You've got to know something is very wrong when your lawyer has his own lawyer.
Not really. Doctors have their own doctors. Psychologists have their own psychologists. Lawyers also have their own lawyers. Even experienced lawyers typically do not represent themselves in court. A solid case can quickly unravel without the help of a trained and emotionally detached attorney.
Now if you have a lawyer, and (s)he makes a mistake that affects your trial, you will be given a new trial. That's because the right to a lawyer means a right to an effective counsel. On the other hand, if YOU represent YOURSELF, and YOU make a mistake, you won't be given a new trial. Why? Because you GAVE UP your right ...
Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen's office just got raided by the FBI.
Hallelujah! You've got to know something is very wrong when your lawyer has his own lawyer. Please, dear God, let this be the beginning of the end, and let it come swiftly.
One of my father's mentors at a firm once told him a mantra that we still cite in our firm 30+ years later: "Only the client goes to jail." Translated: never let your duty to be a zealous advocate for your client cross into illegal or unethical acts.
Well, it was in response to information Mueller passed along. There's no indication that this is part of Mueller's investigation, which is how it's supposed to be. Unrelated potential criminal violations are usually passed along to the relevant authorities.
Mueller is interested in Cohen because he allegedly met with Russian officials on behalf of Trump in Prague in August 2016.
This is a smart move by Mueller because it gives federal prosecutors in New York to get Cohen by the short hairs. If the feds in New York get Cohen to sing, who knows where it goes.
And this way Trump won't have an excuse to fire Mueller while allowing Mueller to get ever closer to his target.
Doctors have their own doctors. Psychologists have their own psychologists. Lawyers also have their own lawyers.
Yes, I know, but it strikes me as strange. Doctors fall prey to disease and so need diagnosis and treatment. Psychologists are troubled by a variety of things and so need counseling. But it strikes me as strange that a lawyer would feel the need to defend his practice against something the bar association (or worse) might take issue with.
I'd like to see the US take a shot at Assad personally. The Israelis have (so people say) already taken a shot at the Iranians for John Bolton. Let's follow that up with destroying a Dictator's palace, Hilary style (or so say the conservatives). OK. Now have image of Hil doing the Gangam Style dance in a pants suit and sunglasses. Oddly, it's to the song "Push It".
I think we saw a Trump meltdown yesterday. He lashed out at Sessions, Mueller, the FBI, even Hillary. Lied a lot, too. He must be wondering just what the FBI are going to discover as a result of the Cohen searches.
My guess; the search warrant gives the FBI the legitimacy to find confirmations of things they already know from other intelligence sources.
Doctors have their own doctors. Psychologists have their own psychologists. Lawyers also have their own lawyers.
Yes, I know, but it strikes me as strange. Doctors fall prey to disease and so need diagnosis and treatment. Psychologists are troubled by a variety of things and so need counseling. But it strikes me as strange that a lawyer would feel the need to defend his practice against something the bar association (or worse) might take issue with.
Well, the thing of it is, lawyers have different areas of expertise. Were I, say, a criminal lawyer in dispute with my firm, I'd hire a lawyer who specialises in contracts or labour law. If the tax man came after me, I wouldn't dream of representing myself - I'd get a tax lawyer (not least because it takes a special mind to take delight in so boring an area). Besides, there is the old saw: the lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.
I timidly put this forward (anticipating wrath) without any intent whatsoever to defame women in general, or Ms. Daniels in particular, but it often seems to be the case that this is where public men who think they are BIG (or BIGLIEST) fall down....
What interesting times we do live in, to be sure.
Apart from anything else, anyone who manages to stop the POTUS's tweets for fourteen hours surely deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, or similar.
When I first saw this I thought it was a spoof. Poe's law in action. I'm apparently not the only person to think his body language is pretty damning, too.
In order to get a warrant to search a lawyers office, there is a multi-step process. First, the prosecuting attorney has to have evidence of a possible crime, then it has to go to the Attorney General for review. In this case, since the AG has recused himself, it had to be reviewed by the Assistant Attorney General, in this case, Mr Rosenstein. Rosenstein apparently referred it to the US Attorney for New York to execute. Then it had to be approved by the Judge for New York City. I note that Mueller, who is a registered Republican, had to refer it to Rosenstein, also a Republican, the US Attorney for New York was also appointed by Trump. Not sure of the political leanings of the judge, but when you have people in your camp pursuing you, you are in deep sh!t.
In order to get a warrant to search a lawyers office, there is a multi-step process. First, the prosecuting attorney has to have evidence of a possible crime, then it has to go to the Attorney General for review. In this case, since the AG has recused himself, it had to be reviewed by the Assistant Attorney General, in this case, Mr Rosenstein. Rosenstein apparently referred it to the US Attorney for New York to execute. Then it had to be approved by the Judge for New York City. I note that Mueller, who is a registered Republican, had to refer it to Rosenstein, also a Republican, the US Attorney for New York was also appointed by Trump. Not sure of the political leanings of the judge, but when you have people in your camp pursuing you, you are in deep sh!t.
The U.S. Attorney for Southern New York is Geoffrey Berman, who was appointed by Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III on behalf of Donald Trump. A raid like this would also require approval by Christopher Wray, the FBI Director appointed by Donald Trump to replace James Comey.
It should also be noted that attorney documents are typically requested via subpœna, not seized with a warrant, which implies that the DOJ/FBI was able to convince a judge that there was a good possibility Cohen would destroy evidence rather than surrender it.
It's now being reported that Berman has been recused from the Cohen investigation, and was not involved in the warrant approval. Passive voice from the article- I don't know, nor do they say, if he recused himself or if the decision was made higher up the chain of command.
Berman's recusal sounds like a necessary bit of "duck and cover". Whatever his plausible reasons. I think Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is showing guts. If Trump is on the lookout for folks to knife, he may be very near the top of the list.
Bolton's recommendation would more likely be a full-scale invasion . . . of Iran! It doesn't matter what problem he's asked about, for Bolton the correct solution is always "invade Iran".
On this point, its interesting to read the recent interviews with Mohammed Bin Salman - primarily because you can see laid bare trajectory that a certain part of the US foreign policy establishment is hoping to carry out - aka blame Iran for everything. A line that will be taken up by All Serious Pundits Everywhere:
CNN is saying that Rosenstein is in the cross hairs. Sarah Sanders also said that WH had received advice that the President had the power to fire Mueller directly.
Tomorrow could be a big day. The GOP is going to have to make its mind up about whether it wants the rule of law or the rule of Trump.
Carl Bernstein said much the same. He reckons that Trump's current calculation is that if he allows the investigations to continue, he will be publicly found out. So he may well be gambling that it will be better to move to shut down Mueller now and expect the GOP to roll over.
In short, Carl thinks they may well prefer the rule of Trump to the rule of law. A fine collection of strict constitutionalists they've turned out to be.
If they do roll over, then the current cold civil war in the USA might get a lot hotter.
I'd like to see the US take a shot at Assad personally. The Israelis have (so people say) already taken a shot at the Iranians for John Bolton. Let's follow that up with destroying a Dictator's palace, Hilary style (or so say the conservatives). OK. Now have image of Hil doing the Gangam Style dance in a pants suit and sunglasses. Oddly, it's to the song "Push It".
I'd like to see the middle east be left alone. It can hardly be worse. The mess made in Iraq, first by invading it on fraudulent pretext, thinking it would be a "cakewalk", then firing and preventing all the Ba'athist personnel from involvement in the American puppet government had these people consider that IS might be a good thing. How many millions dead already? Then fomenting revolution in Syria which openned it up for IS. How stupid can you get?
No, it isn't okay to support dictators to control Persian Gulf oil because you think this will maintain you on top and provide the possibility of blackmailing the Chinese. Who are transitioning anyway from oil and also using pipelines, so blew that too.
If you want to blow up presidential places, there are others more worthy.
BREAKING--(well not exactly) today, at the daily briefing by the White House, April Ryan, correspondent for the American Urban Radio Network and contributor for CNN, asked the question on everyone's mind:
With all of this turmoil, particularly last week, has the president at any time thought about stepping down before or now?
Sarah Sanders called it a ridiculous question. But the cat is out of the bag now. No matter how much they want to deny it, Drump is feeling the pressure
I'm sure Mr. Mueller is smart enough to keep back up copies of everything in a secure place.
Not only that, but he's spreading the investigation around. Whatever it is they're looking for in Cohens place, it's something Mueller discovered but then passed on to the NY AG. There are other, less showy but similar disbursements. So even if Mueller and his team are axed it looks like Mueller has spread it out broadly enough that there's several different fronts who can carry on the charge
I heard that argument on CNN. It has something going for it. But I think Trump can live with it if he gets rid of Mueller without the GOP blowing up in his face.
House Speaker Paul Ryan has told confidants that he will announce soon that he won't run for re-election in November, according to sources with knowledge of the conversations.
Why it matters: House Republicans were already in a very tough spot for the midterms, with many endangered members and the good chance that Democrats could win the majority.
One of Washington’s best-wired Republicans said:
“This is a Titanic, tectonic shift. … This is going to make every Republican donor believe the House can’t be held.” The announcement will help Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in his fundraising because “the Senate becomes the last bastion," the Republican said.
Analogies about rats and ships come to mind, provided Paul Ryan's anonymous alleged "confidants" are providing accurate information.
Interesting. Maybe it will enable him to blow the whistle on the choice between the rule of law and the rule of Trump?
So far the only Republicans who are willing to stand up to Trump (in the half-assed sense of expressing "concerns" while voting for Trump's agenda) are those not seeking re-election (Flake, McCain, Corker, etc.). Given that Paul Ryan is a spineless weasel who only cares about cutting taxes for the wealthy and cutting the social safety net for the poor I'm not expecting even that much from him.
The comment about Paul Ryan is old news. I think I heard about it in January. The speculation is that by leaving the House of Representatives undefeated he will be able to challenge Trump in 2020.
The comment about Paul Ryan is old news. I think I heard about it in January. The speculation is that by leaving the House of Representatives undefeated he will be able to challenge Trump in 2020.
Or at least gets him a more lucrative position as a consultant or lobbyist.
I'd like to see the US take a shot at Assad personally. The Israelis have (so people say) already taken a shot at the Iranians for John Bolton. Let's follow that up with destroying a Dictator's palace, Hilary style (or so say the conservatives). OK. Now have image of Hil doing the Gangam Style dance in a pants suit and sunglasses. Oddly, it's to the song "Push It".
I'd like to see the middle east be left alone. It can hardly be worse. The mess made in Iraq, first by invading it on fraudulent pretext, thinking it would be a "cakewalk", then firing and preventing all the Ba'athist personnel from involvement in the American puppet government had these people consider that IS might be a good thing. How many millions dead already? Then fomenting revolution in Syria which openned it up for IS. How stupid can you get?
No, it isn't okay to support dictators to control Persian Gulf oil because you think this will maintain you on top and provide the possibility of blackmailing the Chinese. Who are transitioning anyway from oil and also using pipelines, so blew that too.
If you want to blow up presidential places, there are others more worthy.
Naah. I reckon targeting and killing Assad and people around him and justifying it on the grounds that he used chemical weapons is a pretty good idea. The downside, I suppose, is that Syria becomes a killing zone? Too late. What we in Australia need to do is provide a safe haven for the refugees, like we did with the former Yugoslavs in the 1990's. Mind you I'm not in the White House. I might be a little less cavalier about it if I was the one who said "go".
I ate lunch today in an Iraqi restaurant where English was most certainly a second language. The place had a long table with three noisy families sharing a meal (school holidays here) and some older gentlemen drinking tea and stepping aside to smoke. I clearly misordered, receiving a very large plate of lamb and rice and a bowl of beans stewed in tomato soup with some pickled chili and vegetables. I stepped up manfully, but found the stewed beans a little bland. Then I ate one of the pickles followed by the stew and wow. I was in love. I even braved the chilis which proved to be quite mild. Great with the stew though. The place is about 10 minutes from my wife's work, and I plan to misorder there often.
Why anyone would want to stop people from another food culture immigrating to their country is beyond me.
I suppose I could be persuaded that we shouldn't kill Assad because he's on the brink of victory and it would just extend the chaos in that country for a few more years. That line has weight, with me anyway. But I'd prefer the bastard dead.
Naah. I reckon targeting and killing Assad and people around him and justifying it on the grounds that he used chemical weapons is a pretty good idea. The downside, I suppose, is that Syria becomes a killing zone? Too late. What we in Australia need to do is provide a safe haven for the refugees, like we did with the former Yugoslavs in the 1990's. Mind you I'm not in the White House. I might be a little less cavalier about it if I was the one who said "go".
I ate lunch today in an Iraqi restaurant where English was most certainly a second language. The place had a long table with three noisy families sharing a meal (school holidays here) and some older gentlemen drinking tea and stepping aside to smoke. I clearly misordered, receiving a very large plate of lamb and rice and a bowl of beans stewed in tomato soup with some pickled chili and vegetables. I stepped up manfully, but found the stewed beans a little bland. Then I ate one of the pickles followed by the stew and wow. I was in love. I even braved the chilis which proved to be quite mild. Great with the stew though. The place is about 10 minutes from my wife's work, and I plan to misorder there often.
Why anyone would want to stop people from another food culture immigrating to their country is beyond me.
Hey, what's a bunch of collateral casualties as long as you get a good meal out of it? I guess we can all be relieved that the Iraq War worked out so well for you! That makes it all worth it, I guess.
Continuing along Simon's slight tangent, one of the most appealing features of the much-vilified 'Jungle' migrant camp at Calais (populated by peeps trying to get from France into the UK) was the variety of ethnic cafes and restaurants being set up among the shacks and cardboard hovels.
Afghan cuisine, Eritrean cuisine, Somali cuisine etc. etc., all being provided on the thinnest of shoestring budgets - if they're willing to work that hard, open the gates! Bring 'em in!
Because he's a dumbass. Is there any other explanation that we need?
And of course, there's a tweet for everything. Trump in 2013 (sic'd, naturally): "Why do we keep broadcasting when we are going to attack Syria. Why can't we just be quiet and, if we attack at all, catch them by surprise?"
House Speaker Paul Ryan has told confidants that he will announce soon that he won't run for re-election in November, according to sources with knowledge of the conversations.
Why it matters: House Republicans were already in a very tough spot for the midterms, with many endangered members and the good chance that Democrats could win the majority.
One of Washington’s best-wired Republicans said:
“This is a Titanic, tectonic shift. … This is going to make every Republican donor believe the House can’t be held.” The announcement will help Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in his fundraising because “the Senate becomes the last bastion," the Republican said.
Analogies about rats and ships come to mind, provided Paul Ryan's anonymous alleged "confidants" are providing accurate information.
Confirmed an hour ago with the usual bromides about spending more time with family (he must have used the phrase "I don't want to be a weekend dad" a dozen times in the first 3 sentences). Lots of absurd bragging about "what we've accomplished" and his commitment to "entitlement reform" (better known as "screwing the poor & the elderly". Pro-death is the new pro-life).
I think he sees the writing on the wall and is, indeed, a rat fleeing a sinking ship. His long game might be a presidential run in 2020 or the VP under (*shudders*) soon-to-be Pres. Pence. Or it might be a cushy Wall St/ Faux News/ consulting gig.
I often say that killing Arabs is what put the Great in Great Britain, well, amongst other things, so I guess Mr Trump might think similar. No, maybe that's too coherent.
I think he sees the writing on the wall and is, indeed, a rat fleeing a sinking ship. His long game might be a presidential run in 2020 or the VP under (*shudders*) soon-to-be Pres. Pence. Or it might be a cushy Wall St/ Faux News/ consulting gig.
Its not a terrible idea if he assumes there will be an electoral reversal in 2018, he'll not be associated with any failure - and if he does a Nixon and campaigns on the behalf of a number of other carefully chosen individuals he builds up his constituency for an eventual presidential run.
Three reasons why announcing a missile strike is a bad idea
Announcing via tweet throws your military brass off, they really do not know what their commander is going to do.
What ever happened to keeping your options to yourself? Drump campaigned that he would not announce what he was going to do militarily as a way of keeping his opponents off guard. Now they are able to strengthen their defenses,
Now that you telegraphed what you are going to do, what does it look like if you back off? A Paper Tiger as the Chinese say.
I think he sees the writing on the wall and is, indeed, a rat fleeing a sinking ship. His long game might be a presidential run in 2020 or the VP under (*shudders*) soon-to-be Pres. Pence. Or it might be a cushy Wall St/ Faux News/ consulting gig.
Its not a terrible idea if he assumes there will be an electoral reversal in 2018, he'll not be associated with any failure - and if he does a Nixon and campaigns on the behalf of a number of other carefully chosen individuals he builds up his constituency for an eventual presidential run.
Carl Bernstein said much the same. He reckons that Trump's current calculation is that if he allows the investigations to continue, he will be publicly found out. So he may well be gambling that it will be better to move to shut down Mueller now and expect the GOP to roll over.
In short, Carl thinks they may well prefer the rule of Trump to the rule of law. A fine collection of strict constitutionalists they've turned out to be.
If they do roll over, then the current cold civil war in the USA might get a lot hotter.
Serious question....
Just how feasible might it be for somewhere like California, in the event of a Trump re-election let us say, to decide that they don't want to be part of this Union any more and make moves towards independence?
As Simon noted, such movements exist, including one more substantial and semi-serious one that was gathering steam in early 2017. Hat tip to ya-- it's been dubbed Calexit. I'll admit I found it appealing in a letting-off-steam / we're not really serious sort of way. It lost a lot of its luster when it was revealed the campaign is being run out of Moscow
Comments
Not really. Doctors have their own doctors. Psychologists have their own psychologists. Lawyers also have their own lawyers. Even experienced lawyers typically do not represent themselves in court. A solid case can quickly unravel without the help of a trained and emotionally detached attorney.
Now if you have a lawyer, and (s)he makes a mistake that affects your trial, you will be given a new trial. That's because the right to a lawyer means a right to an effective counsel. On the other hand, if YOU represent YOURSELF, and YOU make a mistake, you won't be given a new trial. Why? Because you GAVE UP your right ...
One of my father's mentors at a firm once told him a mantra that we still cite in our firm 30+ years later: "Only the client goes to jail." Translated: never let your duty to be a zealous advocate for your client cross into illegal or unethical acts.
Mueller is interested in Cohen because he allegedly met with Russian officials on behalf of Trump in Prague in August 2016.
This is a smart move by Mueller because it gives federal prosecutors in New York to get Cohen by the short hairs. If the feds in New York get Cohen to sing, who knows where it goes.
And this way Trump won't have an excuse to fire Mueller while allowing Mueller to get ever closer to his target.
How Stormy Daniels figures into the Mueller investigation
Come Lord Jesus come. We are so tired
My guess; the search warrant gives the FBI the legitimacy to find confirmations of things they already know from other intelligence sources.
Well, the thing of it is, lawyers have different areas of expertise. Were I, say, a criminal lawyer in dispute with my firm, I'd hire a lawyer who specialises in contracts or labour law. If the tax man came after me, I wouldn't dream of representing myself - I'd get a tax lawyer (not least because it takes a special mind to take delight in so boring an area). Besides, there is the old saw: the lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.
Cherchez la femme (look for the woman).
I timidly put this forward (anticipating wrath) without any intent whatsoever to defame women in general, or Ms. Daniels in particular, but it often seems to be the case that this is where public men who think they are BIG (or BIGLIEST) fall down....
What interesting times we do live in, to be sure.
Apart from anything else, anyone who manages to stop the POTUS's tweets for fourteen hours surely deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, or similar.
IJ
When I first saw this I thought it was a spoof. Poe's law in action. I'm apparently not the only person to think his body language is pretty damning, too.
Because it doesn't seem like it, at any rate from this side of the pond.
Mind you, the same could be said of others...on this side of the pond!
IJ
IJ
The U.S. Attorney for Southern New York is Geoffrey Berman, who was appointed by Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III on behalf of Donald Trump. A raid like this would also require approval by Christopher Wray, the FBI Director appointed by Donald Trump to replace James Comey.
It should also be noted that attorney documents are typically requested via subpœna, not seized with a warrant, which implies that the DOJ/FBI was able to convince a judge that there was a good possibility Cohen would destroy evidence rather than surrender it.
But that ought to drive Trump nuts...
On this point, its interesting to read the recent interviews with Mohammed Bin Salman - primarily because you can see laid bare trajectory that a certain part of the US foreign policy establishment is hoping to carry out - aka blame Iran for everything. A line that will be taken up by All Serious Pundits Everywhere:
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/04/mohammed-bin-salman-iran-israel/557036/
Tomorrow could be a big day. The GOP is going to have to make its mind up about whether it wants the rule of law or the rule of Trump.
In short, Carl thinks they may well prefer the rule of Trump to the rule of law. A fine collection of strict constitutionalists they've turned out to be.
If they do roll over, then the current cold civil war in the USA might get a lot hotter.
I'd like to see the middle east be left alone. It can hardly be worse. The mess made in Iraq, first by invading it on fraudulent pretext, thinking it would be a "cakewalk", then firing and preventing all the Ba'athist personnel from involvement in the American puppet government had these people consider that IS might be a good thing. How many millions dead already? Then fomenting revolution in Syria which openned it up for IS. How stupid can you get?
No, it isn't okay to support dictators to control Persian Gulf oil because you think this will maintain you on top and provide the possibility of blackmailing the Chinese. Who are transitioning anyway from oil and also using pipelines, so blew that too.
If you want to blow up presidential places, there are others more worthy.
Sarah Sanders called it a ridiculous question. But the cat is out of the bag now. No matter how much they want to deny it, Drump is feeling the pressure
Report Here
Not only that, but he's spreading the investigation around. Whatever it is they're looking for in Cohens place, it's something Mueller discovered but then passed on to the NY AG. There are other, less showy but similar disbursements. So even if Mueller and his team are axed it looks like Mueller has spread it out broadly enough that there's several different fronts who can carry on the charge
I heard that argument on CNN. It has something going for it. But I think Trump can live with it if he gets rid of Mueller without the GOP blowing up in his face.
Analogies about rats and ships come to mind, provided Paul Ryan's anonymous alleged "confidants" are providing accurate information.
So far the only Republicans who are willing to stand up to Trump (in the half-assed sense of expressing "concerns" while voting for Trump's agenda) are those not seeking re-election (Flake, McCain, Corker, etc.). Given that Paul Ryan is a spineless weasel who only cares about cutting taxes for the wealthy and cutting the social safety net for the poor I'm not expecting even that much from him.
Or at least gets him a more lucrative position as a consultant or lobbyist.
Naah. I reckon targeting and killing Assad and people around him and justifying it on the grounds that he used chemical weapons is a pretty good idea. The downside, I suppose, is that Syria becomes a killing zone? Too late. What we in Australia need to do is provide a safe haven for the refugees, like we did with the former Yugoslavs in the 1990's. Mind you I'm not in the White House. I might be a little less cavalier about it if I was the one who said "go".
I ate lunch today in an Iraqi restaurant where English was most certainly a second language. The place had a long table with three noisy families sharing a meal (school holidays here) and some older gentlemen drinking tea and stepping aside to smoke. I clearly misordered, receiving a very large plate of lamb and rice and a bowl of beans stewed in tomato soup with some pickled chili and vegetables. I stepped up manfully, but found the stewed beans a little bland. Then I ate one of the pickles followed by the stew and wow. I was in love. I even braved the chilis which proved to be quite mild. Great with the stew though. The place is about 10 minutes from my wife's work, and I plan to misorder there often.
Why anyone would want to stop people from another food culture immigrating to their country is beyond me.
I suppose I could be persuaded that we shouldn't kill Assad because he's on the brink of victory and it would just extend the chaos in that country for a few more years. That line has weight, with me anyway. But I'd prefer the bastard dead.
Hey, what's a bunch of collateral casualties as long as you get a good meal out of it? I guess we can all be relieved that the Iraq War worked out so well for you! That makes it all worth it, I guess.
Afghan cuisine, Eritrean cuisine, Somali cuisine etc. etc., all being provided on the thinnest of shoestring budgets - if they're willing to work that hard, open the gates! Bring 'em in!
I'll get me coat...
IJ
bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-43727829
I wonder if it's worth getting up tomorrow morning?
IJ
Didn't Trump do this a year ago after the last chemical attack? I'm not sure why he's expecting a different result this time around.
And of course, there's a tweet for everything. Trump in 2013 (sic'd, naturally): "Why do we keep broadcasting when we are going to attack Syria. Why can't we just be quiet and, if we attack at all, catch them by surprise?"
Confirmed an hour ago with the usual bromides about spending more time with family (he must have used the phrase "I don't want to be a weekend dad" a dozen times in the first 3 sentences). Lots of absurd bragging about "what we've accomplished" and his commitment to "entitlement reform" (better known as "screwing the poor & the elderly". Pro-death is the new pro-life).
I think he sees the writing on the wall and is, indeed, a rat fleeing a sinking ship. His long game might be a presidential run in 2020 or the VP under (*shudders*) soon-to-be Pres. Pence. Or it might be a cushy Wall St/ Faux News/ consulting gig.
Its not a terrible idea if he assumes there will be an electoral reversal in 2018, he'll not be associated with any failure - and if he does a Nixon and campaigns on the behalf of a number of other carefully chosen individuals he builds up his constituency for an eventual presidential run.
Not a terrible idea for him that is.
As Simon noted, such movements exist, including one more substantial and semi-serious one that was gathering steam in early 2017. Hat tip to ya-- it's been dubbed Calexit. I'll admit I found it appealing in a letting-off-steam / we're not really serious sort of way. It lost a lot of its luster when it was revealed the campaign is being run out of Moscow