WEBVTT - Bloomberg Law Brief: White House-FBI Russian Hacking Talks

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<v Speaker 1>Now it's time for our daily Bloomberg Law Brief, exploring

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<v Speaker 1>legal issues in the news, and it's brought to you

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<v Speaker 1>by American Arbitration Association. Business disputes are inevitable, resolve faster

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<v Speaker 1>with the American Arbitration Association, the global leader in alternative

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<v Speaker 1>dispute resolution for over ninety years. More at a d

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<v Speaker 1>r dot org. Today Bloomberg, lahst Jun Grasso, and Michael

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<v Speaker 1>Best discussed the legality of communications between the FBI and

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<v Speaker 1>the White House about investigations into Russian interference in the

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<v Speaker 1>twenty six presidential election. They speak with Matt Miller, a

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<v Speaker 1>partner at Vianovo and former director of the Office of

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<v Speaker 1>Public Affairs at the Department of Justice under President Obama. Matt,

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<v Speaker 1>what are the rules in the federal government about FBI

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<v Speaker 1>contact with the White House on pending investigations? So there

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<v Speaker 1>are a couple things that are relevant here. One is

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<v Speaker 1>that the FBI under longstanding practice that applies not just

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<v Speaker 1>to the White House, but anyone that they're investigating. They don't,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, they don't form the subjects of their investigations. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>what is true in a news story? What's not true?

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<v Speaker 1>So if you're a major bank that's being investigated by

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<v Speaker 1>the FBI, and the New York Times writes a story

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<v Speaker 1>and you call them up, they won't tell you, oh no,

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<v Speaker 1>that that thing you read the story is not true,

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<v Speaker 1>because they don't do that. And of course, in this case,

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<v Speaker 1>the White House may not be a subject of investigate

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<v Speaker 1>this investigation, but we know that the president's campaign associates are,

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<v Speaker 1>and the president's campaign is and being potentially the President himself,

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<v Speaker 1>and their number of people in that White House who

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<v Speaker 1>worked on the campaign. So there's a there's a problem

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<v Speaker 1>there with the FBI communicating with them. And then it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's compounded by the fact that they're long standing Department

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<v Speaker 1>of Justice guidelines that say any contact between the Justice

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<v Speaker 1>Department and the White House are supposed to be funneled

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<v Speaker 1>through very prescribed channels to make sure there is no

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<v Speaker 1>communication about an investigation, because then there's the potential for

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<v Speaker 1>the White House to tamper with that investigation, to try

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<v Speaker 1>to influence it, to try to pressure the FBI that

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<v Speaker 1>do we know from the FBI that the FBI actually

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<v Speaker 1>did tell the White House things about the investigation or

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<v Speaker 1>is that coming from the white House. It's all coming

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<v Speaker 1>from the White House. Um, And and that is a

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<v Speaker 1>problem here because UM, I don't think this is a

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<v Speaker 1>partisans thing to say the White House. This White House

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<v Speaker 1>has a credibility problem. There are a number of, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>documented instances in which the White House has said things

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<v Speaker 1>that turn out later to not be true. So it's

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<v Speaker 1>been reported that that, um, the direct deputy It's been

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<v Speaker 1>reported from the White House to reporters that the deputy

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<v Speaker 1>director said these reports were bs those were the quotes,

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<v Speaker 1>um they used. We don't know if that's exactly what

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<v Speaker 1>they said. It could be that there was some minor

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<v Speaker 1>thing that they would quibble with in that New York

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<v Speaker 1>Times story, But that doesn't mean, uh, the entire story

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<v Speaker 1>was wrong or the import of the story was wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>And the FBI so far has neither commented on it

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<v Speaker 1>on the record. Nor if you look at the reporters

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<v Speaker 1>that are coming as closely, they're not even really getting

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of background guidance from the Bureau. That's Matt Miller,

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<v Speaker 1>a partner at Viennovo, speaking with Bloomberg, Laho, s jum Crasso,

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<v Speaker 1>and Michael Best. You can listen to Bloomberg Law weekdays

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<v Speaker 1>at one pm a Wall Street time here on Bloomberg Radio,