Ruthann Robson (CUNY School of Law) has posted Sexing the Mueller Report (Stetson Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
A popular criticism of the Mueller Report was that it was simply not sufficiently sexy: where were the scandals and salacious tidbits that would grab our attention?
In short, the Mueller Report was no Starr Report.
Yet sexual indiscretions, misconduct, and deceits percolate throughout the extensive 2019 Report on The Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election — known as the Mueller Report. While Trump’s sexual behaviors are certainly not the focus of the report, the report desexualized Trump’s conduct to such an extent that it obscured important matters meriting further exploration. This Article aims to highlight and expand on the sexual issues raised by the report and contends that the sexual circumstances are not merely titillating distractions, but present important contexts regarding cooperation with foreign powers and obstruction of justice.
There are three main areas of concern. First, this Article discusses the Access Hollywood tape, on which Trump is heard discussing his sexual misconduct toward women, and which the Mueller Report considered briefly related to coordination with foreign actors during the campaign. Second, the allegations of a Moscow sex tape, which the Mueller Report considered in relation to obstruction of justice, but which might be relevant more broadly. Third and most centrally, this Article examines Trump’s alleged consensual sexual relationships with two women, Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, and explores how Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, came to plead guilty to campaign finance violations involving the payments to both women.
All of these sexual matters raised but not resolved in the Mueller Report are relevant to the possibility of impeachment proceedings; they are not as peripheral as presently presumed and should be considered as a matter of impeachment.