RoscoePColtrane said:
It's just amazing reading that transcript that Dreeben was reduced to arguing "Yeah, we violated the regulations governing special counsels but those regs are not enforceable in court."
Well, it is a legal nuance that borders on pettifoggery. A fact that didn't escape Judge Ellis.
Again, I come back to this Judge's history, particularly his vast experience with Independent Counsels and how those investigations have careened OOC in the past. He's talked to all of them, knows where they feel they went astray, what they regret, etc. Even specifically stated that as prosecutors, their biggest failing in their eyes was not getting their target.
Not to mention he knows a squeeze play when he sees one. And he has one in the indictment before his court.
But let's revisit the curious case of James Baker, Comey's former FBI Chief Counsel. TCTH has taken the announcement that Baker is leaving the FBI (whatever the hell it was that he was doing for the last 8 or so months) and going to Ben Wittes' blog shop, LawFare. From that announcement they extrapolate that he doesn't have an immunity deal in place. And it is true that lawyers coming out of the DOJ and FBI at his level almost immediately land a private sector job in the mid seven figures. Not some lowly blog.
Conclusion: He's toxic to the big firms for the time being. I think that's a distinct possibility, here. But it also may mean he's not done cooperating and thus his immunity deal is not complete yet.