Dateline:
Los Angeles, August 23, 2018. Independent investigative reporter and Free Press
activist Heidi Cuda interviewed me to break down the prosecution tactics of
Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team.
This is a "low-tech"
interview that we set up impromptu via Skype...so hopefully the lags and tech
issues don't bother you too much and you can listen to it like a podcast.
Here's a link to the interview which is posted on YouTube and entitled: "ABUSE OF LOYALTY": Free Press Intervu with White Collar Crime Expert Tracy Green"
I did my best, in a "just the facts, m'am" approach without being partisan to explain how the prosecution thinks and why these cases are so challenging. Regardless of political issues, I'm a believer in due process and I hoped to shed light on why Mueller as Special Counsel has proceeded in this manner so far and what we can expect as citizens watching from the armchair.
By the way, to
read Emmy award-winning investigative producer Heidi Cuda's Free Press writings
on the Trump-Russia investigation and media accountability, go to: https://maewestside.tumblr.com
In my view, Heidi's style is unique and reflects her prior life as a music reporter for the Los Angeles Times and her punk rock approach to journalism. This was not her asking me for 5 two-sentence sound bites like I've had in mainstream interviews. She purposefully doesn't give questions beforehand or "practice" and wants it "real." So you'll see us having a conversation (with the informality that happens in normal conversations) from my home office to her home office. It's also different because we are not limited to 3 minutes of air time and luckily, I do not have to shout over other people on a panel.
Among
the highlights from the 40-minute interview: "PAPER DOESN'T LIE":
"Particularly in a high profile case, the prosecution can't risk making
any mistakes. They need evidence and documents that no one can challenge in
court. Whatever case they file, they want to make sure it's gonna be bulletproof."
"TRUMP" TACTICS: "Trump doesn't use email. He doesn't even like
to use the mail. He likes to have things personally delivered. And he likes to
have other people handle the communications. He doesn't appear to be texting.
He delegates so it insulates him. When you come to try to make a white collar
case...it makes it difficult because he's not leaving a paper trail."
ON
COHEN AND PECKER: "Mueller's team wants to make sure they have all the
evidence beyond a reasonable doubt with documentary proof. They offered
immunity (to Pecker) so they have a completely separate line of communication
that's separate from Cohen, who lied repeatedly to the public. The FEC is like
the IRS, we all know only one percent of the population gets audited, but if
you get audited, the microscope's on you. Everything they got out of Cohen,
they got from a search warrant so they didn't really even need him. Maybe he
can provide the color commentary."
ON
SILENT BOB: "It's hard to be patient for a process where Mueller and his
team aren't giving interviews and can't. And they can't assure everyone, 'Don't
worry! We'll get our man.' They're supposed to be independent. Most white
collar cases take three years to prosecute and 98 percent of all federal cases,
resolve by plea and if they do go to trial, most of the time they win."
ON
WHY MANAFORT DID NOT PLEA: "Just going in and cooperating and offering
evidence, can create a few problems. If you're gonna cooperate, you have to lay
out everything you've done. If you were there on the grassy knoll, you've got
to say you were there. It can open up all kinds of other exposure. And if he
doesn't have hardcore documents that would be valuable enough, he may not get
enough of a downward sentence. So just flipping isn't enough, you have to show
you can make a case. He wasn't like Cohen, who's been around Trump for years.
Trump has a close circle and there's no indication he would have trusted
Manafort with his deepest secrets. Manafort's next trial will hit a little
closer to home, and the prosecution will play it very conservatively."
"ABUSE
OF LOYALTY" "There's a criminal code of conduct. If you're doing
something that's not legal and you get caught, you keep your mouth shut. But
that's not how normal people operate. Normal people, would say, 'I did this and
I should have known. I'll just go in and tell people what happened.' They don't
make up any lies. Trump has had a lot of litigation experience. They settle on
the courthouse steps, but this is a whole different ballgame, and he had no
idea. He's being held to a different standard now. It shows his own character
issues."
IMPEACHMENT
VS INDICTMENT: "These rules are there so things aren't political. And it
is political. They need the votes and that's why no one is going to seek to
impeach as long as the Republicans have a majority. Clinton knew when he had a
number on his back. Does Trump have a number on his back? That's a political
decision and that should be separate from any criminal case. The general
understanding is he won't be indicted and that doesn't mean he can't be
prosecuted later. It's to avoid criminal prosecutions that would be politically
motivated. It doesn't mean that people can’t feel Trump should be impeached
because they don't feel he's fit. Keeping the pressure on and being demanding
is important. Mueller's team knows this is a historic time. They want to bring
integrity for the agents and they want to bring integrity to the Department of
Justice." ***
To
read Emmy award-winning investigative producer Heidi Cuda's Free Press writings
on the Trump-Russia investigation and media accountability, go to: https://maewestside.tumblr.com
