From KCRW
All presidents have legal issues. Some have more than others. A weekly conversation about the law, executive power, and all the presidents' lawyers, good and bad.
The end of the road, for now
November 24, 2021 • It's been more than three years since Josh Barro and Ken White started All The President's Lawyers (the first name of this show) to explore the legal problems of then-President Donald Trump, and wow, did he have legal problems.
Summer's over
November 17, 2021 • Just 22 days after Steve Bannon was referred to the Department of Justice for contempt of Congress, we have an indictment. Is that a long time? No, very much not.
Another indictment from Durham
November 10, 2021 • There's been another indictment in special prosecutor John Durham's investigation of the investigation into links between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia.
Low-hanging fruit
November 3, 2021 • We now know which documents former President Trump is seeking to block from the January 6 select committee: the White House daily diary, which would show his movements and meetings; phone records and records of his senior staff, and a few other documents, including a draft of a speech for the "Save America" rally, a handwritten note, and more.
Guilty. Appealing. Talking. Referred for contempt
October 26, 2021 • This week, Josh Barro and Ken White catch up on a few familiar characters and tie up some loose threads. Lev Parnas, former associate of Rudy Giuliani: convicted of six counts of charges related to funneling and concealing political contributions.
Testing the boundaries of executive privilege
October 20, 2021 • Former President Trump has sued the National Archives and the chairman of the January 6 investigating committee, Congressman Bennie Thompson, to try to prevent the disclosure of White House papers, records and communications up to and during the riot. He's asserting executive privilege.
Did Trump sue Jean Carroll?
Jean Carroll’s defamation suit, arguing that when Trump denied Carroll’s accusation that he had raped her, he did so in his official capacity as president, and therefore he couldn’t be sued.
Did Ken White go to jail for a misdemeanor?
Both agreed that a lenient sentence with no jail time was appropriate for her one misdemeanor count (to which she pleaded guilty) and the government seemed to set a standard for the hundreds of sentences that are expected.
Who did Michael Cohen pay Stormy Daniels?
Michael Cohen’s company established to make hush payments to Stephanie Clifford (a.k.a. Stormy Daniels) and Karen MacDougal to stop them from publicly disclosing their affairs with Donald Trump before the 2016 election.
Did Michael Flynn say a coup?
Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn made some news this week at a rally when he seemed to say a coup like the one in Myanmar earlier this year should happen in the United States. Flynn denied saying this, even though he was caught on tape.
Episodes
It’s been more than three years since Josh Barro and Ken White started All The President’s Lawyers (the first name of this show) to explore the legal problems of then-President Donald Trump, and wow, did he have legal problems. He still has legal problems, but he’s no longer president, and it’s time to wind down this very fun show.
Popular Podcasts
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
Did Michael Flynn say a coup should happen?
Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn made some news this week at a rally when he seemed to say a coup like the one in Myanmar earlier this year should happen in the United States. Flynn denied saying this, even though he was caught on tape. Flynn’s old boss, former president Trump, is supposedly telling people he expects to be reinstated as president by August. While Ken says it’s not a crime to believe or wish you’ll be reinstated, it can tip over into seditious conspiracy if an agreement is made. Court documents related to prosecutors’ investigation of Rudy Giuliani show yet another redaction mistake. The documents didn’t reveal much about the investigation, but they did give Josh the opportunity to explain the right and wrong way to redact information from a PDF. And the Manhattan DA’s probe of the Trump Organization may use New York’s “Little RICO” law.
Did the Department of Justice defend E. Jean Carroll?
Jean Carroll’s defamation suit, arguing that when Trump denied Carroll’s accusation that he had raped her, he did so in his official capacity as president, and therefore he couldn’t be sued. It’s customary for the Department of Justice to represent the president in situations like this, though a federal judge rejected it. The Trump DOJ appealed, but after he lost the election, there was a question about whether the DOJ under Biden would continue the appeal. Carroll and her lawyers were strongly opposed. Well, now the Department of Justice under President Biden has spoken: they will continue to represent the former president in this case. Why? Was this unexpected? Ken and Josh discuss that, plus the audio of Rudy Giuliani pressuring Ukrainian officials to announce investigations into Joe Biden’s work in Ukraine and whether Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election, if it’s a sweet gig to be a special master, how you go about searching through millions of documents anyways, messing up a PDF and hurting the opposing party, serving subpoena realness and more.
