WH Woefully Unprepared For Legal Onslaught That Would Accompany Dem Takeover

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion on the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on August 23, 2018. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / A... TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion on the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on August 23, 2018. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Allies of the Trump administration are seriously concerned that President Donald Trump lacks the circumspection and his staff lacks the manpower and expertise to deal with the legal onslaught that will inevitably occur if Democrats win the House in the fall.

According to a Wednesday Washington Post report, impeachment is sometimes discussed behind closed doors in the administration, and often used by Trump’s lawyers as a cudgel to prevent the impetuous President from saying things that could be used against him.

But, although Trump frets about it in the abstract, he lacks the focus and historical understanding to see the full scope of the threat he could face should Democrats triumph in November. In addition to impeachment proceedings, he and his administration could be smacked with subpoenas about specific violations or possible crimes, which would leave his bare-bones staff swamped with paperwork it lacks the lawyers to handle.

The Trump administration has long had problems attracting top-tier talent, a task which would just get harder if potential candidates perceive a personal legal risk to taking positions close to the President.

Trump has reportedly expressed desire to poach lawyers he sees as sufficiently aggressive, who are currently representing his family members and colleagues. With Don McGahn’s imminent departure, his legal staff is even more sparse than usual and hurting for lawyers with expertise in Constitutional law and a grounding in past impeachment hearings.

“Winter is coming,” said one close Trump ally told the Washington Post. “Assuming Democrats win the House, which we all believe is a very strong likelihood, the White House will be under siege. But it’s like tumbleweeds rolling down the halls over there. Nobody’s prepared for war.”

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for imkmu3 imkmu3 says:

    WH Woefully Unprepared…

    You could have stopped right there.

  2. The Trump administration has long had problems attracting top-tier talent…

    It’ll get worse after Barzini takes out Sonny. They’re going to have to go to the mattresses. Too bad Giuliani is just a pimp.

  3. Here’s hoping House Dems actually execute a legal onslaught, rather than just folding the way Schumer and Co. did on the judges this week.

  4. Dotard promised that he’d create jobs. He just didn’t know they’d all be for his defense attorney’s.

  5. There is a great Constitutional lawyer the tRump administration could call to help. He is very familiar with the White House and how an administration should work. Obama.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

117 more replies

Participants

Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for clunkertruck Avatar for trnc Avatar for thepsyker Avatar for chelsea530 Avatar for sickneffintired Avatar for lastroth Avatar for keninmn Avatar for darrtown Avatar for benthere Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for tena Avatar for misterneutron Avatar for bodie1 Avatar for khyber900 Avatar for not_so_fluffy Avatar for centralasiaexpat Avatar for erik_t Avatar for surendraval Avatar for eisenst Avatar for godwit Avatar for omegalimit Avatar for c_stedman Avatar for haddockbranzini

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: