The day after House January 6 Committee concluded its most recent public hearing, all eyes turned to the federal courts in Washington last Friday. not only did Jury Convicts Former Trump White House Advisor Steve Bannon of two counts of contempt of Congress that day, but eagle-eyed observers also noted another, more cooperative Trump World figure leaving the courthouse: Marc Short, former chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence.
Shortly thereafter, reports surfaced that Short and another former Pence aide, attorney Greg Jacob, testified last week before a federal grand jury investigating the events surrounding the January 6 attack. And on Tuesday night, The Washington Post reported that grand jury has been questioning witnesses, including but not limited to Short and Jacob, about their “conversations with Trump, his attorneys, and other members of his inner circle who sought to substitute certified voters from some states in the process for Trump allies.” the ones Joe Biden won. ”
The revelation that the Justice Department is investigating the case of then-President Donald Trump behaviour it comes as some of his aides are working to put visible distance between themselves and their former boss. And perhaps no group highlights that trend more clearly than the alumni of Trump’s White House counsel’s office.
For starters, when Short was seen leaving the courthouse last Friday, a second recognizable Trump alum was at his side: Emmet Flood. Flood, a partner with historic Williams & Connolly of Washingtonhas had a fascinating career. One of then-President Bill Clinton’s attorneys during his impeachment trial, Flood later worked in the White House Counsel’s Office during the George W. Bush administration. And more recently, before Flood was Short’s attorney, he served as the The lead White House counsel for special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and was even briefly Acting White House Counsel until Pat Cipollone arrived. When he left the White House in June 2019, Trump was effusive in his praisetweeting that his “friend” Emmet had done a “GREAT JOB”.
But these days, Flood is nowhere near defending the former president. Instead, he represents one of Trump’s most prominent and credible accusers. Although Short, unlike Jacob, was not a live witness during the January 6 hearings, numerous excerpts from his testimony were shown to the public. And Short, like Jacob, was extremely damaging to the Trump team: He told investigators that Pence never believed he could change the outcome of the 2020 election, and that Pence repeatedly and consistently communicated this to Trump.
Short also testified that he shared Pence’s view, told then-Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, and that whatever Meadows said to Trump or others, he told Short he agreed to at least on a couple of occasions. In addition, Short revealed to the January 6 committee that as Pence’s disagreement with Trump “became more public,” Short was concerned that “the president would lash out in some way,” so on January 5, 2021 notified Pence’s boss. Secret Service detail.
Those details, and others, including Short’s recollection of the now infamous 4th of January meeting in which Trump’s attorney, John Eastman, acknowledged to Trump, with Short, Jacob, and Pence looking on, that his plan to have Pence reject certain voter rolls would violate federal law, is also likely to be shared with the grand jury. And Deluge, which was a stubborn Trump supporter regarding the Mueller investigationhe’s supporting Short, not Trump.
However, Flood is not the only one among Trump’s White House Counsel’s Office alumni to break with Trump. And unlike Flood, who has signaled his position through the company he runs (or the clients he represents), others have taken sides with his words.
Drink Ty Cobb, who initially oversaw the White House response to the Mueller investigation and was succeeded by Flood. When Trump practically declared that he would seek the presidency again in 2024, Cobb gave a relentless statement to NBC News, explaining that any declaration of Trump’s candidacy “serves no interest other than his self-destructive and overwhelming need for relevance, attention and money. Nor does such an announcement exempt him from criminal investigation.” And lest anyone be confused about why Trump himself should be criminally investigated, Cobb, a former federal prosecutor, listed Trump’s possible crimes on CNN.
And last but not least, there is Cipollone, another former White House lawyer. The could they have litigated with the January 6 committee over any subpoena for their testimony. After all, as senior White House counsel, Cipollone’s stated concerns about executive and attorney-client privilege were neither speculative nor petty. If he had chosen that path, it is not clear that Cipollone would have prevailed over the merits. But he would likely have managed to delay any final decisions until after January 2023, when the January 6 committee will expire unless Democrats maintain a majority in the House.
But nonetheless, Cipollone gave a one-hour taped interview to the committee, and included multiple excerpts during the last hearing. In perhaps the most memorable part, Cipollone confirmed that everyone on the White House staff wanted people to leave the Capitol. January 6th. However, when asked if anyone inside the White House No I want people to leave the Capitol, Cipollone stumbled and invoked privilege. The implication was clear: Cipollone, who did not discuss the talks with Trump himself for reasons of privilege, knew that Trump did not want the attack to stop. And who was the lawyer on Cipollone’s side for that devastating revelation? Nothing less than Michael Purpura, Deputy White House Counsel during the Trump administration.
It is true that Cobb, who publicly criticized Trump well before January 6, is the only former Trump White House lawyer to criticize him so publicly and forcefully. But the roles of Flood, Cipollone and Purpura in the investigations are revealing, and perhaps another illustration of Jan. 6 committee vice-chair Liz Cheney’s quip that “the dam has begun to break.” Will others join them? Watch this space, or that grand jury.