6 explosive moments that could still come in Russia probe

[babylonsister]

6 explosive moments that could still come in Russia probe
The president and his attorneys are showing an increasing willingness to play hardball.

By Darren Samuelsohn

06/14/2017 05:15 AM EDT

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The Trump-Russia investigation is moving at a breakneck pace compared with past White House scandals. To help keep up, here are six potent powder kegs awaiting Trump, Mueller and Congress:


Executive privilege

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Trump and his attorneys can expect to face the same decision again and again about whether to resist giving full answers — or handing over documents — if they think questions and requests from Congress or Mueller probe too deep into their internal communications.

Legally, Trump won’t have much to lean on if he wants to hold back information. Presidents haven’t been very successful in their attempts to block inquiries, and it would be even harder to assert privilege if a court believed the materials in demand would help in determining the existence of a criminal violation.
The White House reads it. Do you?

The Supreme Court’s unanimous 1974 decision rejecting President Richard Nixon’s attempts to withhold private presidential tape recordings and other materials despite a subpoena also looms over any executive privilege debate.

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Lawyer versus lawyer

More than a dozen lawyers are already working on behalf of Trump and his associates in the Russia investigation, representing everyone from the president himself to senior White House aide Jared Kushner, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen and former campaign advisers Carter Page, Roger Stone, Boris Epshteyn and Michael Caputo.

More lawyers mean more complications.

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Trump’s tax returns

Democrats and Republicans alike have been gunning for Trump’s tax returns since the heat of the 2016 campaign. Blue states like California and New York are trying to pass laws requiring candidates running in their 2020 presidential primaries to file reams of tax documents to get on the ballot. And the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia filed a federal lawsuit Monday over Trump’s businesses, largely in hopes they’ll get ahold of his tax returns.

But there’s one venue where the president’s tax records may be most susceptible to discovery: the Russia investigation.

more...

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/14/trump-russia-probe-explosive-239525

[Hortensis]

1. Interesting lineup of things to look for. Thanks, Babylonsister.