Day 274: Trump is personally interviewing U.S. attorney candidates for districts that can prosecute him
In an unusual maneuver, Donald Trump has personally interviewed some U.S. attorney candidates that he may nominate for open posts. While the process typically involves candidates being vetted and interviewed by staff members, including their would-be boss, the attorney general, Trump has decided to interview a curious few himself.
Trump has interviewed Geoffrey Berman, who is currently at the law firm Greenberg Traurig for the job of U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Ed McNally of the firm Kasowitz Benson Torres for the Eastern District post, according to the sources.
New York, huh? What’s so special about New York?
The Southern District of New York is an especially notable position since it has jurisdiction over Trump Tower.
For context, according to Politico, Barack Obama never personally interviewed a single one of his U.S. attorney nominees.
Trump has already previously interviewed one candidate, who was later confirmed, for the U.S. attorney opening in the District of Columbia.
It’s not at all coincidental the Trump chose those three positions — two in New York and one in D.C. — to personally vet.
“To be very blunt, these three jurisdictions will have authority to bring indictments over the ongoing special counsel investigation into Trump campaign collusion with the Russians and potential obstruction of justice by the president of the United States,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said in an interview Thursday. “For him to be interviewing candidates for that prosecutor who may in turn consider whether to bring indictments involving him and his administration seems to smack of political interference.”
The mere appearance of impropriety is enough to cast doubts over each interviewee’s candidacy. Story after story has emerged from the White House that Trump demands personal loyalty from virtually everyone that he picks to work in the government.
Whether the attorneys interviewed by Trump are being pressured — tacitly or explicitly — to tip the scales in his favor are something that cannot be known for certain. But an independent judiciary is vital to the nation and the shift from standard protocol here is enough to be alarming.
274 days in, 1188 to go
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