LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Donald Trump’s lawyers have maintained an unusual level of contact with attorneys representing clients caught up in the expanding Russia probe, communication that could taint evidence that special counsel Robert Mueller is collecting in his investigation of the president. They’re not being shy about it either. The president’s attorneys talk openly about these “joint defense agreements” that they say were established to keep them connected with lawyers tied to the president’s aides, allies and associates. They took the lead in organizing weekly conference calls earlier this year to strategize with other counsel during an intense period of Mueller’s investigation. In total, Trump’s lawyers have publicly noted they have more than 30 so-called JDAs with Mueller probe targets. Under these agreements, Trump’s attorneys can seek details on everything from what questions and documents Mueller’s team is asking about to who’s on the verge of criminal indictment. The arrangement itself is routine for complex investigations where scores of people get drawn in as witnesses, subjects and even targets. Staying in touch through formalized JDAs is a way to share information under the protection of attorney-client privilege. But the Trump team’s use of JDAs has pushed legal boundaries, especially in the instances where the president’s lawyers claim to have maintained these relationships with defense teams representing Mueller targets who have flipped to cooperate with the Russia probe.”
–Darren Samuelsohn, “Trump team’s contact with Mueller targets could taint findings,” Politico, October 8, 2018