The liberal media was all abuzz Wednesday when news broke that President Trump was, once again, shaking up his legal team. Trump lawyer Ty Cobb was retiring and the President was bringing on Clinton impeachment lawyer Emmet Flood. With the switch came predictions that the President was looking for a bloody fight with the special counsel. And with the hype that seemed like it belonged to a major boxing match, NBC Nightly News appeared to be eagerly looking forward to it.
With the new contender appearing in Trump’s corner, anchor Lester Holt began the segment by sizing up team Trump. “Ty Cobb is out and a new heavy hitter who acted as Bill Clinton's impeachment lawyer is in. It comes amid signs the Trump team is shifting tactics preparing for a battle and a potential confrontation over a subpoena,” he announced. But he was no Michael Buffer.
NBC Chief White House correspondent Hallie Jackson started her report by noting the hiring of Flood meant “new signs of a more aggressive chapter” in their battle with the special counsel. “His hiring seen as a signal the President may rely more heavily on executive privilege, which could shut down certain questions from Robert Mueller.”
“So what happens if both sides cannot come to an agreement,” she asked rhetorically. She explained that the President could, in fact, be subpoenaed and recalled the ones who were (Jefferson, Nixon, and Clinton). She then went down the list of exciting options they could witness in the potential upcoming bout:
Option one, testify and answer questions, like the president said he would be willing to do last summer. (…) Option two, plead the fifth and answer no questions. A maneuver he's blasted before. (…) Option three, fight the subpoena. That would open up a legal battle that could go all the way to the Supreme Court. Then there’s option four, ignore the subpoena, which would put the President in uncharted territory.
It was clear which route they were hoping for because Jackson brought on a former assistant U.S. Attorney who stated that “[t]he likelihood of some kind of subpoena coming into play is becoming more and more real.” “It's not just the legal component. There’s also a political piece of this that comes into play if the President does say, decide to fight a subpoena. He may face political fallout, especially with the midterms just around the corner,” Jackson added as she was wrapping up her report.
But that wasn’t the end of their subpoena battle fantasy because they actually had a second segment set aside to go over it some more. “We could be entering as we heard, uncharted territory. What happens if Mueller issues a subpoena and the President simply refuses or ignores it,” Holt asked NBC Justice correspondent Pete Williams.
Although he thought “that scenario seem[ed] very farfetched,” Williams humored his colleague by explaining how “if he ignores it, Mueller could go to court for an order to compel him to obey the subpoena and if he still ignores it, he could be found in contempt of court and fined.”
After talking about how such fights had turned out in the past, Williams concluded that it was a no-win situation for President Trump. “So nobody can be sure how this would turn out but that doesn't seem like there is much reason for the White House to be optimistic that it would win such a fight.”
For an organization that’s supposed to just report the news, they were obviously pulling for a particular scenario that would be good for their side.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
NBC Nightly News
May 2, 2018
7:03:28 PM Eastern [3 minutes 37 seconds]LESTER HOLT: A lot of new developments this evening in the showdown between President Trump and Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The President shaking-up his legal team, again. Ty Cobb is out and a new heavy hitter who acted as Bill Clinton's impeachment lawyer is in. It comes amid signs the Trump team is shifting tactics preparing for a battle and a potential confrontation over a subpoena. Our Chief White House correspondent Hallie Jackson has new details tonight.
[Cuts to video]
HALLIE JACKSON: Tonight new signs of a more aggressive chapter in the President's fight with the special counsel. He's losing a lawyer, Ty Cobb who is taking a more conciliatory tone.
TY COBB: Our cooperation definitely was the right move, and definitely the path that would lead to the quickest resolution.
JACKSON: And the President is adding another attorney, Emmet Flood who represented Bill Clinton during his impeachment. His hiring seen as a signal the President may rely more heavily on executive privilege, which could shut down certain questions from Robert Mueller. The scope of that interview is still being negotiated, with Rudy Giuliani who also represents the president explaining what they want on Fox News.
RUDY GIULIANI: Two hours.
UNIDENTIFIED RADIO HOST: And Topics?
GIULIANI: Questions in advance, relevant topics and then we want a commitment from them that they’re going to decide before the end of the summer. So we don’t have this drag on.
JACKSON: So what happens if both sides cannot come to an agreement? Mueller might try to force the President to talk by issuing a subpoena. Any president can be subpoenaed. Jefferson, Nixon, and Clinton all were, but it would be up to the President whether to compile or not. He’d have four options to consider.
Option one, testify and answer questions, like the president said he would be willing to do last summer.
DONALD TRUMP: 100 percent.
JACKSON: Option two, plead the fifth and answer no questions. A maneuver he's blasted before.
TRUMP: The mob takes the fifth! If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?
JACKSON: Option three, fight the subpoena. That would open up a legal battle that could go all the way to the Supreme Court. Then there’s option four, ignore the subpoena, which would put the President in uncharted territory.
MIMI ROCAH: The likelihood of some kind of subpoena coming into play is becoming more and more real.
JACKSON: It's not just the legal component. There’s also a political piece of this that comes into play if the President does say, decide to fight a subpoena. He may face political fallout, especially with the midterms just around the corner. Lester?
HOLT: all right, Hallie Jackson, thanks. And you raise a lot. So let's bring in our Justice correspondent Pete Williams. Pete lets game this out for a second. We could be entering as we heard, uncharted territory. What happens if Mueller issues a subpoena and the President simply refuses or ignores it?
PETE WILLIAMS: Well, if he ignores it, Mueller could go to court for an order to compel him to obey the subpoena and if he still ignores it, he could be found in contempt of court and fined, though that scenario seems very farfetched. Or the President could try to fight the subpoena in court. That’s what President Nixon tried to do. He failed when he tried to shield the White House tapes from the Watergate prosecutor by claiming executive privilege.
The Supreme Court said that claim must yield to a demonstrated specific need for evidence in a pending criminal case. And then 23 years later, the Supreme Court ruled that President Clinton was not immune from sexual harassment laws filed by Paula Jones. The ruling said the president is subject to court orders in appropriate circumstances. Now, that was a civil case but the court said the need for evidence in a criminal case is even greater. So nobody can be sure how this would turn out but that doesn't seem like there is much reason for the White House to be optimistic that it would win such a fight. Lester.
HOLT: All right, Pete Williams, thanks for breaking it down for us.
