeing...

I'm so confused!

[Sienna86]

2. Ha. Yeah...right.

And his attorney can claim attorney client privilege if asked about it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. Nuh-uh. There's the crime-fraud exception:

According to the crime-fraud exception to the privilege, a client’s communication to his attorney isn’t privileged if he made it with the intention of committing or covering up a crime or fraud.

[They_Live]

12. Well..but

what if he had his fingers crossed?! Then it wouldn't count, right?

[jaysunb]

32. rofl ! n/t

[forgotmylogin]

64. Lock the lawyer the hell up next to 45.

If he's tweeting as the President, one must assume it's with the President's blessing. 45 owns the words that come from @realDonaldTrump.

His fucking picture is next to it. It says REALDonaldTrump.

Link to tweet

[FarPoint]

75. This redacted statement probably came from lawyer.

After the damage clean up crew.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Then he's the dumbest lawyer in D.C., or maybe anywhere.

WTF? Anyhow, the words would have been approved by Orange Foolius, and he can't hide behind what a particularly dumb lawyer told him to say. All he would have had to tell Dowd is (assuming it's true), "No, I didn't fire Flynn because he lied to the FBI because I didn't know at the time that he'd done that." If he didn't know Flynn had lied to the FBI and that's why he fired him, why did he let Dowd draft a tweet that said he did? And why would Down have come up with a statement implicating his own client in an act of obstruction of justice? Lots of lying AND stupid shit happening here by both of them.

[mobeau69]

7. It's all reeking of desperation. n/t

[Pachamama]

22. Either the dumbest lawyer or the biggest hero who is trying to help set him up?

Its seriously an incredible thought that any lawyer would be advising or allowing his or her client to be sending out such statements with their consent and advice.

If he isn't the stupidest lawyer around, then he's secretly operating to allow this to happen and hurry up the process of his eventual downfall. Or this lawyer would resign from the team.

Or its Jay Sekolow... which explains that it really is the dumbest lawyer around...

[SergeStorms]

50. NO ONE gets NEAR Twitler's tweetophone.

You'll have to pry that thing from his cold, dead hand. Has anyone once taken his phone away and tweeted something on it? Short answer: NO, and they never will.

[spooky3]

26. Trump hires the BEST people, the BEST. n/t

[madaboutharry]

4. What a joke.

And Rosemary Woods erased the infamous 18 minutes of the Nixon tapes.

They probably have now pissed off Robert Mueller even more.

[mobeau69]

5. Knew this was coming.

Somebody get the ABA code book out.

[Tanuki]

8. Bullshit. This is an obvious attempt at damage control after numerous

attorneys pointed out that the tweet was an admission of attempting to obstruct justice if he knew that Flynn lied to the FBI but then pressed others to "go easy on him".

[sprinkleeninow]

70. Phrase: damage control. I was looking for a spot on phrase

describing what loopyman was attempting in futility to do.

(Y'all continually in my heart. Will PM you first chance. Forgive me; my life is currently an everyday lesson in straightening out messes.)

[Tanuki]

80. (Thank you! Your kindness and prayers have meant more than you know.

She is in good spirits and looking forward to a nice trip donated by the Make a Wish Foundation. I will PM details later).

[sprinkleeninow]

83. Thanks be!! Will converse soon.💖

[Mike Nelson]

9. Trump has...

...a great team of lawyers!

[mdbl]

10. I thought that immediately after seeing the tweet

that isn't something dumpf would write.

[madville]

56. Looking at it now you might be right

It looks like it was a prepared statement, not his usually structure.

[johnnylol]

11. trump tweet

even michael isikoff does not believe trump knew at the time flynn lied to the fbi how could he know.. since white house council did not know... sally yates did not inform them.. what flynn said...

[OilemFirchen]

16. You've posted this at least twice now.

No one really gives a shit what Spikey Isikoff says. The relevant date is when Flynn was fired, not when he perjured himself.

JFTR, it's impolite not to respond.

[More_Cowbell]

21. Is there any reason not to use proper punctuation?

I...never...read...posts...like....this.

Too annoying.

[Madam Mossfern]

76. I didn't read your post.

[mobeau69]

31. Flynn could have told Dotard he lied or Dotard could have told Flynn to lie in the first place.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

42. Maybe Flynn told him what he'd told the FBI

and the two of them had a good chuckle, thinking Flynn had managed to pull the wool over their eyes.

[OilemFirchen]

13. Hey Attorney John Dowd!

Remember the Rules of Evidence you supposedly learned back when you were a mere lad?

And while you're cogitating, remember the Rules of Professional Conduct?

Take your time. I hear that the Special Prosecutor is very patient.

[jaysunb]

30. LOL !! n/t

[CakeGrrl]

14. Bullshit. It matches his speech pattern.

Someone's going to end up going to jail for him before long.

Does he have that much of a hold on people who work for him? And why?

[ffr]

15. What does it matter who they claim wrote it? It's the president's official device. He owns this.

I hope it's used against him. Just shows what a Dotard he is.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. Exactly. Dowd is apparently trying to do damage control

and he isn't good at it. Of course, doing damage control for Trump must be a real challenge. He must be the worst client ever.

[NastyRiffraff]

34. I have NO doubt Mueller is saving all his tweets

His account, he owns it. His idiot lawyer ought to know that.

[KPN]

57. Right.

[getagrip_already]

17. trump may be curled up under a wh desk.....

but if his lawyer tweeted this, why does his lawyer have his twiiter account, and why would he (not she) implicate him in a felony without a reference to represnting him?

It seems someone, in the capacity of counsel, either had no part in it or they just disbarred themselves. Lawyers can represent, but not impersonate, their clients.

Even with power of attorney, they have to identify themselves when representing their clients.

Felony as well.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

20. According to the report, Dowd says he "crafted" the tweet,

not necessarily that he actually had the phone in his hands and typed it in and sent it out. So maybe he recommended what Trump should tweet, and Trump followed his advice - he still fucked up, bigly, because he managed to implicate his big orange client in another act of obstruction of justice. Plus, even if he dictated the words, Orange Foolius would have done the actual tweeting, and therefore owns it.

Sorry, Mr. Dowd. You aren't helping.

[getagrip_already]

24. in that case...

trump still is the author and responsible for content. his lawyer may have dictated it, but trump wrote and sent it. guilty by admission.

[Jarqui]

19. BS - scrambling to cover his butt

[rainin]

23. Can a lawyer lose his license

for something like this, if he did this? Aren't they required to provide effective representation, or something like that? I wonder if the bar has an opinion about this.

[getagrip_already]

25. if his lawyer sent it...

he is responsible to sign it as his work. you can represent, but not impersonate your client. even with power of attorney, you have to sign your own name - not your clients.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

43. Legal malpractice at a minimum.

[PubliusEnigma]

27. If a lawyer writes a contract, and then you sign it, you are held responsible, not the lawyer.

[jaysunb]

28. LOL !! No way... A lawyer w/ a license ? LOL n/t

[DesertRat]

29. Rep. Ted Lieu nailed it:

Trump's folks are so freaked out by Trump's tweet that establishes Obstruction of Justice that they are trying to blame lawyer Dowd. If true, they should fire him for malpractice. But it doesn't absolve Trump. If lawyer drafts X & I say X, then I have adopted X as my own.

Link to tweet

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

44. Yes, indeed.

If my lawyer advises me to say something and I say it, it's mine and I own it. If my lawyer advises me to say something spectacularly stupid that implicates me in the crime of obstruction of justice and I say it, it's still mine and I own it (but I can sue my lawyer for malpractice while I'm in prison).

[GOPricklepants]

33. The Moron did it

It was Don the Con. He was alone on his throne and Rex Tillerson was right that he is a moron. Remember, John Dowd was the lawyer who forwarded an email that said that you couldn't be against General Lee and for General Washington after the Charlottesville protests. He doesn't mind being dumb and is showing his loyalty to the Con.

[VMA131Marine]

35. Let's just put Mr.Dowd under oath and have him confirm that ...

Shall we?

I'm not buying it.

[OnDoutside]

79. Excellent suggestion.

[Obvious85]

36. Easy to Verify - subpoena the IP address of the device that posted that Tweet

Bet it came right from Trump's phone.

[KPN]

58. in which case, he sent it and it doesn't matter who wrote it.

[BigmanPigman]

37. The replies on this thread have me laughing...

Thanks to all of you since I needed a good laugh, not a sarcastic "HA!" like I do when I hear a right wing pundit. Clever, witty, sharp...I think I will read them again.

[LudwigPastorius]

38. Horseshit

You're going down, you orange clown.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

39. So "John Miller has people pose as him on Twitter" is their defense?

Remember, Spicey and Sarah Hucksterbee have said Trump Tweets are "official presidential statements."

[TomCADem]

40. Either Trump's High Paid Lawyer Is Stupid Or He Is Taking One for the Team...

...and he will claim privilege if anyone tries to investigate whether Dowd really has control over of Trump's twitter account.

[sinkingfeeling]

41. So his personal lawyer is going to fall on his sword and be called the

stupidest attorney in history to protect 45 from his self incrimination? Wow, that's really good.

[George II]

46. But an attorney speaks for his client. It's as though his client is speaking. Period!

[George II]

45. That's even WORSE than trump authoring it. They're legal experts, and they still said it!

O B S T R U C T I O N O F J U S T I C E ! ! ! !

[JDC]

47. Talk about fake news. *45 is a giant F Up. Pure and simple.

[marble falls]

48. Great the Donald has a lawyer dumber than he is. No good lawyer would suggest his client tweet...

on a case his client is facing let alone do it himself. They'd hire a PR firm to plants those anonymously or through a third party, maybe.

[SergeStorms]

49. Yeah, right.

Twitler knows he fupped duck and is trying to pass the blame, as always. He never takes responsibility for any of his actions. Assclown!

[SHRED]

51. More lying.

[C_U_L8R]

52. Yeah, that's the ticket

[tblue37]

53. If it was, he has a really dumb lawyer. nt

[TeamPooka]

54. So "Mr Authentic straight talker to the people" doesn't write his own tweets? Sad! Puppet!!

[madville]

55. It's either stupid or genius

I can't tell which. Stupid if it was all an unintentional blunder and CYA. Genius if they actually planned it to be able to cast doubt on certain Tweets actually coming from Trump.

[KPN]

59. Fucking pisses me off how the media (even the WA Post in this case) gives

Trump the benefit of the doubt repeatedly, e.g.
"The fact that Dowd authored the tweet could limit its salience to the investigation, but the White House still hasn't publicly corrected anything."

[greyl]

68. Yes, upon what evidence do they base their usage of "fact"? nt

[Midnight Writer]

60. Trump just loves to rub his ass in our faces, doesn't he?

What scares me is he has supporters. Not just casual "I vote Republican cause Dad did" supporters. He has millions of people that actually worship the Man.

He has been telling us all along exactly what he is doing, what he wants to do, and the people he wants to do it to, and folk still think this is exactly what our country needs.

[C Moon]

61. This shows that they ARE scared. And that Trump is fucking up left and right.

[NBachers]

62. No! No! It was automatic writing by John Mitchell from Beyond . . . the Grave!

[Solly Mack]

63. Bullshit.

[NBachers]

65. So do the White House visitor logs indicate that John Dowd was in the WH when the tweets came out?

[Kablooie]

66. Just the sort of thing a lawyer would do.

Lawyers are always posting statements incriminating their client in their client's private Twitter accounts.

That's law school 101. Do everything you can to get your client convicted.

---

So I wonder if Trump will fire John Dowd now just to try and make it look real?

Dowd would certainly be disbarred if he had done that.

[briv1016]

67. A lawyer would've known that the past tense to plead is pleaded, not pled.

Oh, and the whole not admitting [in writing] to a federal crime thing.

[renate]

69. Mmm hmm

Because Trump is known for running his tweets past his lawyers, or having them "craft" them.

[QED]

71. Time for Dowd to quit if Two Scoops authored it and blamed Dowd.

Can he quit at this point?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

72. Doesn't matter who wrote it. tRump approved it & tweeted it. Same goes for speeches. . . nt

[DeminPennswoods]

77. Trump hasn't disavowed a word of the tweet

or deleted it.

[randr]

78. I know we all have a right to legal representation

But when you defend a traitor by lying for them you need to be prosecuted and held accountable.

[titaniumsalute]

81. It is Trumps Twitter account

The tweet says "I" which represents Trumps words. I don't think a he said/she said will work here.

[Angry Dragon]

82. So, the real Donald Trump twitter account is not really the real Donald Trump twitter account

they have been lying the whole time

[Gothmog]

84. This lawyer is an idiot and committed malpractice