Presidential Lawyer Problems

How can personal lawyers help and hurt embattled presidents? Heather and Joanne use the current chaos engulfing former President Trump’s legal team to explore the blurry roles of private presidential attorneys in American history. They explore conservative Unionist lawyer Reverdy Johnson’s effective role in helping President Lincoln to find legal rationale for escalations in the Civil War. And they compare Johnson’s role to the not-so-effective counsel of Nixon’s lawyer-fundraiser Herb Kalmbach. How did the popular culture surrounding the Watergate scandal affect Heather and Joanne? Join CAFE Insider to listen to “Backstage,” where Heather and Joanne chat each week about the anecdotes and ideas that formed the episode. Head to: cafe.com/history Uncover history's impact on today's issues and get sharp insights into news at the intersection of law and politics with the weekly CAFE Brief newsletter. Sign up for free here: cafe.com/brief For references & supplemental materials, head to: cafe.com/now-and-then/presidential-lawyer-problems/ Now & Then is presented by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You can listen to Presidential Lawyer Problems online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Presidential Lawyer Problems is an episode from Now & Then by Vox Media Podcast Network.

This episode is 47:28 long.

This episode was published on Jun 21, 2023.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Now & Then when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.