March 11, 2018

Trump Just Lashed Out at NYT’s Report on Turmoil in His Legal Team

“I am VERY happy with my lawyers,” the president tweeted.

Brian Cahn/Zuma

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On Sunday morning, President Trump once again took to Twitter to lash out at the New York Times. This time, his target was the paper’s report that he met with President Clinton’s impeachment lawyer, Emmet Flood, in the Oval Office last week to discuss hiring him to handle matters in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. 

Trump currently has White House lawyer Ty Cobb in charge of the inquiry, after his longtime personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz stepped aside last summer. Flood was one of a half-dozen top litigators Trump reportedly tried to hire to replace Kasowitz last year, but they all turned down the job. 

Maggie Haberman, the New York Times White House correspondent who co-wrote the story with Michael Schmidt, immediately responded.

Trump then turned his focus directly on Haberman, making good on the promise of the ellipsis that concluded his (at this point nine-minute-old) tweet.

Trump’s attacks come as he’s ignored his own lawyers’ advice to steer clear of the special counsel investigation. As recently as this week, Mueller learned that on at least two occasions Trump asked key witnesses about their conversations with investigators. In one case, Trump asked White House counsel Don McGahn to deny reporting that the president wanted him to fire Mueller last year, and on another occasion, Trump reportedly asked his former chief of staff Reince Priebus if his interviewers were “nice.”

Maggie Haberman responded:

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This is how change happens.

One story at a time.

This investigative reporting takes time too. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices.

We can afford to take our time because we don’t report to oligarchs or corporations. We report to you, and for you.

And the stakes are high. Democracy is on the defense. We’ve been exposing corruption and scandal for five decades, and this is a pivotal moment in our country’s history. Will democracy prevail? We won’t wait for time to tell—independent journalism is essential for democracy, and we’ll keep doing our part to amplify the free press.

So, we’re asking: Will you join the fight? Mother Jones has been here for 50 years, and we need your support to fuel the future of investigative journalism. Mark our 50th anniversary with a gift of any amount.

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