Pat Cipollone, Laura Ingraham’s “spiritual mentor”, probably wasn’t Trump’s first choice, but Don McGahn leaves the WH, having done his duty getting boofin’ Brett onto SCOTUS and also being cooperative with the Mueller probe.
Emmet Flood probably would have been a better choice, but who wants to be holding the bag when #TrumpRussia actually starts to close in on the Oval Office.
Cipollone has already begun the process of filling out his necessary paperwork, according to one of those sources. (As with any decision in Trumpworld, the president could reverse it or some other obstacle could emerge in the paperwork process. But as of today, it's expected to be Cipollone.)
"He's a respected Washington litigator," the source said. "He's not one of the big names in the Washington Republican Bar, but he's respected."
- "He's not an obvious choice," the source continued. "Not a political guy like Don [McGahn] was. Not tied to the Hill and doesn't know all the senators like Don does... He's done some white collar in the past but is not a big player, like [Emmet] Flood, in the government investigations spot."
- The source continued that Emmet Flood, the lawyer most heavily touted for the job, "was a perfect choice" to handle government investigations given his private practice and previous White House experience.
- Whereas Cipollone, who has no previous White House experience, does some of that in his private practice but it's not what he's known for, the source added. Cipollone is primarily known as a civil litigator — for example, when a company sues another company for breach of contract.
"But he's a true believer," the source said of Cipollone. "He's a big Trump supporter."
Between the lines: Trump had been looking for loyalty in his next White House Counsel. He grew to loathe and distrust McGahn, and wanted somebody whom he felt would be unquestioningly "loyal" and who actually wanted the job, according to sources familiar with the president's thinking.
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(Emmet) Flood told the president that he would do the job if asked but did not express a great deal of enthusiasm for doing it, according to sources briefed on their interactions.
www.axios.com/…
Flood has mostly focused on the federal probe into Russian election meddling, which has led to indictments and guilty pleas from associates of the president. Because Flood oversaw issues related to executive privilege during his two years in the White House counsel’s office under former President George W. Bush, critics previously said his appointment likely foreshadowed a shift away from maximum cooperation with Mueller among the White House legal team.
Issues involving executive privilege could soon become the bulk of the job for whomever replaces McGahn, particularly if the Mueller probe stretches on past the November midterm elections.
[...]
But the ongoing federal investigation into Russian election interference and possible collusion between Trump associates and the Kremlin might also take a backseat to congressional document requests and inquiries if Democrats resume control of the House this fall. Party leaders have hounded their GOP colleagues for months, demanding investigations into all kinds of alleged ethics violations — from lavish furniture purchases to overseas investments — by White House officials and members of the president’s cabinet.
www.washingtonexaminer.com/...
