“But her emails” may end up having a new connotation. The Associated Press is reporting that emails between Melania Trump and Trump Organization employee Rhona Graff have been subpoenaed “as well as severance and confidentiality agreements for key figures in Trump’s company,” in connection with the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation. If Melania ends up in the middle of the legal crosshairs, things are going to really get wild. PoliticusUSA:
You might recall that Melania Trump was accused of regularly using “a private Trump Organization email account, an email from a MelaniaTrump.com domain, iMessage and the encrypted messaging app Signal while in the White House,” to conduct government business while First Lady.
Mrs. Trump’s former senior adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff said that Trump used private email accounts rather than the White House email when discussing official White House business:
Asked by CNN why Trump would use a private email after her husband’s attacks against Clinton, Wolkoff said Wednesday, “Does it really surprise you? … I think the Trumps are the Trumps. And they do whatever they want to do and they go by their own rules. It’s unfortunate.”
The Washington Post reviewed emails submitted by Wolkoff that seemed to substantiate her claim.
Of course, the First Lady isn’t a government employee and isn’t required to adhere to the same laws, but as CNN pointed out in their question to Wolkoff, on the heels of Trump’s relentless fear-mongering about Hillary Clinton’s private server, it was a choice.
The bottom line here is that the investigation is intensifying, all the investigations are intensifying and like in any clean up operation, the deeper you dig, the more dirt you find.
I wonder if legal fees are included in Melania’s pre-nuptial agreement?
Unlike me Ursula you have actually graduated from law school so feel free to correct me on what follows: Melania or any First Lady is NOT a WH employee – technically. However, it’s a distinction without a difference. There is an Office of the First Lady in any WH, with office space that’s maintained by government paid people, STAFF which includes both Civil Service staff and a First Lady’s special folks that are paid by the taxpayer and a substantial amount spent on First Ladies for their public appearances (and travel) representing the Govt. with or on behalf of the President. So First Ladies manage significant government resources (the overall budget for their office), manage significant government staff and in the course of performance of duties interacts regularly with other govt. employees in both the Executive and Legislative Branches. As well as outside businesses and group as well as individuals – conducting official government business.
It’s an actual job. An official WH job even if there’s no formal salary. There are plenty of other perks only a First Lady (and someday First Gentleman) gets that have a value far, far greater if a price tag was put on them that 90 percent or more of Americans earn!
We never studied this stuff in law school, unfortunately. This topic is more along the lines of a government class (or something in political science) than any formal law school study. Bottom line, in the wake of the issue with Hillary’s freaking emails, it behooves everybody in government to follow the strictest protocols.
Ivanka screwed around with this, too, and she was an official Presidential Advisor. The Republicans love to bitch about what the Democrats do and then they do exactly the same thing.
If they didn’t have hypocrisy, they’d have no moral values at all.
as trump said in 2016. the highest degree of law should be applied. for anyone hiding confidence papers.text or papers of the government. only if donald would kept his promises