Trump tweets about his lawyers, but not the “March for Our Lives”


Developments on Day 430 of the Trump Administration:

See also VideoCast with CNN: The Wider Significance of Trump’s Stormy Affair

Trump Goes to Ground in Florida

Donald Trump is unusually quiet on Twitter after hundreds of thousands “March For Our Lives” about gun control, and after adult film star Stephanie Clifford, a.k.a Stormy Daniels, speaks about efforts to silence her over a sexual encounter with Trump in July 2006.

From his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump opened Sunday with a burst of garbled tweets about his reluctant signature of a $1.3 trillion spending deal to keep the Government open until September, and then about the departure of his lawyers amid the Trump-Russia investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller:

But Trump never mentioned more than 800 marches on Saturday across the US, with 800,000 in Washington alone — a crowd larger than that for his inauguration — and a rally in front of Trump Tower in New York. Instead he spend the afternoon on the course.

See TrumpWatch, Day 429: March for Our Lives — 100,000s Rally for Gun Control

In the evening, Trump had no comment about Clifford’s high-profile interview on the flagship news program 60 Minutes.

Clifford defied threats by Trump’s remaining lawyers of a $20 million lawsuit to explain not only the July 2006 encounter after a golf tournament but attempts to intimidate her — “That’s a beautiful little girl. It’d be a shame if something happened to her mom” — and then pay her off in October 2017, eleven days before the Presidential election.

Beyond the description of the encounter, months after Trump’s youngest son was born, the affair raises questions about violation of election and even a possible link to the Trump-Russia investigation.

Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who made the $130,000 payment, says the money was from a personal account. However, that can be considered a personal “in-kind” contribution to the Trump campaign, exceeding the legal limit by $126,500. And if the money actually came from the Trump Organization or even the Trump campaign, that would be a more serious violation.

That in turn could pose another problem for Trump in the Russia investigation. Special Counsel Mueller’s team could use the claim of violations by Cohen to encourage him to cooperate with the inquiry — a similar tactic used with others such as Trump campaign advisors Michael Flynn, Rick Gates, and George Papadopoulos.

Cohen allegedly met Russian-linked businessmen and Russian officials from 2015 over financial and political affairs.

Another Trump lawyer referred 60 Minutes to the October 2016 non-disclosure agreement, which Clifford and her lawyer say is not valid because it was never signed by Trump. Cohen’s lawyer Brent Blakely issued a letter that Clifford’s allegation of intimidation is untrue.

Last Thursday former Playboy model Karen McDougal, interviewed on CNN, described a 10-month affair with Trump in 2006-2007. She has sued to break free of an agreement, allegedly used by the National Enquirer — led by a friend of Trump — to suppress the story, for which she was paid $150,000.

At least 15 other women have accused Trump of sexually inappropriate behavior. In early October 2016, the candidate was featured on a 2005 video in which he bragged of aggressive sexual advances towards women.

A judge ruled last week that a defamation lawsuit by one of the women, former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, can proceed.

Trump Loses Another Lawyer

Trump’s legal team faces further uncertainty, after the departure of his chief personal attorney John Dowd, when TV pundit John DiGenova backs out of an appointment announced earlier this month.

Dowd quit last week amid reported division within the team over how to approach the ever-closing Russia investigation. Dowd and White House lawyer Ty Cobb have favored cooperation with the Special Counsel, but others favor a more aggressive response — a view reflected in Donald Trump’s recent naming of Mueller in tweets denouncing “WITCH HUNT!” and alleging his team are politically biased.

DiGenova would have bolstered that aggressive line. A regular commentator on Fox TV, he has proclaimed a deep state conspiracy for a coup against Trump through the filing of false criminal charges.