At first glance, it might look like you’re inside baseball.
A bunch of former prosecutors and cable TV pundits talking to each other about how much they don’t like Donald Trump and the deep legal problems he has? Doesn’t that happen every day in the green rooms and the corner bar?
But this, like revealed by Politico, is different. These are some of the most prominent commentators in the media universe and they appear to be consulting/coordinating/conspiring about their primary goal.
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Even if that’s not the case, it looks horrible.
It suits the conservatives who support Trump that the media is part of the resistance, determined to bring him down at all costs.
Now they can say it’s a cabal, confirming all their darkest suspicions about the press determined to bring him down.
Former President Donald Trump, center, awaits the start of proceedings in Manhattan Criminal Court, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Opening statements in Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial are about to begin. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories he thought could damage his 2016 presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Swimming Pool)
Every Friday, these media A-listers join a secret, off-the-record Zoom call.
In an elegant description, the article says the goal is to “intellectually test the arguments Trump faces as he journeys through the American legal system.” But a moment later he says, “the majority are united by their dislike of Trump.”
The group’s origins are revealing, beginning during the Jan. 6 hearings, when committee staff began briefing legal commentators on their work. I can think of classified military matters that haven’t remained secret for so long.
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Who does the zoom? Norman Eisen, an Obama administration official who worked with House Democrats on Trump’s first impeachment and is a CNN legal analyst, is the founder.
A group of legal commentators, united by their dislike of Trump, have met periodically to discuss the president’s legal situation. (Center: (Photo by Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images), Left: (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images), Top right: (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images), Bottom right: (Photo by Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images))
He is joined by Bill Kristol, leader of anti-Trump conservatives; Laurence Tribe, long-time Harvard Law professor; Watergate Figure, John Dean; and George Conway, Kellyanne’s ex-husband, co-founder of the Lincoln Project and MSNBC regular.
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That’s just the beginning. There’s MSNBC analyst Andrew Weissman, who investigated the unsuccessful Russian collusion allegations against Trump as Bob Mueller’s prosecutor; Why would anyone doubt your objectivity?
There are CNN legal analysts Jeffrey Toobin, Elliott Williams and Karen Agnifilo, along with LA Times columnist Harry Litman. And there’s Mary McCord, a former Justice Department official who co-hosts an MSNBC podcast.
Former President Donald Trump attends the first day of his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP via AP, POOL)
Sometimes there are guests, which is also revealing. After Trump was found liable in the first defamation and sexual assault lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll, his attorney, Roberta Kaplan, addressed the group. And, Politico says, former conservative judge J. Michael Luttig, who led a campaign to expel Trump from state ballots under the 14th Amendment, was another guest. The Supreme Court rejected the undemocratic measure.
Despite efforts to rationalize this as an exercise in meeting great minds, I don’t think so. Even Politico admits that the calls could “generate groupthink” — what a shocking thought.
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And cable news generates a lot of other coverage, particularly when certain topics are constantly covered.
All of these people are smart enough to think for themselves. Which makes it surprising that they lack the common sense to see how disturbing Zooming seems.
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