Greetings, The Friday Whine is a casual email to friends and colleagues and contains two things: An ethics update, and a wine recommendation. If you see text in blue, it is a link to an article or information.
Ethics
The Ethics Of Rudy (not the movie)
What is up with the former Mayor of New York City?
This is what happens when you hire someone you like, someone who you believe likes you, and someone who is a career prosecutor and has likely never represented a criminal defendant.
And let’s be clear – President Trump is a criminal defendant in the mind of any competent criminal defense lawyer – in the sense that he should stop talking and stop writing.
So right now we’re all stunned that defense counsel Giuliani (even saying that sounds odd), told Sean Hannity that his client actually did reimburse lawyer Michael Cohen the $130,000 he paid porn star Stormy Daniels as hush money. This is after Michael Cohen said he used his own money and after the President said he did not reimburse him or even know about it.
So whether you love or hate Donald Trump, or “don’t care about Stormy Daniels,” – someone is lying.
But that’s not my ethics issue today. Because something happened after that. Seriously, within a few hours.
It was then (wrongly) reported that Michael Cohen’s phone was wiretapped. It wasn’t. NBC reported it, and retracted it. What was used was a pen register, something totally different. Wiretapping is listening, a pen register produces a list of calls.
When Rudy found out this article came out. He commented before the retraction. He said this:
“Giuliani, who joined President Trump’s personal legal team about two weeks ago, predicted that Trump would share his anger at the matter, though he said he had not yet spoken to the president about it.
When he does so, Giuliani predicted, “He is going to say to me, ‘Isn’t there an attorney-client privilege?’ And I am going to tell him, ‘No, the Department of Justice seems to want to trample all over the Constitution of the United States.’ “
Let me summarize: “I believe my client will be mad, but I haven’t spoken to him yet. I haven’t even verified whether this is true. When I tell my client, he’s going to ask me about the attorney client privilege and ironically, as I’m talking about what my client will say, even though I haven’t spoken to him about a story that may not be true and if I just waited an hour I’d learn it isn’t true, I’m going to talk to him about… how the attorney client privilege is being assailed.”
Rudy may have been a respected prosecutor and mayor, but he has no business playing criminal defense lawyer. He’s been on the case a few days and done more harm to his client than his client even understands. He’s playing the T.V. news circuit instead of sitting in a conference room strategizing the case. He’s a spokesperson for the President, not his lawyer. He’s communicating about his client’s thoughts, feelings, predicted words and admitting he hasn’t spoken to him about certain things. Why is he even talking about whether he has or has not communicated with his client?
Wine
40 ounce
So I heard about these “40 ounce” wines. Some dumb novelty thing. Wine in a 40 ounce bottle.
I tried the Rose with some of my “wine” friends.
We were stunned.
It was good.
And mother’s day is around the corner. Doesn’t every mom love rose?
It’s at Wolfe’s. It’s $20. He only got 2 cases, so hurry up.