“… the case has dramatically changed since James Comey was outed, or outed himself, as the leaker of a memorandum to the NY Times and testified before the Senate. Remember this case started as an investigation of Russian involvement.We now know from Comey’s testimony that as of the date Comey was fired in late May, Donald Trump individually was not under investigation for anything, not criminal, not counter-intelligence. So there’s nothing for Mueller to be investigating about Donald Trump individually except for one thing, which is James Comey’s conversations with Donald Trump regarding the Michael Flynn investigation. That’s where Comey famously quotes Trump saying ‘I hope you let it go, he’s a good guy,’ I’m paraphrasing there.That is now the center of attention. That involves James Comey as a key witness. Who is James Comey personally and professionally friendly with? Robert Mueller.Robert Mueller, if he is going to consider the alleged obstruction of justice asserted by James Comey, should not be the prosecutor or investigator in this because he is friendly with a key witness, James Comey. So that’s what I meant when I said ‘friends should not be investigating friends.’ And Robert Mueller, if he is considering Trump’s asserted obstruction of justice, cannot and should not be the investigator on this case.”



Should the special counsel's probe be shut down? TRUMP’S LEGAL TEAM IS PREPARING FOR WAR On Sunday, prominent conservative defense lawyer Jay Sekulow made his public debut as a member of Trump’s legal team on This Week with George Stephanopolous. The addition of Sekulow, who has argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court, is likely to assuage some concerns about Kasowitz’s fitness for representing the president.



Kasowitz and Sekulow will have their work cut out for them. At least four top-flight law firms reportedly passed on representing Trump, given his unique issues as a client. The best thing for the president would be to say, “Look, I am not going to talk about this stuff anymore, and if you want something out, then you call my lawyer but not me,” the D.C. lawyer, who wished to remain anonymous, told me. “But he like every day throws chum in the water and the fish respond.” While Trump managed to stay quiet throughout Comey’s testimony last week, he has since let loose on Twitter, accusing him of making “false statements and lies,” being a “leaker,” and being “very ‘cowardly!’ ” CNN Cuts Feed After Senator Objects to Clinton Foundation Atty Joining ‘Independent’ Counsel





Graham was questioning Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who was sitting in for Attorney General Jeff Sessions.



Democrats have long accused the Trump campaign of colluding with Russia, though no evidence has emerged. There is also speculation that Special Counsel Mueller will probe allegations of obstruction of justice against President Donald Trump.



Earlier this week, reports emerged that Mueller had hired attorneys for his investigative team who had donated to Hillary Clinton in the past, and one in particular who had represented the Clinton Foundation in its effort to block Freedom of Information Act requests for e-mails on Clinton’s private server. CNN cut away from a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday morning, seconds after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) raised concerns that Special Counsel Robert Mueller had hired a former Clinton Foundation attorney to assist with the probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.Graham was questioning Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who was sitting in for Attorney General Jeff Sessions.Democrats have long accused the Trump campaign of colluding with Russia, though no evidence has emerged. There is also speculation that Special Counsel Mueller will probe allegations of obstruction of justice against President Donald Trump.Earlier this week, reports emerged that Mueller had hired attorneys for his investigative team who had donated to Hillary Clinton in the past, and one in particular who had represented the Clinton Foundation in its effort to block Freedom of Information Act requests for e-mails on Clinton’s private server.

Though Democrats always fight to protect their side in hearings, Republicans show they won’t do the same for Trump.President Trump may claim that former FBI director James Comey’s appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee brought him “complete vindication.” But as he well knows, this was just one of the first shots fired in what will likely be a long, hard campaign by Democrats to build a case for his impeachment on whatever grounds they can find. But while he needs to prepare for more months filled with leaks, insinuations, and accusations of lying, abuse of power, and, more important, obstruction of justice, thrown in his direction, that prospect isn’t the only serious problem the Comey hearing revealed. What should also really worry him was the bipartisan tone of the spectacle.Put simply, Democrats seem to view all congressional investigations through the same prism of presidential adviser Steve Bannon, that is, as total war, while Republicans do not.Michael Dreeben donated $1,000 dollars to Hillary Clinton’s Senate political action committee (PAC), Friends of Hillary, while she ran for public office in New York. Dreeben did so while he served as the deputy solicitor general at the Justice Department.Jeannie Rhee, another member of Mueller’s team, donated $5,400 to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign PAC Hillary for America.Andrew Weissmann, who serves in a top post within the Justice Department’s fraud practice, is the most senior lawyer on the special counsel team, Bloomberg reported. He served as the FBI’s general counsel and the assistant director to Mueller when the special counsel was FBI director.James Quarles, who served as an assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, has donated to over a dozen Democratic PACs since the late 1980s.Mueller has also tapped Jeannie Rhee, formerly a federal prosecutor and high-level Justice Department official. Rhee provided legal services for the Clinton Foundation , a fact the Washington Post omits from its account.Jared Kushner’s New York Observer ran a series of scathing stories depicting Weissmann as a strong-arm prosecutor who “ran roughshod” over defendants’ rights during the Enron investigation. Kushner’s conduct will be part of the Mueller investigation, so this might be a matter of concern. Indeed, if Weissmann is the kind of prosecutor Kushner’s newspaper depicted that too would be concerning.

To summarize, Mueller’s selection of Rhee is alarming. To put a Clintonista on his team suggests either poor judgment or anti-Trump bias. It also suggests that Mueller sees himself as “bullet proof.”

Mueller’s selection of Dreeben is also alarming, if what I’m hearing about the guy is accurate. Indeed, it may be even more alarming than the selection of Rhee. Dreeben, after all, will likely play the key role at “crunch time” — the time when Mueller must decide whether the evidence supports bringing criminal charges against the President of the United States.