Maybe Ty Cobb Just Doesn't Get This Whole 'Client Confidentiality' Thing

Trump's top lawyers regale restaurant patrons with claims of hidden documents.

Ty Cobb

Donald Trump attorney and self-appointed “adult in the room” Ty Cobb has a lot of us wondering if there’s just too low a bar for “adult” at this point. Because holding strategy meetings about the single most important criminal probe in the country at a popular restaurant in a city absolutely lousy with reporters seems like a rookie mistake.

On the other hand, if this case goes awry, Cobb may have a future in dinner theater.

It’s another bizarre flub from Cobb, the former Hogan Lovells partner who joined the Trump team to provide a steadying influence that seemed more imperative than ever after Marc Kasowitz finally bowed out under public scrutiny for engaging in a flame war with a random online critic. Since then, Cobb has… engaged in a flame war with a random online critic. Baby steps.

Yesterday, Peter Baker and Kenneth P. Vogel of the New York Times broke the news that Ty Cobb and fellow Trump team heavy John Dowd had a leisurely lunch last week at BLT Steak, a restaurant near the White House, and decided to use the time productively by loudly divulging all manner of internal gripes about the defense strategy.

I guess Dowd and Cobb thought the patron was just Snapchatting their food, and not writing their editor, “THIS IS WHY I EXPENSE MY F**KING LUNCHES, TOM!!!”[1]

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But at least the casual conversation in front of God and the New York Times didn’t hit on anything important….

“The White House counsel’s office is being very conservative with this stuff,” Mr. Cobb told Mr. Dowd. “Our view is we’re not hiding anything.” Referring to Mr. McGahn, he added, “He’s got a couple documents locked in a safe.”

Mr. Cobb expressed concern about another White House lawyer he did not name. “I’ve got some reservations about one of them,” Mr. Cobb said. “I think he’s like a McGahn spy.”

Oh, you think the White House Counsel is hiding incriminating documents? That seems… significant? Even if Cobb’s comments are chalked up to hyperbolic small talk, his indiscretions reveal a lot about the Trump defense strategy that the President should have wanted kept under wraps. McGahn, who is likely a fact witness in this probe, now faces the perception that he’s hiding key information from the government on behalf of the President, an unfortunate cloud to bring into a sit down with special counsel Robert Mueller. Cobb and Dowd may have gone to a steakhouse, yet Bob Mueller’s the one who ended up sharpening his knives.

If only there were a good guideline — an easy to remember word or catchphrase — for when it’s a good idea for a lawyer to casually talk, in public about, the inner workings of a client’s case or other sensitive matters.

A word like, for example, never.

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After The Times contacted the White House about the situation, Mr. McGahn privately erupted at Mr. Cobb, according to people informed about the confrontation who asked not to be named describing internal matters. John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, sharply reprimanded Mr. Cobb for his indiscretion, the people said.

Well, so long as the other Trump administration adult-in-the-roomTM weighed in with a reprimand! Over the weekend, someone asked me which Trump official would depart next. I ventured that one of the lawyers, either Cobb or McGahn, would be shown the door next. That’s before the world knew the two lawyers were locked in a West Wing power struggle. As we learned from the Mooch-Priebus showdown, these sorts of spats tend to end with both leaving in quick succession, so place your bets now.

In the meantime, if you’re in the D.C.-area, I know a couple of guys looking for good Seamless recommendations.

Trump Lawyers Clash Over How Much to Cooperate With Russia Inquiry [NY Times]

Earlier: Ty Cobb’s Hilarious Emails And What They Say About Biglaw
Marc Kasowitz Writes Angry Emails And Everyone Completely Overreacts

[1] Also, ten points for tagging the official BLT Steak account. Was Ken Vogel a little worried that a tweet about two high-profile attorneys for the President of the United States discussing withholding documents in a criminal probe might be a bit dry without a social networking boost from an account advertising happy hour wine deals?


HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.