A new article in the The Daily Beast this morning says that Donald Trump is growing increasingly terrified about the investigations being carried on by U.S. Attorneys in the Southern District of New York (SDNY).
Trump has been publicly attacking special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of his 2016 campaign ties to Russia in speeches and on Twitter for nearly two years. But privately he is much more concerned about the SDNY investigations of him and his children, the article says.
The Daily Beast reports that “sources close to the president” say that Trump’s personal team of lawyers is focused almost exclusively on matters being investigated by the SDNY prosecutors. And he is desperately pleading with them not to abandon him. He reportedly has personally asked them to stay with him for the battles that are coming.
Special counsel Mueller is reportedly close to submitting his report but Trump knows he is facing greater legal peril from not only the U.S. Attorneys in the SDNY but also lawsuits filed by attorneys general in New York, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
According to The Daily Beast:
“Details about Trump and his family business could be laid bare for public scrutiny as Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer and self-described fixer, heads to the Hill to testify this week.”
“He is set to answer questions regarding Trump’s debts and payments, compliance with federal disclosure requirements, tax laws, campaign finance laws, and potentially fraudulent practices by the Trump foundation.”
The New York attorney general’s office sued the Donald J. Trump Foundation last year, alleging the charity functioned as a “checkbook” for Trump’s business and political interests. They also have said that the Foundation’s board of directors — Trump, his daughter Ivanka, and his two sons Eric and Donald Jr. — are still under criminal investigation despite the foundation’s dissolution in December.
Trump and his associates also face congressional investigations of his real estate business, his tax returns, his dealings with Deutsche Bank and his appointment of former attorney general Matt Whitaker.
In light of all of this, the Mueller probe and its upcoming report don’t even seem that consequential. Many of the lawsuits and investigations against Trump and his children will be continuing for years, and require massive amounts of legal representation.
Of course Trump and his advisers continue to describe the investigations as politically motivated. Still, they recognize that they are facing potential legal threats that are very real.
“I believe the Mueller investigation has always been a part of ‘the resistance,’ designed to stop the president’s agenda by any means necessary,” said Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign adviser who has been questioned in the Mueller probe.
He insisted the SDNY was also part of that political “resistance,” and Caputo said New York state authorities and the Democratic House majority were also going after the president so Mueller could end his investigation — but he admitted Trump needed additional help to face those battles.
“By my estimation, there will be a need for more attorneys,” Caputo said, “because I expect the harassment to double, if not triple.”
Donald Trump has complained often about what he calls “presidential harassment” and for good reason. He is facing so many lawsuits and investigations that his life is likely to be hell for many years to come.
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