Who And What Is Behind The Big McGahn Leakage to the Times?

The Times had a big Saturday story (the Dept of Oxymorons has allowed that formulation) on the cooperation of White House attorney Dan McGahn with the Mueller investigation.

White House Counsel, Don McGahn, Has Cooperated Extensively in Mueller Inquiry

By Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman    Aug. 18, 2018

WASHINGTON — The White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, has cooperated extensively in the special counsel investigation, sharing detailed accounts about the episodes at the heart of the inquiry into whether President Trump obstructed justice, including some that investigators would not have learned of otherwise, according to a dozen current and former White House officials and others briefed on the matter.

In at least three voluntary interviews with investigators that totaled 30 hours over the past nine months, Mr. McGahn described the president’s fury toward the Russia investigation and the ways in which he urged Mr. McGahn to respond to it. He provided the investigators examining whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice a clear view of the president’s most intimate moments with his lawyer.

This was all a part of the legal strategy - the truth will keep you free - urged by Trump's original legal team, which hoped to surprise Mueller by cooperating with him.

So who is leaking this and why?

Rudy Giuliani had an interesting suggestion: Team Mueller is panicking:

Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani suggested Saturday that investigators with the special counsel’s office are “panicking” by leaking information about White House counsel Donald McGahn’s cooperation in an effort to prod the president into testifying.

Say what? My handicapping has the arrows pointing in the opposite direction - Team Trump is leaking this to make the points that Trump has been cooperating and there is no need for Mueller to interview Trump since they already have his story by way of the White House attorney (who strictly speaking represents the office of the Presidency, not the current incumbent).

Do keep in mind that one of their objections to a potential Mueller subpoena is that the President won't be providing essential information. Here we go from Douglas Kmiec, former head of the DoJ OLC under Reagan and Bush, commenting on a letter from Trump's attorneys to Mueller:

Who decides when a presidential interview can be refused or subpoena quashed? The authors of the letter think the question is answered by a lower-court ruling, United States vs. Espy, decided in 1997 during the presidency of Bill Clinton. The letter claims that to overcome a privilege claim, special counsel must show that evidence is obtainable from no other source than the president.

This is overstatement. The court of appeals speculated that the ruling would delay obtaining evidence, not preclude it. 

I had tackled that back when the letters were getting attention in these two posts (the second of which focused on the Kmiec article). The upshot was that Team Trump has an arguable but probably losing position, although the factual context will be critically important and is at this point speculative.

But my mind-reading is this: The key United States versus Nixon case covered a subpoena for evidence that would be produced at trial. Here we are talking about a grand jury. The prosecutors are looking for enough evidence to indict, not proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. So I suspect Team Trump will ask, what is Trump's testimony going to add beyond the tale told by the White House attorney? 

At trial Trump might be a useful corroborating witness, but for a grand jury? If Trump is telling the same story as his attorney he may have added a bit of confidence but he hasn't added new information. Or, if Trump is telling a different story from his attorney than the case is a muddle, which may hinder rather than help the grand jury (Yeah, Team Trump is just trying to save Mueller from himself, amirite?)

I would guess that Steve Vladeck and Benjamin Wittes of Lawfare would come to a different conclusion about grand jury subpoenas but if the evidentiary standard for indictment is lower than for a conviction at trial, the importance of an appearance by the President ought to be less.

Well - that's my two cent speculation as to where Team Trump is headed with this. But how does a leak by Team Mueller that Trump has been very cooperative and they know just about all the advice he got and what he said in key meetings put pressure on Trump to tell his story?

Comments

[henry]

TM, perhaps team Mueller doesn't want to live out its days with Antifa Occupooping their front doorsteps for not deposing Trump.

A leak to ease the rabble down now that coup seargent Brennan is in the hot seat (with even Mad Cow giving him a hard time). Maybe the peripheral players go full "not me" mode because they think Orange is not a good color for them.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--One point about our booming economy: it's entirely organic. There are no housing, Internet, and/or energy bubbles stoking this fire. It's deregulation, tax cuts, and a pro-America capitalist at the helm. Funny that...--

Wish I could agree Beasts but ten years of free money has vastly inflated housing prices beyond the previous bubble along with equities and treasuries.
The new growth atop the previous anemic growth provided by the free money is due to those cited causes but the free money overhang severely threatens all of the growth we see.
The hope is Barry's pathetic recovery has left enough slack for there to be room to continue growing longer than normal for an expansion.
We'll certainly find out eventually.

[Old Lurker]

Previous thread had this curious post from Pin:

"Old Lurker

How is this proposition controversial:

One gets what One pays for."

A little context, please?

[Beasts of England]

Dang it! I was really en fuego at the end of the previous thread!! In my humble opinion, of course... :)

[Eye Doctor]

Clinton body count expands, MSM largely ignores death of Jen Moore
https://www.commdiginews.com

[GUS]

Don't you think the story should be that MUELLER is leaking??

[Beasts of England]

Thanks for putting out my fire, Ig. ;)

[Extraneus]

Smells like this whole thing is a prelude to Trump giving Mueller the finger.

And btw, what if Trump is subpoenaed, loses the fight to quash in court, and still refuses to testify or simply takes the 5th?

[Clarice Feldman]

I think Trump definitely had the mtgs with the SC leaked to Haberman and Schmidt who snapped at the bait. He knew they'd put their special spin on it and he could then refute it and in the process show that Mueller had received everything he asked for and his testimony was unnecessary, merely an attempted perjury trap. Think. If Sanders had at a presser showed a mile high stack of documents the wh had provided Mueller, it would never be covered, as the press dunces focused on Omoroso, Stormy and whatever POS their little minds were would around.

[Beasts of England]

But seriously, Ig, arguably inflated housing prices - partially due to cheap money - are not as much of an issue as non-doc loans and other market disrupters, e.g., CRA, which caused much of the previous housing bubble and the resulting pain.

[sbwaters]

Come on. McGahn talks to the NYYTimes. Giuliani speculates. Trump didn”t leak. And who cares what Mueller did.

Next topic?

[GUS]

So MUELLER is still trying to find a CRIME to investigate??

[Bunky is now Savotage!!!]

Latin phrase of the evening: fac me a sandwico

[narciso]

So who will bell this Brooks brothers Renault or Robespierre, ymmv.

[Beasts of England]

Obviously the Thermidorians, narciso. :)

[narciso]

Seriously, his charter is open ended, anyone can be drawn in, from any country at any time, what did we used to call this?

[Pinandpuller]

One thing I didn't see on my trip was Cardboard Sign Americans or Hitchhiker Americans at all along the I55 or I70 corridor.

I pulled into a suburban bordering on the rural Wal Mart and Lowe's parking lot and its infested with them.

[Pinandpuller]

Just now on Charlotte Pike, that is. It's also an ad hoc tractor trailer parking lot so God knows what comes out after dark.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--But seriously, Ig, arguably inflated housing prices - partially due to cheap money - are not as much of an issue as non-doc loans and other market disrupters, e.g., CRA, which caused much of the previous housing bubble and the resulting pain.--

They exacerbated it and while they are not as predominant now they are still there.
But the biggest problem is unsustainable prices.
None of those things caused the NASDAQ to plunge 78% in 2000, but plunge it did.
Perhaps it will be managed differently or market forces are sufficiently different to prevent another crash. I hope so. But I wouldn't rule it out by any stretch of the imagination.
The problem in 2008 was a debt hangover. The solution was a much bigger debt hangover for the last ten years; hence my concern.

[GUS]

What are LOT LIZARDS and DRUG PUSHERS for $1000 pin???

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Only those staging a clue Capn chickenshit.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

LOL. Make that coup.

[Extraneus]

I'm for pulling clearances on all people not trusted by the incoming administration.

Back in the day, FBI and CIA people were more trustworthy than they are now. Maybe we can get back to that with the right kind of incentives.

Is there anyone today who both sides would trust with criminal and/or national security secrets?

[Miss Marple]

In my opinion Dems should not get clearances given the behavior of the party.

[maryrose]

Momto2:
Loved the Atlanta picture.
It is great to put a name to a face.
Clarice is featured on Realclearpolitics blog!

[Jim Eagle]

Really uninformed discussion on security clearances. Nio one has any unlimited entitlement. They are supspended every day for a number of reasons. This is all a bunch of BS by people and the media who have no idea how clearances are provided and how they are limited, suspended or revoked.

Its almost as if we are discussig welfare acceptance and usage.

[Strawman Cometh]

I put Venezuela squarely on GWB. A $trillion for Iraq but not $3 for a bullet for sick fuck Chavez.

[Miss Marple]

I will address you despite the fact I believe the real Captain Hate is in the air.

The demos must purge themselves of the seditionist, communist element. Until then, I am uncomfortable with them having access to state secrets, since I think they would give them to foreign powers.

[Beasts of England]

Let me track back to my original point, Ig - our economy is not being driven by any single artificial boom. I'm not saying that all is well, of course. What I am saying is that the growth we are seeing today is spread across many sectors; hence more foundational and indicative of stability.

[Jim Eagle]

CH,

Tit for Tat never works. This is selective revocations so far, and with merit.

You can bet there are "for life" clearanes out there from Reagan to Clinto to Obama. How do you feel about that? I think I know. Its another feature of the Swamp that needs reform or sinking.

[Jim Eagle]

Oh shit, did I fall for a fake CH.

Sometimes he can be iconoclastic and this time I took him as his hateful self. How bad,,,,,

[narciso]

I guess the late Edwin Wilson was a pioneer in this, of course he wasn't as rogue as was suggested, in fact they hired some of his employees like Billy Waugh twenty years down the road. So these are not patronage hired because they are officially private sector, and it's not merely a us phenomenon.

[narciso]

When one crossferences berggmans book with some of farrows findings we find black cube is primarily stocked with dissenters to liked policy like giora eland and the late meir dagan. In the UK haklyut seemed to have a more eclectic mix, south africa Brit an American or two, like the fabled universal exports.

[Beasts of England]

Captain Hate usually has his dog as an avatar.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Beasts,
I don't think Bush's economy was being pushed by only housing either.
The Fed was running cheap, loose money throughout the economy then too. It happened to concentrate in housing, but I'm not sure more widespread access to now free, rather than just cheap, money constitutes more or less of a threat. Arguably more.
And the debt overhang is unquestionably more.
As with most, if not all things, time will tell.

[Extraneus]

The pathetic douchbag obviously wants to talk to us, yet is afraid to do so under any name he can think of.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Does anyone care if some GOPe dopes or anyone else gets their clearances yanked after they leave office?
I don't. No need to know, no clearance.

[Beasts of England]

I disagree about that, Ig. The mortgage fiasco extended to second mortgages, as well. People would buy a house they could barely afford, wait out two years of artificial appreciation, and then take out a second to buy a new car - and all of that debt was being perversely bundled and sold by the Masters of the Universe. Anyway, that's the way I remember it. And you're right - time will tell...

[lyle]

Security clearances = keys to The Swamp. Who’s with lyle? The real, authentic lyle! Money back guarantee! No faux bro show...😎

[James D.]

I’m with you, Ig.

The moment they leave their job, their clearances should be stopped. Maybe let them be reacticsted in some kind of expedited manner if they’re rehired by the gov’t in the future but in the meantime nothin

[Beasts of England]

The real lyle? Are we sure? What key is in the seventh position? Is there any Petit Verdot in Ch. Ausone? 😜

[Jane#walkaway]

Beasts,

Mulvaney agrees with you.

[pagar, a bacon, ham and sausage supporter]

"since I think they would give them to foreign powers."

What does any one thinK the Awan clan was doing with all the classified they were able to get out of the House? Any noone is investigating any of it?
None of the clan seems to be in jail. It is insane.
Not only were they stealing the classified, they were getting paid much higher salaries that the Americans that were doing the same jobs that were stealing. IMO!

[JimNorCal]

Will google ban MSNBC like it did historian Doug Wead?

https://mobile.twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1030955925572448256
MSNBC panelist says Trump wants to round up opponents and kill them

[lyle]

B major/e minor. Probably.

[maryrose]

Pagar:
So true!

[pagar, a bacon, ham and sausage supporter]

The last line of my 08:00 PM should have the word not next to stealing.

[lyle]

Probably on the petit Verdot, that is. VII position could also be b minor or E major depending on whether the guitarist is using the E form or A form. 🎶

[Jim Eagle]

Again for all: Top Secret get Periodic Reiview every 5 years. Secret get Periodic Review every 10 years. Confidential get Periodic Revierw every 15 years;.

Just so we can set the table correctly.

There is no such thing as a permanet, un-tested security clearance and Brennan and company know that. The PR is the issue. We need to make sure those PR's are based on "need to know" and not legacy.

[Beasts of England]

You missed the mark on the viticulture, lyle - surprisingly. :)

[Extraneus]

Are you guys talking about the Locrian mode?

[Extraneus]

(1, ♭2, ♭3, 4, ♭5, ♭6, ♭7)

[Extraneus]

Avenatti, mulling WH run, tells anti-Trump Dems in New Hampshire to 'fight fire with fire'

Pics at the link.

[lyle]

I’m just a hayseed hick at heart, Beasts!

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Thank for not doing one of the (click to enlarge) things with that beady eyed stoat, Ex.

[henry]

LOL Ext, he has the Egg McMuffin hair, but not the charm.

[Frau Goldene Rolltreppe]

Iggy -

"Creepy porn lawyer," sez Tucker Carlson.

[Extraneus]

Singing stoat.

(Click to enlarge.)

[narciso]

They are kind of quote, avenatti is more inn the face higher with extended jaw.

[Beasts of England]

I was referencing B-major, Extraneus - from a session chart perspective. I'll leave the dissonant tonics to you theory guys... 👊

[Catsmeat]

I'm glad at least one of us is actually who he says he is! (congratulations, lyle...)

I'm starting classes tomorrow; in one, the first lecture is on the transition from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century, points roughly reliant on Deidre McCloskey and Northrop Frye; in the other, it's the origin of Romantic ideas about the child. So, yes, this is me, Catsmeat.

[Another Bob]

JIB, I think the point is to end Brennan’s access ASAP, and perhaps punish him by taking away a set of meal tickets. Has nothing to do with the mechanics of the system.

[Comanche Voter]

It's now abundantly clear that Mueller can't find his backside with both hands and the assistance of a seeing eye dog. So how is he going to find a "crime" to prosecute?

[matt - deplore me if you must]

If Trump's lawyer is talking to the SP's office then I am sure the president knows this. He is also using it to his advantage. Rudy seems to be a carnival barker being used to distract the media.

The MSM is getting sucked deeper and deeper into a cesspool of its own making and will, anon, asphyxiate on their own excrement.

Ohr is, I think going to lead to Clapper & Brennan is going to lead to a whole lotta shakin goin' on. Let the sycophants and insiders write the letters. I believe that they will end up signing their own unemployment papers.

The talk of a threat to free speech is ludicrous, especially as their Interweb masters demonstrate their own fascist tendencies. It really is the same Leftist accusations of what they themselves are guilty of, again.

Turkey and the BRIC's have their own set of problems now. China never dealt with their debt bombs and now the screws are turning at their most vulnerable point in decades. The Emperor is actually coming under fire now. It is treason to compare him to Winnie the Pooh. They are also becoming much more dictatorial with camps for Uighers and arresting Christians. Perhaps the March Hare will make an appearance the way things are going. The Party is very nervous.

Venezuela's refugees are going to prompt walls down in South America soon. There was a very poignant photo on the web today of a roll of TP and the double stack of Bolivars necessary to purchase it. Frankly, the stack of notes would last longer, but they aren't super soft.

In the meantime, to an extent, the American economy has become more insular. That is a good thing when the ROW is having issues.

The global governments and banks kicked the can down the road after 2008. Assets are inflated. The consequences are still going to be there. But I think we may be better off now.

[Clarice Feldman]

You know in the winter stoats become ermines.

[narciso]

And this is why bolsanero, who makes trump sound like a boy scout may win, across the border,

[Another Bob]

Another weird way the FANG people are wheedling themselves into your opinions...

I’m reading on an iPad. When I go to the address bar to type in a URL, the initial suggestion, before I enter a keystroke, pops up “Rudy Giuliani”. I’m pretty sure I’ve not done a search for Rudy.

At what some might call an “alt-right” site, the suggestion is “Southern Christian Leadership Conference”. I KNOW I haven’t visited nor searched for them.

Still trying to figure out what mechanism is causing this.

[Catsmeat]

I love the singing stoat; thank you. What does he sing? "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie..."

[Ralph L]

I suppose this means that if Brennan goes to work for a defense contractor, he can't get another clearance even if he hasn't voted for another Communist or hasn't run up gambling debts with the Mob.

[Janet 🚬]

Looks like TM got rid of that troll that was using Captain Hate's name.

Thank you!

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

So if you buy an ermine coat in the winter does it turn brown in the summer?

[Pinandpuller]

Old Lurker

I agree with you that it's fair that rich people get the best doctors they can pay for.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

And is it called a stoat coat?

[Catsmeat]

My grandparents at one time had a get-rich-scheme that involved a chinchilla farm in La Jolla--this was in the early forties--but they didn't know not to wash the chinchillas with water (you are supposed to let them clean themselves with dust, I gather). The chinchillas all got mange and their fur fell out. SO my grandparent left the poor bare chinchillas to their fate and moved to Florida. A cautionary tale, for something!

[Pinandpuller]

Wow these Hindus in West Nashville had no problem cooking me a great beef cheeseburger. They just wear gloves and insist they are Vegetarians. Mind blown.

[Beasts of England]

Not necessarily, Ralph - but he'll have to go through a background investigation to have it reinstated. His SSBI lifestyle polygraph results could be interesting... :)

[Clarice Feldman]

https://spectator.org/confirmed-john-brennan-colluded-with-foreign-spies-to-defeat-trump/

[Captain Hate]

His SSBI lifestyle polygraph results could be interesting...

Trump would be really interesting if they do full poly while showing him the piss tape.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Hushing the poor, lost soul Ben sock puppeting the official Captain Hate doesn't hush the real deal so hush away.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

That AmSpec story is a year and a half old clarice.

[glasater]

Progressives are stirring up an article 25 talk re PDJT on twitter. He's got the 'sun down' look and carp like that.

Usually I don't respond but today the debil made me write back to the TDS crew.. 'I feel your pain. Felt the same way about Obama when he was in office except I kept my mouth shut about it..'..to quite a few of the #Dolts.

[Clarice Feldman]

IGGY, MISREAD THE DATE ON IT, BUT IT'S WORTH REVISITING I THINK.

Thoas Sowell's neat idea for cutting off illegal immigration from Mexico.
https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/39605611_2080128312303784_475961279240994816_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&_nc_eui2=AeFay6WoH5LJNXOkIGOYY1CIh-TnrDmbbDe4wLEdVhtRgL26Qf0KyxvnhKZAYjKZ0Hc1bZC-uJ7vkhdVFDeSCoXAnSP2zEsoerXW7_zSMdNi0A&oh=160127c887c997933e9d5e1b3ca5a150&oe=5C100934

[Frau Wieselchen]

Stoats (Mustela erminea) are members of the mustelid family. Weasels and ferrets are also mustelids. All three species were introduced to New Zealand as early as 1879 to control rabbits that were destroying sheep pasture. From very early on, stoats have had a devastating effect on New Zealand’s unique birdlife.

I hope they taste like chicken.

[narciso]

Yes but when you tie in apelbaum it fills in the blanks.

[Frau Wieselchen]

Clarice, remember I have dibs on Thomas Sowell but will share alternating weekends.

[Ralph L]

Catsmeat, I hope you'll pay attention in class, study hard, and get an A.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Chick who accused Harvey Weinstein paid $300K+ to some underage dude she schtupped.
Anthony Bourdain's gal. What a delightful crowd.

[Miss Marple]

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/08/19/cruise-passenger-rescued-10-hours-after-falling-off-ship-in-croatia.html

Amazing that she lived. Ten hours in the water!

[narciso]

Well that's awkward, then again you saw the film she did with vin diesel, where she played a sparrow inside an anarchist cell?

[Clarice Feldman]

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/doctor-out-why-physicians-are-leaving-their-practices-pursue-other-n900921
In re a previous discussion here. I know this is true, I know a number of doctors who retired early.

[Clarice Feldman]

Don't know if I'm into sharing, frau--maybe if you bribe me with some of your flammekuchen

[Beasts of England]

And now they're investigating Cohen for bank fraud. It's on my newsfeed, so no link...

[jim nj]

https://nypost.com/2018/08/19/michael-cohen-reportedly-under-investigation-for-20m-in-bank-fraud/

[narciso]

Interesting in the first chapter of master and margarita, the urbane Soviet critic who can't stoop to be believing in the devil, despite evidence all around him. Well he gets the David Warner treatment.

[narciso]

Goethe was 19th century German romantic era, there in lies the problem, I found Faust very lugubrious.

[narciso]

They are this close to going full belushi:

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/pj-gladnick/2018/08/18/get-out-cnns-berserk-philip-mudd-tries-kick-guest-show

[Dave (in MA)]

.

[narciso]

Thanks Dave, snorfle.

[Janet 🚬]

Mudd is a poster child for why security clearances SHOULD be pulled.

Here's some info on his background - https://everipedia.org/wiki/philip-mudd/

He was an English Lit. major in college.

His career now -
"Philip Mudd is currently a CNN​ counter-terrorism analyst and the President of Mudd Management, a company specializing in security consulting; analytic training; and public speaking about security issues."

[Janet 🚬]

another clip from Feb. 2018 - https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/pj-gladnick/2018/02/04/comedians-desus-and-mero-mock-philip-mudds-racial-slur-rants

He is a lunatic.