Why Trump is reportedly preparing for a looming 'legal hellscape'
It remains to be seen exactly when Special Counsel Robert Mueller will deliver his final report for the Russia investigation and what all that report will reveal. But whatever ultimately happens with the Russia probe, the Daily Beast reported Monday that President Donald Trump would like his attorneys, including Jay Sekulow and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, to stay close by.
Asawin Suebsaeng and Erin Banco reported that according to two sources interviewed anonymously, Trump needs Giuliani and Sekulow around because he doesn’t consider Mueller’s Russia probe the end of his “legal woes.” Even after the special counsel’s final report, Trump is concerned about investigations by federal prosecutors for the Southern District of New York could place him in a 'legal hellscape.' the reporters write.
For example, the Southern District has investigated hush money payments that, according to Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, were made to adult film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. In federal court, Cohen swore that he made those payments on orders from Trump.
Suebsaeng and Banco also point out that Trump’s legal concerns exist not only at the federal level with Mueller and the Southern District, but also, at the state level in New York State.
In 2018, former New York State Attorney General Barbara Underwood sued the Trump Foundation, alleging that the charity unlawfully coordinated with Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Underwood has since been replaced with Letitia James, who was elected in the 2018 midterms and has stressed that she has an abundance of Trump-related investigations in mind.
Interviewed by Suebsaeng and Banco, Michael Caputo (a former Trump campaign advisor) asserted that legally, the Mueller probe is only the beginning of Trump’s legal worries.
“By my estimation,” Caputo told the Daily Beast, “there will be a need for more attorneys, because I expect the harassment to double, if not triple.”
