Report: Trump Borrows From Bill Clinton's Scandal Playbook

In an effort to save the administration’s nascent political agenda, the Trump White House is setting up a “war room” to deal with the fall out of the continuing Russia saga. This is similar to what Bill Clinton did to deal with his various presidential scandals, with the goal for Trump being to keep the Russia chaos out of every day West Wing business.

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Axios reports that Trump’s aides have somewhat belatedly realized that the Russia issue isn’t going away and processes need to be put in place to deal with it as it unfolds.

A key takeaway from past administrations is to designate one office or official to handle all the legal and communications issues, so there’s a consistent response and everyone else isn’t constantly sucked in.

The Washington Post says that attorneys Marc E. Kasowitz, Robert J. Giuffra Jr., Reid H. Weingarten, and Theodore B. Olson have already talked to the White House about playing a role in the “scandal war room.” Kasowitz is a long-time friend of Trump’s, and is expected to take on a major role.

Strangely enough, other names mentioned as having a part in crisis management at the White House are Cory Lewandowsi, Trump’s first presidential campaign manager, and David Bossie, the Citizens United head who was a deputy campaign manager. Lewandowski, in particular, has made headlines for all the wrong reasons in the past, so is an odd choice for dealing with dealing a growing scandal.

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The addition of new lawyers and additional “crisis management staff” will likely mean an increase in leaks and West Wing staff in-fighting.

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