Trump Goons’ Scramble Ahead of Looming Humiliation Is Revealed

Daniel Heuer / REUTERS Fearful members of President Donald Trump’s administration are already scrambling to lock in personal lawyers ahead of fears that victorious Democrats could launch investigations after the midterms, a new report has claimed.

With the critical elections looming, Democrats lead Republicans by eight percentage points in their congressional vote choices, 52 percent to 44 percent, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.

The poll, conducted between October 9 and 13, also found around seven in 10 Americans say gas is unaffordable and that the country is headed in the wrong direction.

With damning polling figures, a new Wall Street Journal investigation found that an influx of Trump administration staffers are contacting law firms seeking legal advice ahead of Democrats taking control of one or both houses after the November midterms.

If the Democratic Party wins the House of Representatives, the Senate, or both, the government could face a series of investigations, with Trump claiming earlier this month at the White House that he had heard three unnamed Democrats say they planned to impeach him, but none of them could list grounds for impeachment.

Lawyers who spoke to the Journal reported the concerns cover everything from Trump’s attempt to renovate, or demolish, the Kennedy Center, matters related to the Trump family including payments made to fund Donald Trump Jr.’s controversial wedding and alleged pay-to-play pardons for Trump allies.

Administration officials could be liable to personal legal, reputational and financial risks if they find themselves dragged into the inquiries that are out of their control, the Journal notes.

Senior officials from the White House, including the Counsel’s Office, have already been conducting meetings to prepare a response for congressional investigations and how to handle congressional subpoenas, current and former officials told the Journal.

“The calls started sporadically in June and have picked up in frequency since then,” Judd Stone, co-founder of Stone Hilton, an Austin, Texas-based law firm told the publication.

The company was founded by alumni of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office.

Stone noted that while the Justice Department will defend Trump’s administration against potential lawsuits, some cabinet-level officials and heads of agency are seeking advice on whether having their own personal lawyer could work to their benefit in the cases.

With one single law firm unlikely to be able to represent multiple staffers at the same time, some senior officials are rushing to secure their preferred lawyer before someone else, the Journal said, citing a prominent lawyer familiar with the situation.