The Trump administration is falling apart
Law enforcement is closing in and it's bleeding personnel
The ongoing meta-scandal over President Trump's astounding corruption reached perhaps its highest level to date Tuesday, when the FBI raided the offices and hotel room of his personal attorney — and the Republican Party's Deputy National Finance Chair — Michael Cohen. Agents reportedly picked up documents related to l'affaire Stormy Daniels, but also some other things that haven't been made public yet.
This only adds to the chaos of a presidency that is already entangled in multiple corruption scandals and bleeding top-level personnel by the day. This administration is falling apart.
As Marcy Wheeler points out, Trump himself made things dramatically worse for Cohen when he earlier denied that he knew anything about the $130,000 in alleged hush money paid to Daniels, or the non-disclosure agreement supposedly signed on her behalf. Signing a contract on behalf of a client without their knowledge is grounds for disbarment in New York state. (But on the other hand, if Trump did know about the NDA and hush money — and let's be honest, he pretty much had to have known — then that very likely puts him afoul of one of the remaining shreds of campaign finance law.)
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
More broadly, as several legal analysts argued, raiding the offices of the president's personal lawyer is not something law enforcement would do on a whim. The suspicion of criminal activity must have been all but ironclad — especially given how the raid happened. It was the product of information uncovered by the Mueller investigation, but not carried out by his team. He passed off a tip to the Department of Justice, which must have referred it to the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman — who replaced Preet Bharara after a highly unusual personal interview with Trump.
Berman has never been formally nominated for the post, thus doing an end-run around Senate confirmation, where Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) had promised to block him over the interview issue. (Incidentally, that sort of abuse of the temporary appointment procedure to avoid Senate confirmation is quickly becoming a signature of this administration.)
However, ABC reported that Berman recused himself from the case and did not sign off on the raid. Then The New York Times reported that it was Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein who did do the signing off, and the raid was primarily focused on payments to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who says she was paid $150,000 to keep quiet about an affair with Trump in 2006. The president is reportedly furious and considering whether to fire Rosenstein.
After the raid, Trump unleashed a tirade that was equal parts unhinged and operatic whining:
He then speculated he might fire Mueller soon.
This is not the behavior of an innocent person. And it only adds to the chaos of an administration where the EPA chief is under intense criticism for a breathtaking array of scandals, and the chief of staff, John Kelly, is reportedly considering resigning.
If either one quits, they will join former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, former Deputy Chief of Staff Katie Walsh, former Deputy National Security Adviser K.T. McFarland, former White House Communications Director Michael Dubke, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, former National Security Council Adviser Derek Harvey, former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon, former Special Adviser on Regulatory Reform Carl Icahn, former White House deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka, former Director of Oval Office Operations Tom Schiller, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, former Deputy White House Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn, former Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell, former Assistant to the President Omarosa Newman, former Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Brenda Fitzgerald, former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter, former Chief Economic Adviser Gary Cohn, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, former Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, former top lawyer John Dowd, and just Tuesday morning, former Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert in the fast-growing ranks of ex-Trump staffers (and that is not a comprehensive list).
The departure of John Dowd is especially of note, as Trump now has vanishingly few competent legal minds at his disposal, and is apparently having trouble finding a replacement.
Now, if Trump were to fire Mueller, congressional Republicans would almost certainly do nothing to punish him, much less vote to impeach. But for an administration to be able to exercise power, it must have staff and resources, especially the time and attention of the president himself.
The administration could do much damage yet, but its grip on the major levers of power appears shakier by the day.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published