A Kushner resignation would have looked like a defeat for a hard-headed Trump

One thing the American people have learned about Donald Trump over the years is that he never backs down from a fight. This is why a report from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) from last week titled: "Some Trump Lawyers Wanted Kushner Out" helps Americans confirm what the President's next move is when he's forced to submit. Trump has made no secret about seeing something like a Kushner resignation as a defeat. The WSJ report specifically detailed that White House lawyers wanted President Trump's son-in-law jared kushner to resign.

Kushner resignation would signal defeat

Prior to a report by the New York Times in early July about Donald Trump Jr. having a meeting last year with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower, the White House Counsel was already aware of that particular meeting beforehand and Kushner's involvement. The WSJ article said that White House lawyers had already made preparations for the fallout that would result from the release of the story about Kushner's presence at the meeting and were ready to talk about his resignation from the White House

With the numerous amount of resignations that have taken place in the Trump White House, thus far, none of the them have been followed by public statements that would appear to be defeating.

The fact is that the suggestions for Kushner's resignation was made by the President's legal team before there was a shake-up of its members in July. Of course, with President Trump having the final word, he rejected the suggestion.

It was mentioned in the WSJ report that the head lawyer for the President's personal legal team, Ty Cobb, blamed another lawyer from the same team he joined who he said wanted to tarnish Jared's reputation, and had been leaking damaging information about the 36-year-old.

But Cobb -- who was brought onto the team in July, as a result of that shake-up -- also said that those people who had it out for Kushner were no longer at the White House.

Trump's White House rubs off, turns Cobb into leaky faucet

While Cobb has not gone into detail as to who that lawyer was, he seems to have picked up the same habits of leaking information like many others in the hostile Trump White House.

Another New York Times report that was published on Sunday reported that Cobb was overheard talking about another lawyer from the West Wing during lunch at a Washington steakhouse. It seems that a NY Times reporter overheard the attorney slamming White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II, calling a fellow attorney a "McGhan spy".

In fact, much like the former extremist members of the West Wing, such as Breitbart CEO Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka, Cobb had reportedly been reprimanded by White House chief of staff John Kelly following the report. Three months in and it was only a matter of time before the habit of having loose lips -- or at least, the lack of professionalism -- would catch on.

Ironically, Cobb happened to take the lead in the White House counsel team due to a similar lack of professionalism exhibited by the President's personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz.

Careless, reckless and vulnerable

Those who were familiar with the discussions about wanting Kushner to resign said that the suggestion for him to do so was necessary, especially since they were discussing the best way to avoid issues with special prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump administration. The President shifted into high-gear in May to assemble his own legal team after he had just fired then-FBI director James Comey and Mueller had just been named as the special prosecutor by the Justice Department.

The WSJ article reported that a source who was familiar with the suggestion said that Kushner's presence, presented logistical risks for their defense against Mueller. They also said that an investigation would prevent the President's son-in-law from completing his work. The President's own stubborn determination to ignore any of that legal advice could eventually be his undoing.

It's already been seen that Trump will frequently do the exact opposite of what he's being advised to do with no indication that there is foresight or any care for the implications. At the same time, it tests the limits of his legal defense, which has only rapidly developed rather prematurely over the past several months but has already shown signs of weakness under Mueller's gargantuan team of prosecutors.