July 21, 2017
EVEN A DONKEY LEARNS TO LOVE THE WHIP:
Could it be Kasowitz is actually a voice of restraint for Trump? (Alison Frankel, 7/21/17, Reuters)
Perhaps Donald thinks the point of the legal system is to bluster and lose?It may be hard to think of Kasowitz, who relishes his tough-guy reputation, as a force of moderation. But if you look at the record of the client relationship between Trump and Kasowitz, there's a notable streak of restraint. Trump and Kasowitz, for instance, never followed through with libel suits against the Times - or against any other news organization in the last 30 years. (Kasowitz did represent Trump in his unsuccessful libel suit against Trump biographer Timothy O'Brien and O'Brien's book publisher.)Nor did Kasowitz file the threatened DOJ complaint against Comey. According to Bloomberg, the Trump team decided the wiser course was to stop attacking the integrity of the Russia investigation being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. In fact, the New York Times has been reporting that the president is chafing under Kasowitz's advice to keep quiet on Twitter and elsewhere about the Russia case - advice almost every defense lawyer would endorse.The best example of Kasowitz's relatively measured approach to litigation for Trump may be an enormous case Kasowitz handled early in his relationship with the president. In a prolonged battle against Hong Kong real estate partners whom Trump accused of underpricing West Side real estate, Trump replaced Kasowitz after he lost a key motion. Once Kasowitz was out, Trump pursued tactics so aggressive that they nearly cost him and Kasowitz's replacement a sanction finding.
Posted by Orrin Judd at July 21, 2017 6:41 PM