Attorneys, attorneys everywhere
I鈥檓 making an admission: I keep a close watch on all things Trump, but I鈥檓 forever confused about which legal case is in the news on any given day.
There are just so many of them.
Last week, it was reported that 40 subpoenas were issued in the criminal investigation involving the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Forty of them.
It鈥檚 not much of a stretch to figure out who investigators are, well, essentially investigating. It鈥檚 Donald J. Trump, former President of the United States.
I get that.
But those subpoenas weren鈥檛 issued by the ongoing Jan. 6 congressional committee. They were issued through a criminal investigation by the Justice Department, which is now looking into those supposed, fake electors that stood at the ready on Jan. 6.
That places Trump鈥檚 political action committee under serious scrutiny.
I might have a little trouble keeping track of all of those legal problems that seem to keep popping up in Trumpland. But I doubt that Trump is the least bit surprised by them.
He鈥檚 been surrounded by attorneys most of his adult life 鈥� and for good reason.
His legal entanglements began back in 1973 when he and his father were sued for housing discrimination.
They wouldn鈥檛 rent to Black people.
They hadn鈥檛 gotten the word about that Fair Housing Act, I suppose.
But since then, Trump has never been without an attorney, and the need to have one nearby.
Nowadays, the Trump Organization is under criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney, and the New York Attorney General.
There are very serious questions about the possibility the Trump Organization may have played fast and loose with insurance, banking, and tax laws, which may have meant it was involved in financial fraud.
In that case, Trump went to the office of Attorney General Letitia James, where he gave a deposition.
That鈥檚 a stretch.
He only answered one question 鈥� his name. Then he invoked the Fifth Amendment 440 times.
Contrast that to the times Hillary Clinton was questioned about, say, Benghazi. She never took the Fifth once.
There鈥檚 still a defamation case stemming from Trump鈥檚 denial of a rape claim by E. Jean Carroll.
There鈥檚 that case down in Georgia, with the questions about Trump and his associates trying to overturn the lawfully administered 2020 presidential election.
You know, with Mr. Trump being overheard in a phone call, supposedly, trying to get Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to: 鈥淎ll I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes,鈥� blah, blah, blah.
(NOTE: I just added the blah, blah, blahs)
No other president in history has had this great a need for attorneys. Not even Richard Nixon.
If Trump isn鈥檛 at the heart of the legal entanglements, the people surrounding him are.
Here鈥檚 just a short list: Steve Bannon; fundraiser Elliot Broidy; informal foreign policy advisor George Nader; Trump鈥檚 former national security advisor Michael Flynn; Trump associate Roger Stone; presidential campaign adviser George Papadopoulos; Trump鈥檚 former personal attorney Michael Cohen; Trump鈥檚 onetime presidential campaign manager Paul Manafort, deputy presidential campaign manager Rick Gates; chief financial officer for the Trump Organization Allen H. Weisselberg.
(NOTE: I may have missed somebody because there are new folks added just about every day.)
It鈥檚 noteworthy that Trump always tried to compare himself favorably to Barack Obama. He can鈥檛 do that about their comparative legal problems.
Trump鈥檚 legal problems are growing, even after him only being in office for four years. In eight years, Obama never had an indictment or a conviction of anybody directly associated with him.
I haven鈥檛 even mentioned Trump鈥檚 latest, and perhaps, most serious legal problem 鈥� his Mar-a-Lago Misadventures.
There are near-daily revelations about the important documents that were found to be tucked away inside his Florida home.
It鈥檚 been reported that the FBI seized nuclear documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Mr. Trump swears he had the right to declassify them 鈥� or anything.
If he had declassified them, then why haven鈥檛 his attorneys said that in court?
Because they know he鈥檚 not telling the truth to the public.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 50-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.