Lawsuits. Lawsuits. Everywhere, lawsuits.
WAY back in June 2016, President Donald Trump – who was then candidate Donald Trump – bragged about how he handles lawsuits. He wins them, he said. And that helped qualify him to be President.
And the pace of lawsuits involving Donald J. Trump doesn’t appear to have slowed much since he took on the added responsibilities of being the President of the United States.
He’s been sued over business matters: The news Wednesday evening is that a federal judge will allow a lawsuit to go forward that alleges possible illegal gifts or payments from foreign and domestic governments were made to the President.
He’s been sued over harassment: The news last week was that a state Supreme Court judge in New York would allow the defamation suit brought by Summer Zervos, who says the President sexually harassed her, to go forward.
He features in lawsuits concerning multiple alleged affairs: Seems like everyone, at this point, should have a grasp of the case of Stormy Daniels, who is locked in a legal battle with the President’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen. Her attorney, by the way, is bent on deposing Trump, and he’s using the Bill Clinton deposition of 1998 as precedent. Trump also features in the lawsuit brought by Playboy model Karen McDougal against the parent company of National Enquirer. She wants out of the agreement she signed to sell the story of her alleged affair with him.
Who knows if Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation will ultimately directly involve the President, but the shadow it has cast over his tenure at the White House so far has been long and dark.
For a man so used to lawsuits and so happy with his pre-presidential winning record, however, it is this story by CNN’s Katelyn Polantz that is really eye-catching. The headline: An unheard-of problem: The President can’t find a lawyer. She’s writing about the Mueller probe and not the other lawsuits, but it’s still an incredible thing to read.
The money paragraph:
“Well-known Washington lawyers cited several reasons for declining the President in recent weeks, according to multiple sources familiar with their decisions. Among them, Trump appears to be a difficult client and has rebuked some of his lawyers’ advice. He’s perceived as so politically unpopular he may damage reputations rather than boost them. Lawyers at large firms fear backlash from their corporate clients if they were to represent the President. And many want to steer clear of conflicts of interest that could complicate their other obligations.”
The Point: It feels like too many lawsuits and not enough lawyers, which is a new problem for a US President to have. And with so many of them amping up on so many different topics, it’s a state of legal affairs that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.