Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 05.02.18

* "This isn’t some game. You are screwing with the work of the president of the United States." This is what John Dowd reportedly said in response to special counsel Robert Mueller when the possibility of issuing a subpoena for President Trump to appear before a grand jury was raised during a meeting with the president's legal team. [Washington Post] * Unnamed Republican lawmakers have drafted articles of impeachment against Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, and he seems pretty pissed. Not only did he refuse to comment on documents that "nobody has the courage to put their name on," but he countered that "the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted." [USA Today] * Per ex-White House aides, Ivanka Trump is "involved in everything," so why hasn't she been called in for questioning by Robert Mueller yet? Not only would the president "go nuclear," but Mueller knows that "trying to interview Ivanka Trump would be like lighting a match to the highly combustible Donald Trump." [Politico] * For what it's worth, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein isn't a fan of the fact that the Senate has been taking its sweet time to confirm his would-be colleagues at the Justice Department. The Criminal, Civil, Civil Rights, and Environment and Natural Resources Divisions have leaders in vote-pending purgatory. [National Law Journal] * Before he had clients like Donald Trump and Sean Hannity, Michael Cohen was a personal injury attorney, and some of his clients allegedly staged their car "accidents" in an effort to commit insurance fraud. Some of Cohen's clients are alleged to have not even been in the vehicle that was in the "accident" being litigated. [Rolling Stone]

By Staci Zaretsky on May 02, 2018 8:38 am

John Dowd’s middle finger (Screenshot from CNBC)

* “This isn’t some game. You are screwing with the work of the president of the United States.” This is what John Dowd reportedly said in response to special counsel Robert Mueller when the possibility of issuing a subpoena for President Trump to appear before a grand jury was raised during a meeting with the president’s legal team. [Washington Post]

* Unnamed Republican lawmakers have drafted articles of impeachment against Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, and he seems pretty pissed. Not only did he refuse to comment on documents that “nobody has the courage to put their name on,” but he countered that “the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted.” [USA Today]

* Per ex-White House aides, Ivanka Trump is “involved in everything,” so why hasn’t she been called in for questioning by Robert Mueller yet? Not only would the president “go nuclear,” but Mueller knows that “trying to interview Ivanka Trump would be like lighting a match to the highly combustible Donald Trump.” [Politico]

* For what it’s worth, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein isn’t a fan of the fact that the Senate has been taking its sweet time to confirm his would-be colleagues at the Justice Department. The Criminal, Civil, Civil Rights, and Environment and Natural Resources Divisions have leaders in vote-pending purgatory. [National Law Journal]

* Before he had clients like Donald Trump and Sean Hannity, Michael Cohen was a personal injury attorney, and some of his clients allegedly staged their car “accidents” in an effort to commit insurance fraud. Some of Cohen’s clients are alleged to have not even been in the vehicle that was in the “accident” being litigated. [Rolling Stone]

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.