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Im Very Worried About Don Jr.: Forget the MidtermsWest Wing Insiders Brace for the Mueller Storm
In the run-up to the election, Rudy Giuliani was made to shut up. But now, with Trump making excuses for possibly losing the House, officials are bracing for a legal assault.
by Gabriel Sherman
On Friday night, current and former staffers of Donald Trumps West Wing gathered at Dina Powells Manhattan apartment to celebrate Hope Hickss 30th birthday. The party also served as a send off for Hicks, whos moving to Los Angeles to run communications for Fox Newss parent company, New Fox. Over cupcakes and wine, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Anthony Scaramucci reminisced about old times with Hickss mom, Caye, and her older sister. One person not present was Hickss ex-boyfriend, Rob Porter, much to the relief of Hickss parents, a Hicks friend said.
The party provided a brief respite from the news cycle on the eve of the midterms in which Republicans are projected to lose the House of Representatives, and perhaps governorships in red states Georgia and Florida. Everyone is resigned to the outcome, a former West Wing official said. Sources said Trump has been privately working to absolve himself of any blame if indeed a blue wave washes over Washington. Hes happy with his crowds and the turnout and the excitement. Hell be able to say it would have been worse without him, the former official said.
The bigger threat for Trump than losing control of Congress is Robert Muellers looming report. Sources say Trump advisers are girding themselves for Mueller to deliver the results of his investigation to the Justice Department as early as Wednesday, although its more likely hell wait till later this month. Sources say besides the president, the ones with the most exposure are Roger Stone and Donald Trump Jr. Im very worried about Don Jr., said another former West Wing official who testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The possible exposure would be that Mueller would demonstrate that Don Jr. perjured himself to investigators when he said he didnt tell his father beforehand about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting to gather dirt on Hillary Clinton. (Donald Trump Jr.s lawyer, Alan Futerfas, declined to comment.)
One potential sign of how seriously Trumpworld is treating the Mueller threat has been the near total silence of Rudy Giuliani. A constant presence on cable news over the summer, Giuliani hasnt been on television in weeks. What the hell happened to Rudy? a former White House official said when I asked about Giulianis whereabouts. According to three sources briefed on Trumps legal team, Giuliani has been in Europe visiting consulting clients as well as preparing a report with Trump lawyers Marty and Jane Raskin that is designed to provide a counter-narrative to Muellers document. They dont know what Mueller has but they have a good idea and theyre going to rebut it, one Republican close to Giuliani said. But another source said Trump instructed Giuliani to stay off television to avoid hurting Trumps midterm message. Trumps thinking is, I gave you a lot of rope and now you got a lot of rope marks around your neck, the source said. (The White House did not respond to a request for comment.)
Vanity Fair
mobeau69
(11,141 posts)dameatball
(7,396 posts)investigation into money laundering by Giuliani's company.
triron
(21,999 posts)GeorgeGist
(25,319 posts)more than they ever imagined.