Mueller Enlists Top Criminal Law Expert for Russia Probe

[highplainsdem]

Source: National Law Journal

Special counsel Robert Mueller has recruited the Justice Department’s top criminal law expert to help with his investigation of ties between the Trump presidential campaign and Russian officials.

Deputy solicitor general Michael Dreeben, who has argued more than 100 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and oversees the Justice Department’s criminal appellate docket, will be assisting Mueller on a part-time basis, according to sources familiar with the arrangement.

While helping Mueller, Dreeben will continue in his role in the solicitor general’s office, with other lawyers in the office pitching in to help him with upcoming criminal cases.

The move signals that Mueller is seeking advice on the complexities that have arisen already in the investigations, including what constitutes obstruction of justice.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202789177543/Mueller-Enlists-Top-Criminal-Law-Expert-for-Russia-Probe

[FigTree]

1. The show was centered around the obstruction.

The meat is in the investigation of Flynn et al.

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. Flynn ties Trump to oligarchs, money laundering, and the overt

intensely detailed collusion between the two camps.

What we need to realize is right now Dodd Frank is gone, ACA next week will be gone, and next month it will be Medicaid, this fall Medicare and SS.

Once the GOP takes everything from everybody, they will let go of trump.

Putin will own your land, so get used to that right now.

I had hoped McCain would be a patriot and do the right thing, after the other day it is clear he is either unwilling to be patriotic or mentally unable.

[RKP5637]

5. Watching McCain, I think he's losing it. That, was a serious senior moment IMO. I thought

he was or on the edge of a stroke. Relative to the GOP, their goal is to take over the US entirely and for most of the citizenry it will be a dystopia. Far too many still don't comprehend what is going on and are far too comfortable in their ruts of life. It can happen here! History demonstrates well what can happen in countries and can also occur without an invading physical force.

[AntiFascist]

17. K&R n/t

[L. Coyote]

14. Decades of illegalities will be exposed.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Doug the Dem]

3. Article on Dreeben from 2016: 100 Oral Arguments: How A DOJ Atty Made High Court History

Law360, New York (May 9, 2016, 4:27 PM EDT) -- Michael Dreeben’s first oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court was memorable for all the wrong reasons. His case was mocked by Justice Antonin Scalia. He was out-dueled by a brilliant young lawyer named John Roberts. He lost 9-0. And yet it sparked a supernova career for Dreeben, who last month delivered his 100th argument, a milestone achieved by only seven other attorneys in the high court’s history.

Dreeben, 61, is the bearded, bespectacled, deputy solicitor general in charge of the U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal docket at the Supreme Court. He first argued in 1989 and has done so every year since, winning widespread admiration among peers.

“There’s no finer Supreme Court advocate today than Michael Dreeben,” said Kannon Shanmugam, a Williams & Connolly LLP partner who has argued unsuccessfully against Dreeben and worked alongside him at the solicitor general’s office.

https://www.law360.com/articles/789864/100-oral-arguments-how-a-doj-atty-made-high-court-history

Seems legit.

[zentrum]

4. It's a problem that it's

....only part time. This reflects the fact that they are woefully underfunded and understaffed.

Thank God he'll be there---but part time is going to be a really, really hard process. His other duties and cases will suffer too.

[L. Coyote]

6. It is not a problem if that's all he is needed for.

Who says they are underfunded and understaffed? Looks like they are off to a rapid response start adding expert people to what was already a large investigation.

[zentrum]

8. It's been all over

...the news that the investigations being done by the intel committees have received no extra staff or money to do their work. It's been a huge problem for them and they have complained it..

When I see such a vital job, so central to the preservation of our country and it's described as being only part time---I'm pretty sure it's a signal that there's a cash/staff problem.

It's not as if the work they had been doing up until now had only required part-time engagement. No, it was full-time. So to me, it seems they now have two full time jobs they are going to have to do part time.

[L. Coyote]

11. Links? Where is "all over"?

[zentrum]

19. Mostly heard it

.....repeatedly, on NPR news.

But here's also a sample link:

[link:http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/senate-intelligence-committee-russia-probe-understaffed-no-interviews-key-witnesses|

[L. Coyote]

21. That's not Mueller or the FBI.

[zentrum]

23. Right. I was referring in

....my post to the intel committees. That's what's been in the news.

I was just connecting the dots. The word "part-time" concerned me. Since those are the words I heard the intel Committee use for its woes as well. I don't believe that investigating Trump and company can be a part-time job for any part of the Justice Dept. personnel working on it.

But I hope your sanguine view on it is correct.

[L. Coyote]

24. And the OP is about Mueller, a context you did not change.

[zentrum]

25. Excuse me, but I did.

In my first sentence I said: &quot it's all over )....the news that the investigations being done by the intel committees have received no extra staff or money to do their work. It's been a huge problem for them and they have complained of it."

So I was talking about the intel committees and clearly drawing an inference based on that.

You asked for a link about what I meant by the understaffed intel committee and I gave you an example.

Why is this such an issue for you? I wish everyone was full-time in the Justice Dept and FBI for this particular job. If full time mixed with part-time is all they need (and I continue to doubt it), then I hope you're right and they have enough personnel to get it done asap. You seem confident that they do. May it be so.

[Alice11111]

15. Agree.However, most lawyers work the equivalent of 2FT jobs when case overloads boil up. It's one of

the requirements to make it as a good lawyer, though not good for family and relationships.

The matter of not having support staff is a deliberate move to sandbag the investigation. Imagine if it were a Hillary investigation. They would have at least 500 people.

[wishstar]

18. The FBI investigations are allegedly sufficiently funded and staffed unlike the Senate and Congress

You are correct that the Senate and Congress committee investigations are woefully understaffed for the task. Especially compared to the Russian interference that reportedly enlisted around 1000 people to carry out all the activities involved in hacking, data mining, disseminating fake news, establishing social media accounts to influence opinion etc. Concerns me that our government officials don't think investigation and combatting the Russian interference deserves as many staffers as the Russians employed to disrupt our elections.


However the FBI's criminal investigation of all things Trump Campaign/Russia is operating full time with adequate staff and funding dedicated to that probe. Comey, McCabe and Rosenstein have all stated that Muellers' FBI criminal investigation has all the necessary resources. Mueller has been widening the scope and added several more highly experienced criminal investigators/prosecutors just in past couple of weeks. The only uncertainty is that although unlikely, Rosenstein has power to remove Mueller and new FBI chief when confirmed could possibly impede the probe.

[zentrum]

20. Good. Thanks.

[L. Coyote]

22. Yes, Republicans are politicizing the Congressional inquires, stallling and obstructing.

The Congressional Republicans are complicit in Trump's criminal obstruction.

[judesedit]

7. I'll donate for this major cause if possible

[zentrum]

9. Nice. Not sure we can though. nt

[L. Coyote]

12. May I suggest:

https://twitter.com/TheDemCoalition

[Alice11111]

16. Good idea. Crowd fund.

[AlexSFCA]

10. pelosi

said the investigation will take a long time. Does that mean by thr time facts come it will be too late?

[mtngirl47]

13. It took about 2 years for Watergate...

This will take about the same....and if we the people do our jobs and send a Democratic House to Washington, well then impeachment will happen, hopefully in January or February of 2019. Or he will resign.