More on the Cohen investigation from Andrew C. McCarthy
I previously linked to Andrew McCarthy’s take on the Cohen searches, and I added this:
For 20 years McCarthy worked as a prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, which is the office involved here, and so he’s inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume there probably was a serious crime they were investigating that would justify the search. I’m not at all convinced, but I respect McCarthy enough to point out his article.
Now McCarthy has written another article on what might be going on with the Cohen case, and as usual he has a very interesting and somewhat unique perspective. The gist of what he says is that the seizure of Cohen’s attorney-client communications was in connection with an already-ongoing investigation into his business dealings that apparently had little to do with his connection to Trump. Therefore, McCarthy continues to believe there’s a “there” there, but that the “there” may not involve Trump at all:
…[P]rosecutors say Cohen has been under investigation for months. The probe involves a range of crimes, “many of which have nothing to do with his work as an attorney, but rather relate to Cohen’s own business dealings,” the government explained.
Consequently, even before the raids, the court authorized the FBI and prosecutors to search various email accounts maintained by Cohen. While the government reports that “zero emails were exchanged [by Cohen] with President Trump,” the existence of this monitoring means prosecutors long ago had to implement procedures to safeguard the A-C privilege.
However, (and this is me talking, not McCarthy) does anyone actually think that the investigation of Cohen is some sort of coincidence unrelated to Trump? Of course not. One of the main messages of his prosecution appears to be that it’s dangerous to work for Trump, and I believe this message is very intentional in nature. An investigation of Cohen is meant to have what in the law biz is called “a chilling effect” on the desire to associate with or assist Trump, and whether or not Cohen is ever found guilty of a crime is secondary to that goal, in my opinion.
McCarthy has also said he believes that the SDNY (the office involved in the prosecution, for which McCarthy previously worked for many years) is on the up and up and would not prosecute Cohen for political reasons. As I wrote earlier, I’m not at all convinced of that. But now McCarthy himself has pointed out a problem with his earlier theory:
The worst aspect of yesterday’s hearing was the revelation that Cohen claims Sean Hannity as one of his clients. I say this as a proud SDNY alum who has assured people that the Cohen investigation is surely not political, and as a longtime admirer of Kimba Wood, who is a very solid federal judge…
When, for whatever reason, these matters become relevant to a criminal investigation, the common practice is for prosecutors to issue a grand-jury subpoena, directing the lawyer to identify clients or fee arrangements. Grand-jury proceedings are secret. In this manner, the government can proceed with its investigation but the lawyer’s clients are not publicly embarrassed or slimed with innuendo. Moreover, the client can be given notice and an opportunity to be heard by the court, in order to make any argument he may have against being identified, particularly to the public…
Moreover, the A-C privilege belongs to the client, not the attorney. The law is supposed to protect the client, not indulge the lawyer. While the press has made this seem nefarious, lawyers ”” and especially lawyers who’ve gotten crosswise with the law ”” never want to reveal the identities of their clients…
…[I]t is difficult to see what happened in court as anything other than a gratuitous shot at Hannity, which Trump partisans will naturally take as a sign that the investigation is political. The unnecessary disclosure put Hannity in the position of having to explain himself publicly, to assure people that he is not involved in embarrassing or criminal episodes for which he needed to retain a “fixer.” (In fact, he explains that he and Cohen may have had informal legal discussions but never a formal A-C relationship.)
I don’t think the idea that this is “a sign that the investigation is political” is limited to “Trump partisans.” I think it’s obvious that it is political.
As for Kimba Wood, I can’t say I’ve followed her judicial career since the 90s when she was nominated for AG by Bill Clinton and had to withdraw because of repercussions from what was known as Nannygate, even though Wood herself had done nothing illegal. It could be argued that her nomination by Clinton constitutes a conflict of interest, but I think it’s a very weak argument. If that were the case, all federal judges would be unable to rule on any case that affected the person who nominated them, or that person’s rivals. That would bring the system to a grinding halt, and although that’s what some people would like, it ain’t gonna happen.
IOW, forcing Cohen to name Hannity—PUBLICLY—is the behavior of a kangaroo court.
(Dershowitz is also outraged.)
How could this NOT be political?
Though I have no idea, I do wonder whether there will be any repercussions for this decision on the part of Judge Wood (aside from the total lack of confidence and respect that she—and by extension, the court—has earned from a sizeable percentage of the electorate).
Can there be any question? The fact that this raid occurred now is credible circumstantial evidence in, and of, itself in my opinion. We are told that Cohen is under investigation for criminal business practices– for how many years?–and yet, the very public raid and court appearance takes place at this particular time. It insults our intelligence to suggest that it is not political.
I assume that McCarthy is sincere; but, I have the sense that the SDNY has soiled hands from other dealings. Maybe I will research it; but, in the meantime why not play by Progressive rules and just throw it out there? (I do not trust any prosecutorial agency whenever there is a political issue involved.)
I don’t know what legal arrows Trump has in his quiver; but, if there are some he should start shooting them right now–and at a variety of targets. Ignore the political fall-out, because he is going to be hammered for anything he does–or for nothing. As a former President liked to say “punch back twice as hard”. This debacle needs resolution quickly. There are too many serious issues facing the country to limp along with a distracted government.
FWIW (and it’s pretty bizarre):
https://twitchy.com/gregp-3534/2018/04/17/report-attorney-for-cnn-and-nytimes-convinced-judge-to-publicly-name-sean-hannity/?utm_campaign=twitchywidget
The Manhattan Contrarian doesn’t have a high opinion of the federal prosecutors in New York.
https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2015/8/9/the-weekend-in-phony-prosecutions-part-i?rq=preet
Ray, I consider the Manhattan Contrarian a more credible source than most. I expect he has good reason for his skepticism.
the probe is largely unrelated to Cohen’s law practice makes sense since he doesn’t appear to have much of one.
The son of my former (and now deceased) partner is an attorney in New York with one client, a Japanese businessman. I under stand from my partner that his son’s income the last 20 years has been around $5 to 7 million a year. I think he is still a partner in Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher.
McCarthy is also a favorite of mine on several issues but he is a NeverTrumper in good standing with NR.
Also, Judge Kimba Wood presided at the marriage of George Soros a few years ago. Coincidence ?
The reality of the SDNY et.al. vs. McCarthy’s idea of it is causing him major cognitive dissonance. He just can’t accept the fact that his former legal colleagues could be such political scumbags. This has been going on for well over a year now.
No respect for him. None.
As for Kimba Wood, the elephant in the room is that she officiated at George Soros’ marriage in 2013. ‘Nuff said.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/apr/17/kimba-wood-judge-michael-cohen-case-officiated-geo/
Andrew McCarthy makes the same mistake that many of the Republican establishment have made: failure to recognize that there is a war going on. War triggers aspects of humanity not seen in peace time. Nice people become viscious, honest people become liars, open people become secretive. The sense that survival is at stake changes things.
I still admire McCarthy but he’s politically naive.
I knew that Judge Wood was bent when I read that she said, “I have faith in the Southern District prosecutors, that their integrity is unimpeachable.”
Then I learned that she was closely and personally vetted by Hillary Clinton (twice as long as Bill’s interview) in Wood’s bid to be the AG.
The ‘coup de gras’ to any pretension of judicial objectivity was when I learned that she’s a close friend of George Soros, who officiated at his wedding in 2013..
Even Ronald Reagan could make a mistake, which he did when he accepted Sen. Al D’Amato’s recommendation to nominate Wood, a lifelong democrat… to a judgeship.
Political expediency always has its price.
McCarthy has more today on the Hannity unmasking, and that is what may tip the scales away from his former beliefs that his colleagues are staunchly nonpartisan.
He sees no justification for outing Hannity as a client of Cohen, and even less if he isn’t — there is nothing here but politics.
And yes, Barry, the MSM count for more in this court than does the law and Constitution.
And why, pray tell, did attorneys for the NYT and CNN even have a presence in the courtroom?
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/04/sean-hannity-outing-violates-law/
“Forget about evidence of wrongdoing. There is not even a suggestion that Hannity is involved in any crimes. He is a longtime friend of Cohen’s. He says they’ve had some informal legal discussions about such matters as real estate – and as any lawyer will tell you, informal discussions with non-lawyer friends are common. Hannity insists, however, that he has never retained Cohen to represent him in any legal matter, and has never paid him or received an invoice from him. There is no public evidence to contradict this, and no suggestion that Cohen has previously represented himself as Hannity’s attorney.
There has been no intimation that Hannity has any pertinent information about the activities for which Cohen is under investigation.…
Consequently, there was no reason for Hannity’s name to be revealed publicly.
…
In any event, the prosecutors could easily have handed Cohen’s attorney, Stephen Ryan, a grand-jury subpoena demanding disclosure of the client identities. That would have required Ryan to reveal the identities to the grand jury, but not to the public. Clearly, the prosecutors and Ryan were aware of this: As The Atlantic’s Natasha Bertrand tweeted yesterday, Ryan was prepared to surrender the information to the government under seal.
Apparently, Judge Wood was initially disposed to let that happen. b>Then, however, the judge allowed Robert Balin, an attorney for the New York Times and CNN, to intervene. /b>Balin, the Times reports, argued that potential embarrassment was not a sufficient reason to withhold the purported client’s name from the public. The judge was somehow persuaded by this frivolous contention. Without providing Hannity any notice and opportunity to be heard on the matter, she directed that his name be disclosed in open court.
The flaw in Balin’s argument is patent. It is true that, if the public has a legal right to know a piece of information, the fact that the information is likely to embarrass someone is not sufficient cause to suppress it. But the public has no right to know the names of people who are relevant to an investigation — even if they are suspected of wrongdoing. Furthermore, even when the government arrests someone or formally accuses someone of a crime in an indictment, the names of uncharged persons are not disclosed. “
Cohen is the crosshairs because he had the temerity to sue Buzzfeed for publishing the Steele dossier, which accused Cohen of being part of a criminal conspiracy. Cohen is pursing discovery in that case which will, in all likelihood, prove DOJ / FBI’s nefarious role in generating the dossier (not just receiving it from Steele).
So yes, quite naturally, the deep state is striking back.
Anyone who knowingly gets within 10 miles of Soros is instantly suspect. We are judged by the company we keep.
Neo asserts, “all federal judges would be unable to rule on any case that affected the person who nominated them, or that person’s rivals. That would bring the system to a grinding halt, and although that’s what some people would like, it ain’t gonna happen.”
I cannot agree, if on no other basis than that Neo greatly exaggerates. Bringing the system to a “grinding halt” because the plethora of Federal judges cannot recuse themselves from time to time? As they do, and must do, on other matters?
Here are data from TRAC, a Syracuse U. entity:
“Table 1. Judgeships, Workload and Increasing Wait Times
FY 1993 FY 2003 FY 2013 FY 2013
vs FY 1993
Judgeships 649 680 677 4%
Criminal and Civil Combined Workload:
Filings 275,323 323,604 353,522 28%
Median Months:
Criminal Felony to Disposition 6.3 6.7 7.3 16%
Civil Filing to Trial 16.0 22.5 26.1 63%
Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts federal judicial caseload and management statistics
“For civil matters, the substantially higher workloads and increased processing times have major economic and social consequences. This is because the federal courts frequently serve as the essential referee in resolving a large number of important economic and social conflicts. The legal struggles here involve a wide range of filers, from giant corporations and mom-and-pop businesses trying to resolve their disputes, to public interest groups pressing the government to act on important public issues, to civil rights organizations fighting for a more just society.
But in addition to all the contending private parties, civil litigation is also central to the federal government. In some circumstances, the government is the plaintiff when it uses its civil authority for many different purposes, whether enforcing environmental laws against polluters or cracking down on fraudulent drug manufacturers. The federal government also can be the defendant, for example when a private party feels the government is improperly using its powers.
“By comparison, the growth in processing times for criminal cases is considerably less, increasing by 16 percent. This measure is based on the growth in time between when an individual is charged with a felony until final disposition.”
So, the system is and has been exceedingly sluggish on civil cases. It takes two years from filing to start of trial!
So hire a couple hundred more. That should be easily achieved, filling high-paying jobs that provide lifetime tenure, unless one does an Alcee Hastings!
Frog:
You misunderstood my point, which had nothing to do with caseload and/or hiring more judges. It has to do with how the judges get appointed: politically, by presidents, which means that if they had to recuse themselves in all cases that had political repercussions, just about ALL the judges (however many there might be) would be recusing themselves practically all the time, because they are all political appointees of the president and approved by Congress, as was Kimba Wood (a Reagan appointee, by the way):
Wait, there’s more?
This is almost as good an entertainment distraction for the uneducated masses as Red vs Blue.
My team is going to win!
No my team!
No my team!
One of the main messages of his prosecution appears to be that it’s dangerous to work for Trump, and I believe this message is very intentional in nature. An investigation of Cohen is meant to have what in the law biz is called “a chilling effect” on the desire to associate with or assist Trump, and whether or not Cohen is ever found guilty of a crime is secondary to that goal, in my opinion.
There are two overall tactical positions to form in counter insurgency. Either we can go for decapitation or we can cut them off at the ankles and knees first.
Remove an organization’s operatives and logistics, starves them and even if their leaders are good, they can’t do anything. Remove an organization’s head, and they will not be able to coordinate the resources and logistics they do have well.
First they tried to remove the head, Trum. When that failed, they are now going for the low hanging fruit, like ankles and knees.
These are standard tactics even for martial artists, let alone Deep State pros.