All posts tagged: lawyer

RNC lawyer Charlie Spies to step down just 2 months after taking the job

RNC lawyer Charlie Spies to step down just 2 months after taking the job

Published by skeptic

Republican National Committee chief counsel Charlie Spies is parting ways with the party apparatus just months after stepping into the role. He was “pushed out,” according to a source familiar with the move. “Charlie approached RNC Chief of Staff, Chris LaCivita, about potential time commitment conflicts and it was agreed that, while we appreciate and value Charlie’s expertise and professionalism, he cannot do this role full time and still maintain the obligations to his law firm that he has spent years successfully building,” said RNC spokesperson Danielle Alvarez in a statement first to NBC News. Spies did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday night. NBC News previously reported that Spies was hired in March to lead the committee’s legal efforts amid the RNC leadership overhaul, when former President Donald Trump endorsed Michael Whatley to helm the organization, effectively reshaping the committee in his image. Spies was previously described by a campaign official as “the best at what he does, knows the FEC loopholes better than anyone” but a “gun for hire.” However, …

“Steer clear”: Judge issues warning to Trump lawyer seeking pre-approval for Truth Social posts

“Steer clear”: Judge issues warning to Trump lawyer seeking pre-approval for Truth Social posts

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Donald Trump keeps getting in trouble for what he posts online, already racking up $9,000 in contempt charges for attacking jurors and witnesses in violation of the gag order in his Manhattan criminal trial. Faced with the prospect of jail if he keeps offending, and following another contempt hearing Thursday morning, Trump’s defense team tried a novel approach: asking the judge if he could sign off on some of Trump’s Truth Social posts before he ever posts them. Susan Necheles, a criminal defense attorney representing Trump in the hush money case, made the request Thursday afternoon, explaining to Judge Juan Merchan that her client would like to post articles about the trial but isn’t sure that’s allowed. “These articles are all articles which [former] President Trump would like to post on his Truth [Social], but they discuss this case,” Necheles said, per NBC News. Necheles argued that, while the articles are “perfectly fine,” in her view, there is “ambiguity in the gag order.” Neither the prosecution nor the judge seemed to buy the argument. Chris …

“Oh my god”: Stormy Daniels lawyer texted “what have we done?” after seeing Trump win election

“Oh my god”: Stormy Daniels lawyer texted “what have we done?” after seeing Trump win election

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The lawyer who negotiated a hush money deal to prevent a Playboy model’s alleged affair with Donald Trump from going public reacted with shock to the former president’s victory in 2016, according to text messages revealed Thursday. Keith Davidson, a former attorney for Karen McDougal, was testifying in Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial when prosecutors introduced as evidence text messages he sent to Dylan Howard, then the editor in chief of the National Enquirer. The tabloid had agreed to pay $150,000 for the rights to McDougal’s story, which it buried as part of an effort to assist Trump’s campaign, according to testimony from former publisher David Pecker. Immediately following Trump’s shock victory in 2016, Davidson picked up his phone and sent a 3 a.m. text to Howard. “What have we done?” he wrote as it became clear that Trump was going to win enough electoral votes to become president. “Oh my god,” Howard responded. Testifying Thursday, Davidson, who also represented adult film star Stormy Daniels, explained that the texts were a form of “gallows humor,” NBC …

“Shaking his head”: Trump “in disbelief” as lawyer admits he went out of his way to bash witnesses

“Shaking his head”: Trump “in disbelief” as lawyer admits he went out of his way to bash witnesses

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A lawyer for former President Donald Trump insisted at a contempt hearing Thursday that his client’s comments on jurors and witnesses do not run afoul of a gag order, even as he conceded that the Republican candidate is not merely responding to attacks but actively seeking out opportunities to spout off on his trial. Prosecutors accuse Trump of violating the gag order in his Manhattan criminal case an additional four times, citing his praise of David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer, as a “nice guy” and his attack on jurors as being “95 percent Democrats” rapidly picked from “a purely Democrat area.” Following a hearing last month, Trump also exited the courtroom, where he’s being tried on charges of falsifying business records to cover up hush payments, and approached reporters to share an attack on Michael Cohen, his former fixer. “When are they going to look at all the lies Cohen did in the last trial,” Trump said. Judge Juan Merchan, who fined the former president $9,000 earlier in the week for previous …

“Losing all credibility”: Trump’s hush money lawyer the latest to torch his reputation for nothing

“Losing all credibility”: Trump’s hush money lawyer the latest to torch his reputation for nothing

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Going into Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial for fraud and election interference regarding “hush money” payments to an adult film actress, the world of legal experts worried that, this time, Trump might mount a strong defense. Unlike many of the lawyers he used in his civil trials, who are widely regarded as MAGA hacks, Trump hired Todd Blanche to beat the 34 felony charges brought by New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Blanche, as the Washington Post reported, “previously worked at the prestigious federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan,” even working alongside Bragg before going to a private law firm. And as Andrew Rice of New York magazine explained, Blanche has long drawn accolades from “the lawyers who know him best” in New York. They say things like, “He’s an extraordinary trial lawyer” and “very good at reading people.” Blanche has been completely assimilated into the MAGA borg. Before the trial started in April, Blanche had, in fact, deftly maneuvered in many ways to delay various Trump trials, a strategy likely employed out of a deep …

Who is Keith Davidson, the lawyer who negotiated hush money payments from Trump?

Who is Keith Davidson, the lawyer who negotiated hush money payments from Trump?

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Lawyer Keith Davidson, who represented former Playboy model Karen McDougal, testified during Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S. April 30 in this courtroom sketch. Jane Rosenberg/Reuters hide caption toggle caption Jane Rosenberg/Reuters Lawyer Keith Davidson, who represented former Playboy model Karen McDougal, testified during Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S. April 30 in this courtroom sketch. Jane Rosenberg/Reuters NEW YORK — Keith Davidson will be back on the stand Thursday morning to continue testifying against former President Donald Trump in a New York criminal trial. Davidson, who had represented the two women at the center of the trial, began testifying Tuesday. He is the sixth witness to testify against the former president in this case. Trump faces 34 felony counts alleging that he falsified New York business records in order to conceal damaging information to influence the 2016 presidential election. Trump claims the trial itself is “election interference” because …

Lawyer Suing Boeing Surprised to Find Large Piece That Fell Off Boeing Plane Outside His House

Lawyer Suing Boeing Surprised to Find Large Piece That Fell Off Boeing Plane Outside His House

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“Our case is all about safety issues at Boeing, and this slide is literally right in front of my house.” Slide on Over Suing a company is one thing — but finding a piece of its faulty wares outside your house is another entirely. Jake Bissell-Linsk, whose firm is involved in a lawsuit against Boeing, told the New York Post that he was shocked to look out the window of his oceanfront home in Queens to see an inflatable slide floating in the water. “We are right on the beach,” the lawyer marveled, “and I saw it was sitting on the breakers.” A partner at the Labaton Keller Sucharow law firm that’s currently suing Boeing over the Alaska Airlines fiasco in which one of its fuselages fell off mid-flight, the lawyer was as surprised as anyone at the sight. “Our case is all about safety issues at Boeing,” Bissell-Linsk said, “and this slide is literally right in front of my house.” The yellow-colored piece trapped yards from the attorney’s front door was, as it turns out, …

Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, a fine and a warning: Trump trial key takeaways, day nine | Donald Trump trials

Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, a fine and a warning: Trump trial key takeaways, day nine | Donald Trump trials

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Donald Trump was confronted with the details of how the former lawyer for Stormy Daniels, the adult film actor, secured the $130,000 in hush money at the heart of his criminal trial in New York, after being found to be in criminal contempt of a gag order prohibiting attacks on witnesses. The direct examination of the lawyer, Keith Davidson, is expected to continue on Thursday when the trial resumes. Here are the key takeaways from day nine of People of the State of New York vs Donald J Trump: 1. Access Hollywood tape spurred Trump interest Prosecutors elicited key testimony from Keith Davidson, the entertainment lawyer for Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, that the infamous Access Hollywood tape spurred Trump to pursue the “catch-and-kill” rights to the Daniels story about an alleged affair with Trump. Davidson testified that before the tape broke, there was little interest in acquiring the rights to the story. It wasn’t until afterward that interest from Trump’s lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen intensified, Davidson said. The exchange was notable …

“Tremendous influence”: Lawyer testifies “Access Hollywood” tape helped Stormy Daniels hush deal

“Tremendous influence”: Lawyer testifies “Access Hollywood” tape helped Stormy Daniels hush deal

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There was “very little interest” in Stormy Daniels’ story of an alleged tryst with former President Donald Trump until the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape in 2016, according to a former lawyer for the adult film star, testimony that boosts prosecutors’ claims that the hush payment to her was intended to influence the election. Keith Davidson, who previously represented Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, testified Tuesday that the recording of Trump boasting of sexual assault had a “tremendous influence” on the effort to buy the rights to her story. “I think before, before [the] ‘Access Hollywood’ tape, there was very little interest from what I understand,” Davidson said, according to NBC News. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his legal team have argued that the Trump campaign was thrown into turmoil by the “Access Hollywood” recording, prompting increased interest in silencing others with potentially damning stories to tell. Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to, prosecutors say, cover up a $130,000 payment to Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Davidson said …

Historian says Trump lawyer “deliberatively misleading” SCOTUS: Ben Franklin “would be horrified”

Historian says Trump lawyer “deliberatively misleading” SCOTUS: Ben Franklin “would be horrified”

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When Trump lawyer D. John Sauer spoke before the Supreme Court last week calling for presidential immunity for “official acts,” he repeatedly argued that at least one revolutionary mind would be on his side: Benjamin Franklin.  But a leading legal historian pointed out that Sauer took a single sentence Franklin said at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 out of context – while completely ignoring that Franklin also called for “the regular punishment of the Executive where his misconduct should deserve it, and for his honorable acquittal when he should be unjustly accused.” “Franklin would be horrified,” Holly Brewer, University of Maryland professor and legal historian, said in an X thread.  Brewer was an author of an amicus brief penned by the nation’s preeminent historians in the immunity case, which said “no plausible historical case” supports Trump’s contention that the original meaning of the Constitution infers his argument for “permanent immunity from criminal liability for a President’s official acts.”  “Once again, Trump’s lawyers are trying to turn a president into a king,” she said. “That they …