Trump's Big CON: The Trump Con Artist Family Includes His Lawyer

"Over his career — before he ran for president but continuing once his campaign was underway — Trump managed to assemble around himself a group of shady characters worthy of the most notorious mob boss, and that has continued into his presidency. . .

Mueller is taking a good hard look at Flynn and Manafort, but they’re just two of the grifters and con artists who have always been drawn to Trump like iron filings to a magnet. To take one colorful new example, Trump recently hired Jay Sekulow to represent him in the Russia matter, even though Sekulow’s legal specialty is First Amendment religion cases. Sekulow, it turns out, presides over a network of 'nonprofits' that gets tens of millions of dollars in small contributions from conservatives, then shovels much of that money to him and his family. As Aaron Davis and Shawn Boburg report, over five years,


    $5.5 million was paid directly to Sekulow and five family members in salary or other compensation, tax records covering those years show. Another $7.5 million went to businesses owned by Sekulow and his sister-in-law for producing and consulting on TV, movie and radio shows, including his weekday program, “Jay Sekulow Live!” And $21 million went to a small law firm co-owned by Sekulow, records show.

That’s not to mention the private jet. Sekulow isn’t alleged to be part of the Russia scandal, and his grift is a common one in the conservative political world. But it’s an illustration of the kind of people Trump associates with.

[I]t’s important to remember that if Mueller does find evidence of crimes, he can and will pursue them whether or not they have any specific relationship to the 2016 campaign. Once he begins tugging on these strings, who knows what will be discovered — about Trump’s activities before becoming president, about what his associates have done, and about anything else. Mueller can go wherever the evidence leads. Which may be why one Trump associate after another, from his personal lawyer to his son-in-law, is lawyering up.

This investigation may start with questions specifically related to the 2016 campaign and obstruction of justice, but it will almost inevitably get wider and wider. For instance, the question 'What was the nature of Jared Kushner’s contacts with Russia?' leads to 'What are Jared’s financial connections to Russia?,' which leads to 'What’s up with that $285 million loan Kushner’s company got just before Election Day?'"

Read the Washington Post, Why the Russia investigation could be even bigger than you think.