The medieval expertise may be on-point. https://t.co/4azgsnPzRA
— David Simon (@AoDespair) March 28, 2018
From the original Reuters report:
A little-known former prosecutor with a doctorate in medieval history will play a central role on U.S. President Donald Trump’s legal team, as many top-tier lawyers shy away from representing him in a probe into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.
Andrew Ekonomou, 69, is one of a handful of lawyers assisting Jay Sekulow, the main attorney representing Trump in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Sekulow told Reuters on Tuesday that after the departure of Washington attorney John Dowd from Trump’s personal legal team last week, Ekonomou will assume a more prominent role…
The elevation comes at a crucial time in the Mueller probe, as Trump’s team is negotiating the terms under which the president himself may be interviewed. Sekulow is now the last man standing of a trio of personal lawyers hired last spring to assist Trump on the probe. Combative New York lawyer Marc Kasowitz exited the team last summer…
Trump has tried to tap top-tier lawyers to represent him but been repeatedly rebuffed, according to people familiar with the matter. For example, on Monday, Dan Webb, a former U.S. attorney in Illinois, said Trump had reached out to him and a Washington colleague, but business conflicts prevented them from representing the president.
Savannah Law School professor Andrew Wright, former associate counsel in the Obama White House, said it is unusual for a president to turn to lawyers like Ekonomou who are untested on the national scene and not part of the elite white-collar bar…
Following what he called a “mid-life crisis,” Ekonomou said he went back to school and got his doctorate in medieval history at Emory University in 2000. Ekonomou said he is the author of a book on Byzantine Rome and the Greek popes.
Drew Ashby, a trial lawyer who worked for Ekonomou between 2007 and 2010, said Ekonomou has a commanding presence that would likely serve him well when dealing with Trump.
“He is a force of nature,” Ashby said. “Andy has the kind of presence and the kind of mind that I would think would make Donald Trump listen.”
So, he looks like the guy you’d find to play a top-dollar lawyer on a tv show. Aka, The Trump Special Hire!
In case this isn’t already clear, yes, it is pretty unusual for a sitting “President” and avowed billionaire to have so much trouble finding legal representation…
NEW: Two more lawyers just turned down a request to be on Trump's legal team https://t.co/PfOhCA1AOl
— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) March 26, 2018
It used to be the case that representing POTUS would make your legal career. https://t.co/f3bIxRefua
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) March 26, 2018
It's gonna be funny if Jay Sekulow, who took this job pro-bono for the publicity, gets stuck having to actually conduct the president's legal defense.
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) March 25, 2018
Russiagate Open Thread: Lawyerin’ Up. Or Down. Or Sideways…Post + Comments (145)