Before turning to a key development in the Trump-Russia Timeline, this week’s update pauses to ask a simple question about the border crisis:

If Americans allow Trump to get away with this, what have we become?

At protests around the country on June 30, we’ll learn the answer.

In the aftermath of Trump’s executive order purporting to solve the family separation crisis that his zero tolerance policy alone created, a lot has happened — none of it good.

The Rule of Law Under Assault Again

It’s critical to note that most undocumented immigrants arrive at the border seeking asylum — a right afforded them under international law. US judges have been granting about half of those requests.

It’s also important to realize that the US Supreme Court has reaffirmed repeatedly the constitutional due process rights of such individuals: “[T]he Due Process Clause applies to all persons within the United States, including aliens, whether their presence here is lawful or unlawful.” Zadvydas v. David, 533 US 678 (2001). See also, Plyler v. Doe, 457 US 202 (1982) (illegal aliens entitled to equal protection under the 14th Amendment).

On June 24, Trump tweeted that he wants the power to demand the immediate and summary deportation of immigrants (“no Judges or Court Cases”). That violates the US Constitution.

If Trump thinks he can use extortion to circumvent the Constitution, he’s wrong about that, too. Nevertheless, apparently he’s now offering immigrants a deal: waive your constitutional rights, agree to deportation, get your kid back, and leave the United States. Some incompetent attorney-enabler probably told Trump that kidnapping immigrant minors, using them as hostages, and asking their parents for ransom in return for their release would be permissible. It’s not.

Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe observes, “That’s flatly unconstitutional extortion under Speiser v. Randall (1958), Sherbert v. Verner (1963), and Agency for Int’l Dvlp v. Alliance for Open Society (2013).”

Trump’s Distraction

Meanwhile on June 22, Trump used another of his circus acts to divert attention from his devastating policy. Into the national spotlight he paraded representatives of family members who had been killed by illegal immigrants. Trump said they had suffered “permanent separation” from loved ones. I guess that meant we shouldn’t weep for the children Trump has damaged.

Trump’s false moral equivalences are always striking, but this one is especially absurd. To state the obvious, none of the 2,500 children separated from their parents since May 5 has killed anyone.

But the more important point is that Trump still hasn’t admitted that his zero tolerance was a mistake. Rather, his executive order doubled-down on it. Since then, he hasn’t taken his foot off the accelerator.

How Many Kids and Where Are They?

On June 20, the Department of Homeland Security said it had separated 2,342 children from their parents along the border between May 5 and June 9. Three days later, DHS said that, as of June 20, the number was up to 2,575. Of that group:

— 522 kids had been reunited with their families,

— 2,053 remained in the custody of Health and Human Services (HHS),

The frightening possibility is that many of those 2,053 children will never see their families again. As The Washington Post reports: “Further complicating matters are bureaucratic errors that could leave government officials unaware that a child’s parent is detained in the United States. Attorneys also worry that some toddlers, or children who speak indigenous languages, might not have been able to give officials their parents’ complete names.”

The Post continues:

“In the case of one Guatemalan family, the Border Patrol failed to note in its apprehension report that a mother and daughter crossed the border together…. Without that information, government officials might not be aware that the child’s parent is detained in the United States.

“In other cases,…children arrive at shelters without the facility knowing that they have been separated from their parents, meaning they could be considered unaccompanied minors rather than children in need of reunification.”

To borrow Trump’s phrase from his June 22 parade of victims, “permanent separation” from their families is now a likely outcome for some of the 2,053 children awaiting reunification. Whatever the number, it’s too big. And the damage done — even to those kids eventually reunited — is too great.

Coming Soon: Worse

Conspicuous silence from Republicans in Congress proves that it will take a Democratic majority there to unearth the whole truth about this tragedy. Meanwhile, lest anyone doubt that Trump is doubling down on this ignominious episode, the US Navy is reportedly planning tent cities to house tens of thousands of families pursuant to Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy.

If you’re hearing echoes from the darkest chapters in world history, you’re not alone. And if you’re wondering whether family internment camps are incubators for radicalization against America, time will tell.

Is this really America?

On June 30, find a protest location near you and show up.

Just show up.

Future generations will ask if you did.

Back to Trump-Russia: Aretmenko

As it should, the border crisis dominated the week’s news. But the Trump-Russia Timeline rolled on. The week’s biggest revelation came from a pro-Putin Ukrainian lawmaker who has now earned the latest spot on the Trump-Russia Timeline’s name filter: Andrey Artemenko. Click on his name and take a look at the resulting entries.

Recently, Artemenko told McClatchy that back in February 2016, he had begun developing a Ukrainian “peace plan” with Ukrainian-American billionaire Alexander Rovt and former Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) (he had known the latter “for almost a decade”).

Artemenko took the plan to Moscow, where the ideas got a “positive” response. A few weeks before the election, he spoke with Felix Sater about it.

Now go to the Timeline and click on Sater’s name. Here are just a few highlights:

2002: Sater enters Trump’s life and becomes a business associate for the next 15 years. He concentrates on helping Trump develop a Trump Tower in Moscow — an effort that continues well into the 2016 election campaign and includes Michael Cohen.

July 2016: Sater visits Trump Tower on “confidential business.”

Election Day 2016; Sater reportedly attends a VIP election celebration.

Late January 2017: At a Manhattan hotel, Artemenko and Sater give Michael Cohen a Ukrainian “peace plan” for delivery to Trump’s national security adviser Michael Flynn. The plan would cede Crimea to Russia and lift US sanctions.

Bringing It All Together

Now superimpose another storyline that the Timeline depicts in detail.  Throughout the campaign and thereafter, Trump has denied that there were contacts between his campaign and Russia. But more than a dozen Trump people had more than 50 such contacts. Throughout the campaign and thereafter, Trump has refused to criticize Vladimir Putin. Throughout the campaign and thereafter, Trump has been a leading critic of US sanctions against Russia.

And since special counsel Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation began, Trump has been doing everything he can to undermine it.

Here is a complete list of this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline updates:

FEB. 1, 2016: Artemenko, Ukrainian Billionaire, and former US Congressman Work on “Ukrainian Peace Plan”

JULY 2016: Sater Says He Visits Trump Tower (revision of previous entry)

FEB. 28, 2018: FBI Interviews Giuliani

JUNE 18, 2018: Trump Tweets About Strzok, Comey and Mueller

JUNE 18, 2018: DOJ Inspector General Horowitz and FBI Director Wray Testify Before Senate Judiciary Committee

JUNE 19, 2018: Cohen Hires New Lawyer; Complains About Legal Fees; Resigns RNC Finance Committee Post

JUNE 19, 2018: Trump Tweets About IG Report

JUNE 19, 2018: Parscale Calls for Firing Sessions, Ending Mueller Probe

JUNE 19, 2018: Strzok Escorted from FBI Building; House GOP Grills Horowitz; Strzok Wants to Tell His Story

JUNE 20, 2018: Trump Tweets About IG Report

JUNE 22, 2018: DOJ Provides Internal Investigative Documents to Congress

JUNE 23, 2018: Trump Tweets “Witch Hunt”

On Thursday, June 14, 2018, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released his report on the FBI’s handling of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. Over the next three days, Trump tweeted (and retweeted Fox News) about the report 17 times. On camera, he was even bolder: “It totally exonerates me.”

By Sunday morning, even Rudy Giuliani admitted that the report does no such thing. In fact, it doesn’t even consider the Trump campaign’s connections to Russia. But that hasn’t stopped Trump and his allies from weaponizing it. The bigger the Trump lie, the louder and more persistent his voice — along with those of his Greek chorus.

This week’s update to the Trump-Russia Timeline includes a close look at one small slice of the IG report that hints at a bigger story yet to come. At least, that bigger story should be coming. Rudy may be central to its plot.

The October “Surpise”

On Oct. 31, 2016, Attorney General Loretta Lynch met with FBI Director James Comey to discuss his infamous Oct. 28 letter updating Congress on the Clinton email investigation. According to Lynch, they talked about leaks from the New York office of the FBI. Why?

Go to the Trump-Russia Timeline and click on Rudy Giuliani’s name. Among the resulting entries are these:

Sept. 26, 2016: FBI agents seize former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s (D-NY) laptop and find emails from his then-estranged wife, Huma Abedin, to Hillary Clinton.

Oct. 25: Giuliani tells Fox & Friends that “surprises” are coming, and Clinton won’t like them.

Oct. 26: Rudy tells Fox host Martha MacCallum that the surprises are imminent — in the next day or two — and they are “big.”

Oct. 28: Shortly after Comey releases his letter to Congress, Giuliani says that he’s heard from active and former FBI agents that there was a “revolution” going on inside the FBI over Comey’s failure to prosecute Clinton.

Lynch, Comey, and the FBI’s NY Office

When the IG interviewed Lynch during its investigation, here is what she said about her Oct. 31 meeting with Comey:

“Now, I knew that the laptop had been handled in a case out of New York. And so I said, you know, we have to talk about the New York office…and the concern that both you and I have expressed about leaks in the past…. And I said, you know, I’ve talked, you and I have talked about that before…. [McCabe] and I have talked about them before….”

“[Comey] said to me that it had become clear to him… that there is a cadre of senior people in New York who have a deep and visceral hatred of Secretary Clinton. And he said it is, it is deep…[H]e said it was surprising to him or stunning to him.”

“[H]e was saying it did exist, and it was hard to manage because these were agents that were very, very senior, or had even had timed out and were staying on, and therefore did not really feel under pressure from headquarters or anything to that effect…”

“And he made a comment about, you know, you understand that. A lot of people don’t understand that. You, you get that issue. I said, I get that issue. I said I’m, I’m just troubled that this issue, meaning the, the New York agent issue and leaks, I am just troubled that this issue has put us where we are today with respect to this laptop.”

And Then There’s Nunes

Fast-forward almost two years to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA). On June 14, 2018, Nunes revealed that, shortly after the release of the IG report, “good FBI agents” told him in late September 2016 about the Clinton emails on Weiner’s laptop. But the FBI’s New York office first seized that laptop on Sept. 26, and Nunes didn’t share the information from the “good agents” with any Democrats on his House Intelligence Committee — ever.

Back to the Timeline:

Nov. 4, 2016, Giuliani tells Fox News that he expected Comey’s reopening of the Clinton investigation “three or four weeks ago.” The same day, senior congressional Democrats ask the Justice Department IG Horowitz to investigate leaks that seemed to account for Giuliani’s clairvoyance.

Whatever the “active agents” told Giuliani about the coming “surprise” was an illegal leak of highly confidential information relating to an federal ongoing investigation. The same is true for whatever the “good agents” told Nunes.

What’s Next

Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 18, 2018, FBI Director Christopher Wray refused to confirm or deny the existence of an ongoing investigation into pre-election leaks from the FBI’s NY office. Inspector General Horowitz said only that his work on that issue remains “ongoing.”

Some observers, including Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo, are skeptical about the IG’s investigation into pre-election leaks from the FBI’s NY office. Skepticism may be warranted, but there’s one more possibility that could be even more devastating to Trump than a fulsome probe of those leaks: Special counsel Robert Mueller may have taken that matter under his wing, in which case the IG won’t release his findings. In other words, Rudy Giuliani could well be a subject of the Trump-Russia investigation.

Someday, the whole truth about the “October surprise” that put Trump in the White House will be become known. When that happens, Trump will tweet as he has never tweeted before.

Here’s a complete list of this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline updates:

AUGUST 2014: Bolton’s Super PAC Hires Cambridge Analytica

DECEMBER 2015: Russians Close to Putin Meet With NRA Reps In Moscow

LATE MAY 2016: Stone Meets With Russian Claiming to Have ‘Political Dirt’ On Clinton

SEPT. 26, 2018: FBI Seizes Weiner’s Laptop

LATE SEPTEMBER 2016: Nunes Learns About Weiner’s Laptop From “Good FBI Agents”

OCT. 31, 2016: Comey and Lynch Discuss the FBI’s New York Office: “Deep Visceral Hatred” of Clinton and Leaks Related to Weiner’s Laptop

NOV. 12, 2016: Farage Meets With Trump

MARCH 22, 2018: Trump Names Bolton NSA

JUNE 1, 2018: Artemenko Appears Before Grand Jury

JUNE 14, 2018: NY Attorney General Sues Trump Foundation

JUNE 14, 2018: Trump Resumes Tweets About Russia Investigation; Tweets About Trump Foundation Suit

UNE 14, 2018: DOJ’s Inspector General Issues Report

JUNE 14, 2018: Giuliani Calls For Investigating Comey, Suspending Mueller, Imprisoning Strzok

JUNE 15-16-17, 2018: Trump Tweets, Retweets, and Talks About DOJ’s Inspector General Report

JUNE 15, 2018: Manafort Goes to Jail; Trump Tries To Distance Himself; Giuliani Talks Pardons

JUNE 15, 2018: Former Cambridge Analytica Employees Working for RNC

JUNE 17, 2018: Giuliani: ‘IG Report Doesn’t Exonerate Trump’

Trump’s approach to the Russia investigation reveals what attorneys call “consciousness of guilt.” He acts as if special counsel Robert Mueller poses an existential threat. Accordingly, one way to assess Trump’s self-interested behavior on many topics — not just the Russia investigation — is to view it through the Putin Prism.

Applying the Putin Prism to this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline update produces an interesting perspective on several new entries relating to the G-7 summit.

Lobbying for Putin 

Leaving for the summit on June 8, Trump said, “Russia should be in this meeting. Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting? And I would recommend, and it’s up to them, but Russia should be in the meeting, it should be a part of it… They should let Russia come back in.”

Unlike most of Trump’s proclamations at impromptu sessions with reporters, his lines seemed rehearsed.

Then for two days at the summit, he pressed the case for Putin’s inclusion, acknowledging only that “something happened a while ago where Russia is no longer in.” The “something” was Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which led to its expulsion from what had been the G-8 group of industrialized democracies.

A Bizarre Twist

After the summit ended and Trump had left, he tweeted that the US would not sign the G-7 joint statement. The media accepted as true Trump’s stated reason: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s relatively mild remarks at the final G-7 press conference, where Trudeau released the statement to which all countries, including the US, had agreed previously. Reporters wrote off Trump’s tweets as just another case of his impulsive reactions to what he perceived to be a personal slight.

It was more than that. The next day, Trump spokesmen Larry Kudlow and Peter Navarro appeared on Sunday morning news programs, parroting a more dramatic version of Trump’s new talking point: Trudeau had “stabbed Trump in the back.” Anyone familiar with the rise of authoritarianism in Weimar Germany after World War I bristled at that phrase.

Using the Putin Prism

Running these events through the Putin Prism produces a much different storyline. When Trump left Canada, the joint statement was a done deal. He had agreed to it. At the supposedly offending press conference, Trudeau didn’t say anything different – or new – from his prior public responses to Trump’s threats concerning new trade tariffs against Canada, a stalwart ally.

Trump’s stated reason for reneging on the G-7 communique makes no sense. So use the Putin Prism to test this hypothesis: Maybe someone on Air Force One briefed Trump on the 4,000-word statement. Certainly, if Putin and his advisers read it, Item 17 would have caught their attention:

— “We urge Russia to cease its destabilizing behaviour, to undermine democratic systems and its support of the Syrian regime.”

— “We condemn the attack using a military grade nerve agent in Salisbury, United Kingdom.”

— “We urge Russia to live up to its international obligations, as well as its responsibilities as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to uphold international peace and security.”

— “We reiterate our condemnation of the illegal annexation of Crimea and reaffirm our enduring support for Ukrainian sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. We maintain our commitment to assisting Ukraine in implementing its ambitious and necessary reform agenda.”

— “We recall that the continuation of sanctions is clearly linked to Russia’s failure to demonstrate complete implementation of its commitments in the Minsk Agreements and respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty….”

— “Should its actions so require, we also stand ready to take further restrictive measures in order to increase costs on Russia.”

If Trump viewed the G-7 statement through the Putin Prism, he saw that reneging on his prior support for the statement was preferable to upsetting Russia’s president.

A Different Perspective

The Putin Prism is a versatile tool for understanding some of Trump’s seemingly inexplicable behaviors. For example, scandal-ridden EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt keeps his job. Why? Because if Trump ever persuades Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign, he could appoint Pruitt as acting attorney general without a confirmation hearing. In that scenario, Pruitt would replace Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein as Mueller’s supervisor and could, effectively, terminate Mueller’s investigation.

Likewise, consult the Trump-Russia Timeline and apply the Putin Prism to a key episode: Don Jr.’s statement that Trump dictated to describe the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Don Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and Russians promising “dirt” in Hillary Clinton.

• July 7, 2017: The Times asks the White House for comment on a breaking story about the Trump Tower meeting. The White House stalls for time on the grounds that Trump’s team is busy at the G-20 summit in Germany.
• July 7: At the summit, Trump initally meets with Putin personally. The only other attendees are Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and two interpreters. But later during dinner, Trump has a second, private conversation with Putin. This time, only Putin’s interpreter is present.
• According to Trump’s later account of his dinner conversation with Putin, “We talked about adoptions.”
• July 8: Aboard Air Force One on the return trip to Washington, Trump dictates Don Jr.’s statement describing the June 9 meeting: “We primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children…”

Where did Trump get the “adoptions” idea for Don Jr.’s statement? The Putin Prism reveals a plausible and upsetting answer.

Whenever Trump says or does something that seems bizarre on its face, run it through the Putin Prism. Some of his strangest actions might make more sense than you think. And that’s troubling.

Now you know why, in addition to the Trump-Putin discussions at the July 2017 summit, this week’s update to the Trump-Russia Timeline now includes all other known dates that Trump and Putin have spoken since Trump took office: Jan. 28, 2017, Apr. 3, 2017, May 2, 2017, Nov. 21, 2017, Dec. 14, 2017, Dec. 17, 2017, and Feb. 12, 2018.

Take a look at what else was happening around those dates. You will be amazed. And you’ll begin to understand why one of Trump’s first initiatives after the November election was to create a “back-channel” with Putin.

Here’s a complete list of this week’s Trump-Russia Timeline updates:

JAN. 28, 2017: Putin Calls Trump

FEB. 17, 2017: Cambridge Analytica Director Meets With Assange

APR. 3, 2017: Trump Calls Putin

MAY 2, 2017: Trump Speaks With Putin

AUG. 1, 2017: White House Admits Trump ‘Weighed In’ on Don Jr.’s Misleading Statement (revision of previous entry)

NOV. 21, 2017: Trump Speaks With Putin

DEC. 14, 2017: Trump Speaks With Putin

DEC. 17, 2017: Trump Speaks With Putin

FEB. 12, 2018: Trump Speaks With Putin

APR. 11, 2018: Trump Architect Drops Out of Sight

APRIL 21, 2018: Swiss Banks Freeze Vekselberg’s Assets

MAY 23, 2018: Schiff: Send Interview Transcripts to DOJ For Perjury Investigation

MAY 31, 2018: Graham Suggests Rosenstein’s Recusal; DOJ Responds

JUNE 4, 2018: Trump Asserts Power To Pardon Himself

JUNE 4, 2018: Trump Attacks Mueller/Media “Witch Hunt”

JUNE 4, 2018: Sanders Refuses To Explain Her Previous Lie; Giuliani Says Sekulow Made a “Mistake”

JUNE 4, 2018: Mueller Accuses Manafort of Witness Tampering

JUNE 5, 2018: Trump Attacks Comey, Sessions, and Russia Investigation

JUNE 5, 2018: Parscale Launches Pro-Trump Website

JUNE 5, 2018: Vekselberg Has Repaid Bank Debt, Cut Foreign Holdings

JUNE 6, 2018: Ryan Sees No Evidence To Support Trump’s “Spy-gate” Claim

JUNE 7, 2018: Trump Tweets About Mueller, Comey, and the Need to Investigate Democrats

JUNE 8, 2018: Trump Says He’ll Stop Talking About Trump-Russia For Awhile, But Doesn’t

JUNE 8, 2018: Trump Says Russia Should Be Readmitted to G-7

JUNE 8, 2018: Mueller Indicts Kilimnik; Adds Charges Against Manafort

JUNE 9, 2018: Trump at Summit: Russia Should Rejoin G-7

JUNE 9, 2018: Trump Reneges on G-7 Joint Statement

Trump isn’t subtle. He uses big sticks and tantalizing carrots. His sticks include tweets attacking potential witnesses in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. Those open and notorious attempts to intimidate are one of the many ways that Trump has been obstructing justice.

Last week, Trump used carrots — signaling to those who remain loyal to him personally the prospect of a pardon down the road. He even claimed the power to pardon himself. It was a remarkable week for the Trump-Russia Timeline.

Sheriff Joe

In August 2017, Trump bypassed the years-long pardon application process to grant one to former Maricopa Country Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He had been convicted of criminal contempt of court for brutally racist treatment of undocumented immigrants. Some speculated that Trump’s pardon was a “message” to potential witnesses in the Trump-Russia investigation — a natural follow-up to Trump’s April 25 message to Mike Flynn: “Stay strong.”

But as with all outrageous Trump actions, the controversy over Arpaio’s pardon disappeared as his new outrageous acts took its place. By May 1, 2018, Mike Pence was saying that he was honored by the presence of then-GOP Senate candidate Arpaio — a  “tireless champion of the rule of law.”

Scooter

In 2007, President George W. Bush received enormous pressure from Vice President Dick Cheney to pardon Cheney’s former chief of staff “Scooter” Libby after convictions for perjury and obstruction of justice. That’s even closer to the Trump-Russia situation than Arpaio’s because:

1) Crimes similar to Libby’s — perjury and obstruction of justice — are the subject of Mueller’s investigation;

2) A special counsel investigation led to Libby’s conviction; and

3) The special counsel who prosecuted Libby successfully was then-US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald — appointed to do so by then-Deputy Attorney General James Comey. Fitzgerald is now in private practice and represents Comey.

Dinesh, Martha, and Rod

In 2014, conservative author, commentator, and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza pleaded guilty to campaign finance fraud. But even without a pending application, Trump pardoned him on May 31, 2018. It’s no coincidence that campaign finance laws are elements of Mueller’s investigation.

As he announced D’Souza’s pardon, Trump said he was contemplating similar relief for Martha Stewart. She was convicted in 2004 of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to federal investigators. Sound familiar?

So is the name of the US Attorney in Manhattan who gave prosecutors the green light to proceed with the case against Stewart: James Comey. (Stewart had also appeared with Trump on The Apprentice.)

On the same day, Trump also floated commuting the public corruption sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. He was convicted on 18 felony counts and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Blago — another alumnus of The Apprentice — probably got Trump’s attention with his May 28, 2018 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, “I’m in Prison for Practicing Politics.”

Like Trump, Blagojevich called his prosecution a “witch hunt.” The US attorney who prosecuted that case was Patrick Fitzgerald.

Roger Stone Gets It

Trump is working his way though a checklist. It’s a mix of crimes that he and his compatriots may have committed (Flynn, Gates, and Papadopoulos have confessed to giving false statements to federal investigators), along with individuals who have connections to one of Trump’s most formidable enemies: James Comey. The message is clear, and Roger Stone said that he, for one, has received it:

“It has to be a signal to Mike Flynn and Paul Manafort and even Robert S. Mueller III: Indict people for crimes that don’t pertain to Russian collusion and this is what could happen. The special counsel has awesome powers, as you know, but the president has even more awesome powers.”

The same day, Stone told ABC News, “I will never betray this president. Under no circumstances will I bear false witness against President Trump.”

There are many ways to obstruct justice. Trump is utilizing all of them. And he’s not done yet.

Postscript on Sekulow and A Dangerous Memo

Last week’s post on the Trump-Russia Timeline update discussed Trump’s lawyer-enablers — with a special focus on Emmet Flood and Jay Sekulow. This week was bad for both of them, especially Sekulow.

Recall that in July 2017, Sekulow took to the airwaves, proclaiming repeatedly that Trump — his client — had no involvement whatsoever with Donald Trump Jr.’s misleading statement to the The New York Times about the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting that included Don Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and Russians promising “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.

Last week, the Times obtained the Jan. 29, 2018 memo that Sekulow and his then-co-counsel, John Dowd, wrote on Trump’s behalf to special counsel Robert Mueller:

“[T]he President dictated a short but accurate response to the New York Times article on behalf of his son, Donald Trump, Jr.”

From “no involvement whatsoever” to having “dictated” Don Jr.’s statement. More proof that either Sekulow lied publicly for Trump, or Trump lied to him.

Meanwhile, the rest of the 20-page memo that Sekulow and Dowd sent to Mueller is an embarrassment to the legal profession. For example, it relies on the wrong statute to claim that Trump could not have obstructed justice in his conversations with then-FBI Director James Comey about “letting Flynn go.” They ignore altogether the correct statute, which destroys their argument.

In substance and style, the memo’s legal positions would be laughable, if they weren’t so frightening. With respect to the Trump-Russia investigation, Sekulow and Dowd suggest that Trump can do whatever he wants and the law cannot touch him. Trump’s enablers with legal degrees have become a mortal threat to democracy and the rule of law.

Where is Emmet Flood? As his reputation slides down Mt. Trump, he is nowhere to be found. But history will record his guilt by association. Flood’s sins of omission are no less damning than Sekulow’s sins of commission.

Here are the latest updates to the Trump-Russia Timeline:

DEC. 15, 2016: Bannon, Flynn and Kushner Meet Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Gerson Surfaces; Nader Nearby (revision of previous entry)

JAN. 11, 2017: Prince Meets With Putin Associate in the Seychelles (revision of previous entry)

MAR. 4, 2017: Trumps Asks Sessions To “Unrecuse” Himself

AUG. 25, 2017: Trump Pardons Arpaio; Warner Concerned About “Message”

NOV. 21, 2017: Trump’s Lawyers Talk With Mueller About Possible Trump Interview

JAN. 8, 2018: Trump’s Lawyers Talk Again With Mueller about Possible Trump Interview

JAN. 10, 2018: Trump Waffles on Mueller Interview (revision of previous entry)

JAN. 29, 2018: Trump’s Lawyers Resist Mueller Interview

APR. 13, 2018: Trump Pardons Libby

MAY 29, 2018: Gowdy Defends FBI and DOJ

MAY 30, 2018: Trump Renews Attack on Sessions

MAY 30-31, 2018: Trump’s Twitter Rampage Over Russia Investigation Continues

MAY 31, 2018: Trump Issues Another Pardon; Hints About More With A Comey Connection

MAY 31, 2018: Stone: Trump Pardons “Send a Message”; Stone Receives It

JUNE 1, 2018: Trump Tweets About Mueller Investigation

JUNE 1-2, 2018: Brennan Attacks Trump; Trump Tweets Back at Brennan and Mueller

JUNE 2, 2018: Trump Tweets In Advance of NYT Story

JUNE 3, 2018: Trump Tweets About Obstruction, Comey, Manafort, and Mueller