The "D" day pool, best guess as to when Trump is out
- Thread starter DIY-HP-LED
- Start date
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
Comforting words from Comey...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comey says acting AG Whitaker ‘may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer’
By John Wagner November 27 at 1:30 PM
Former FBI director James B. Comey apparently isn’t too impressed with the mental prowess of President Trump’s acting attorney general.
Matthew G. Whitaker “may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer,” Comey said during a radio interview on Monday night in which he sized up the man Trump installed this month to replace ousted attorney general Jeff Sessions.
Comey was asked by WGBH News in Boston whether he thinks Whitaker could derail special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Whitaker has spoken critically of the inquiry, and Trump — as recently as Tuesday — continues to call it a “witch hunt.”
“I think it’s a worry, but to my mind not a serious worry,” Comey said. “The institution is too strong, and [Whitaker], frankly, is not strong enough to have that kind of impact.”
“He may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, but he can see his future and knows that if he acted in an extralegal way, he would go down in history for the wrong reasons, and I’m sure he doesn’t want that,” added Comey, who was fired by Trump last year and later wrote a book that portrays the president as an ego-driven congenital liar.
Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa, was Sessions’s chief of staff before Trump chose him to lead the Justice Department.
Trump has called Whitaker “a very smart man.” Earlier this year, Trump called Comey “an untruthful slime ball.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comey says acting AG Whitaker ‘may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer’
By John Wagner November 27 at 1:30 PM
Former FBI director James B. Comey apparently isn’t too impressed with the mental prowess of President Trump’s acting attorney general.
Matthew G. Whitaker “may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer,” Comey said during a radio interview on Monday night in which he sized up the man Trump installed this month to replace ousted attorney general Jeff Sessions.
Comey was asked by WGBH News in Boston whether he thinks Whitaker could derail special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Whitaker has spoken critically of the inquiry, and Trump — as recently as Tuesday — continues to call it a “witch hunt.”
“I think it’s a worry, but to my mind not a serious worry,” Comey said. “The institution is too strong, and [Whitaker], frankly, is not strong enough to have that kind of impact.”
“He may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, but he can see his future and knows that if he acted in an extralegal way, he would go down in history for the wrong reasons, and I’m sure he doesn’t want that,” added Comey, who was fired by Trump last year and later wrote a book that portrays the president as an ego-driven congenital liar.
Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa, was Sessions’s chief of staff before Trump chose him to lead the Justice Department.
Trump has called Whitaker “a very smart man.” Earlier this year, Trump called Comey “an untruthful slime ball.”
topcat
Well-Known Member
I wish I was as confident as Comey. "Congenital" liar gives Trump somewhat of an out. I've never heard of a "liar" gene. Maybe he meant to say "serial". Trump offspring however, perhaps.
Edit: Even then, his family of liars is just a product of conditioning.
Fogdog
Well-Known Member
Prolly fits the "firmly established habit" in second definition. Maybe a personality could be inheritable trait that would make a person more prone to lying? All I know is his father wasn't well regarded for his honesty by the people of his time either.
con·gen·i·tal
/kənˈjenədl/
adjective
- (especially of a disease or physical abnormality) present from birth.
"a congenital malformation of the heart"
synonyms: inborn, inherited, hereditary, innate, inbred, constitutional, inbuilt, natural, inherent
"congenital defects" - (of a person) having a particular trait from birth or by firmly established habit.
"a congenital liar"
synonyms: inveterate, compulsive, persistent, chronic, regular, habitual, obsessive, confirmed;More
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
For a guy who trusts his "gut" and who doesn't care about facts, he sure seems interested in what facts Mueller has uncovered. For a guy holding all the cards he sure is doing a lot of whining and dancing, he looks scared and he should be because he's guilty and knows it. He cheated his way to the presidency not just with Russian help on a few different fronts, but also with several election fraud violations.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trump appears consumed by Mueller investigation as details emerge
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/28/politics/donald-trump-robert-mueller-behavior/index.html
Washington (CNN)Donald Trump's behavior isn't doing much to bolster White House assurances that he's got nothing to worry about from Robert Mueller's probe, after a series of potentially ominous turns in the Russia investigation.
The President's recent barrage of tweets and comments and testimony from sources close to him -- coinciding with thickening intrigue around the special counsel -- hint instead at deep concern on Trump's part.
"Heroes will come of this, and it won't be Mueller and his terrible Gang of Angry Democrats," Trump tweeted on Tuesday, blasting the special counsel as a "conflicted prosecutor gone rogue."
Despite this outburst of fury, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders painted a portrait of a President who was serenely awaiting Mueller's findings.
"I don't think the President has any concerns about the report because he knows that there was no wrongdoing by him and that there was no collusion," Sanders told reporters at her first daily briefing in a month.
The explanation for Trump's angst over his predicament seems to lie in a flurry of startling and potentially significant developments and reports swirling around his jailed ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and other associates.
Trump, the most powerful man in the world who crafted a self-flattering image as the ultimate strongman boss, is in a deeply vulnerable spot and appears to feel cornered and in increasing peril.
He has no choice but to watch as Mueller, an adversary whose discrete public profile makes him an elusive target, grinds away, apparently getting ever closer to Trump's inner circle and perhaps even to the President himself.
more...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trump appears consumed by Mueller investigation as details emerge
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/28/politics/donald-trump-robert-mueller-behavior/index.html
Washington (CNN)Donald Trump's behavior isn't doing much to bolster White House assurances that he's got nothing to worry about from Robert Mueller's probe, after a series of potentially ominous turns in the Russia investigation.
The President's recent barrage of tweets and comments and testimony from sources close to him -- coinciding with thickening intrigue around the special counsel -- hint instead at deep concern on Trump's part.
"Heroes will come of this, and it won't be Mueller and his terrible Gang of Angry Democrats," Trump tweeted on Tuesday, blasting the special counsel as a "conflicted prosecutor gone rogue."
Despite this outburst of fury, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders painted a portrait of a President who was serenely awaiting Mueller's findings.
"I don't think the President has any concerns about the report because he knows that there was no wrongdoing by him and that there was no collusion," Sanders told reporters at her first daily briefing in a month.
The explanation for Trump's angst over his predicament seems to lie in a flurry of startling and potentially significant developments and reports swirling around his jailed ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and other associates.
Trump, the most powerful man in the world who crafted a self-flattering image as the ultimate strongman boss, is in a deeply vulnerable spot and appears to feel cornered and in increasing peril.
He has no choice but to watch as Mueller, an adversary whose discrete public profile makes him an elusive target, grinds away, apparently getting ever closer to Trump's inner circle and perhaps even to the President himself.
more...
dandyrandy
Well-Known Member
And his followers don't care. Fascists
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
I think they are idiots, but we're splitting hairs here. The bottom line is these people believe what they want to, regardless of the facts, they are emotionally driven and their perspective of reality is distorted by racism, fear, hatred and tribalism. When confronted by reality they lie, squirm, deflect and become angry, they are willing to believe the most transparent of lies and idiotic conspiracy theories. It's more of an expression of contempt for the brown folks and their liberal allies than an indicator of low intelligence, though that helps a lot with this kind of non thinking.
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
There are no shortage of his "followers" so it makes it very important to vote, these idiots do vote, so if you disagree with their world view, vote and get politically active. Trump and his followers have done wonders for the democratic party, not just votes, but have helped to drive internal reform and change in the party as well.
By the time Trump is done using up the GOP they will be fucking near extinct, they are headed for one Hell of screwing in 2020 and the longer Trump is around the worse it will be.
Last edited:
Counterchekist@counterchekistNow we’re getting to the “good stuff.” I can’t imagine why tRUmp’s campaign manager needed to travel to the U.K. for meetings with Assange (a RIS/GRU stooge) in 2013, 2015, and 2016... Oh wait, yes I can.
#TeamTreason is going down, patriots.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/27/manafort-held-secret-talks-with-assange-in-ecuadorian-embassy
Counterchekist@counterchekistCounterchekist Retweeted Counterchekist
Given all breaking stories today involving #TeamTreason’s connections to @WikiLeaks; one has to wonder about the timing of their, Malcolm Nance, and Jester’s coordinated (and failed) deza attack this past Sunday. You know, especially considering the “weird” timing below...
Counterchekist added,
Counterchekist@counterchekist
A.) Guccifer 2.0 first appeared June 15th, 2016; so how did Nance’s “friend” know 14 days prior, and before Crowdstrike released their findings? https://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-lone-dnc-hacker-guccifer-20-slipped-up-and-revealed-he-was-a-russian-intelligence-officer……
Show this thread
3:02 PM - 27 Nov 2018
Counterchekist@counterchekistIt’s stunning how many people completely underestimate a.) how much Mueller already knows; and b.) how much trouble the tRUmp family & campaign are in. No one is escaping this.
6:17 PM - 27 Nov 2018
Counterchekist@counterchekist
These arrests are a much bigger deal than most realize...
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/two-international-cybercriminal-rings-dismantled-and-eight-defendants-indicted-causing
9:35 AM - 28 Nov 2018
Unclebaldrick
Well-Known Member
Thanks for sharing every little piece of... uh, whatever, that you find on the internet, Tty... Oh, sorry, Schuylaar. A lot of us don't know about Twitter and shit like that. You have the best network of "little birds". We rely upon you and value your copied and pasted opinions. You can tell in that you have made 52 posts in the last day and gotten three "likes".
Counterchekist@counterchekist
These arrests are a much bigger deal than most realize...
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/two-international-cybercriminal-rings-dismantled-and-eight-defendants-indicted-causing
9:35 AM - 28 Nov 2018
My only regret... I didn't get to watch a video.
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
It looks like Mueller is making his moves, time for Whitaker to step up and stand in front of a speeding freight train, time to see how small Matt's brain is. Look for Donald to start howling at Whitaker soon, if not there's trouble in the DOJ, but the place would leak like a sieve to the press if he did anything. I can imagine the conversation Rosenberg and Mueller would have with this idiot and the kinds of questions they would ask him even if he didn't raise a finger to interfere with the investigation. Matt Whitaker is either scared stiff or he's the dumbest son of a bitch in legal history, he isn't talking to his staff, but to government witnesses.
Since Manafort fucked up his plea deal Cohen has to be real happy, his value to the government is now much higher and his sentence will be much shorter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Cohen pleads guilty, says he lied about Trump's knowledge of Moscow project
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/29/politics/michael-cohen-guilty-plea-misleading-congress/index.html
(CNN)President Donald Trump spoke with Michael Cohen more extensively about the proposed Trump Tower project in Moscow than Cohen previously told Congress, Cohen admitted in federal court Thursday.
more...
Since Manafort fucked up his plea deal Cohen has to be real happy, his value to the government is now much higher and his sentence will be much shorter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Cohen pleads guilty, says he lied about Trump's knowledge of Moscow project
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/29/politics/michael-cohen-guilty-plea-misleading-congress/index.html
(CNN)President Donald Trump spoke with Michael Cohen more extensively about the proposed Trump Tower project in Moscow than Cohen previously told Congress, Cohen admitted in federal court Thursday.
more...
Last edited:
Sir Napsalot
Well-Known Member
I gave her a "like" for her geographical knowledge regarding Jackson Hole
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
Yep a steady stream of shit is hitting the fan now. Cohen has enough on Trump to get out of jail free and he's gonna, Donald is really rattled over this one, why he even cancelled the meeting with Vlad at the G 20 over it. Uncle Sam has Cohen, Trump's accountant and tons of documents, they got Donald's mouth piece/fixer, his bean counter, recordings, the documents and the emails too. If Donald wasn't POTUS he be in prison, period end of story.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cohen’s new plea deal may be only the tip of the iceberg
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/11/29/cohens-new-plea-deal-may-be-only-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/?utm_term=.36a58e1450e3
Robert S. Mueller III is closing in on President Trump.
That’s the best interpretation of Thursday’s striking news that the special counsel has obtained a guilty plea and an agreement to cooperate from Michael Cohen, President Trump’s erstwhile attorney, fixer and all-around handyman.
Cohen is now admitting that he lied to Congress about some key matters involving his former boss. But the really important part isn’t what’s in the documents that have been released Thursday; it’s what isn’t in them.
In a nine-page filing, prosecutors laid out a litany of lies that Cohen admitted he told to congressional lawmakers about the Moscow project — an attempt, Cohen said, to minimize links between the proposed development and Trump as his presidential bid was taking off.
Cohen falsely said efforts to build a Trump-branded tower in Moscow ended in January 2016, when in fact discussions continued through that year, the filing said. Among the people Cohen briefed on the status of the project was Trump himself, on more than three occasions, according to the document.
Trump has repeatedly said that he had no business dealings in Russia, tweeting in July 2016, “For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia” and telling reporters in January 2017 that he had no deals there because he had “stayed away.”
When he spoke to reporters about this Thursday, Trump stressed over and over that it would have been perfectly fine for him to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, as he had long sought to do. Legally speaking, that’s true. But given the controversy around Trump’s solicitousness toward Vladimir Putin and the growing realization that Russia was intervening in the campaign on his behalf, through 2016 it was important for him to distance himself publicly from Russia, which he did many times by stressing that he had no investments there.
That provides the explanation for why Cohen would have lied to Congress about the Moscow deal, claiming that by the time the campaign heated up it was no longer being considered. In the document filed Thursday with Cohen’s guilty plea, the Mueller team explains that while Cohen testified and said publicly that the Moscow project was abandoned before the Iowa caucus in early 2016, that was in fact false:
COHEN made the false statements to (1) minimize links between the Moscow Project and [Trump] and (2) give the false impression that the Moscow Project ended before ‘the Iowa caucus and . . . the very first primary,’ in hopes of limiting the ongoing Russia investigations.
The status of Trump’s long-pursued dream to build a Trump Tower Moscow might seem like a relatively minor part of the entire scandal. Indeed, if you were Trump you might say, “I never told Cohen to lie about that, and anyway, who cares?”
But this matter is only what Cohen is admitting to in exchange for his cooperation with Mueller. It tells us nothing about what else he has told Mueller, and on what subjects.
Here’s what Trump told reporters today about Cohen:
He was convicted of various things unrelated to us. He was given a fairly long jail sentence, and he’s a weak person, and by being weak, unlike other people that you watch, he’s a weak person, and what he’s trying to do is get a reduced sentence. So he’s lying about a project that everybody knew about.
Interestingly enough, just moments later Trump lamented how terribly unfairly Paul Manafort — who also pleaded guilty in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors — is being treated. Manafort is apparently not “weak” in Trump’s eyes. That’s probably because Manfort’s lawyers have been regularly briefing Trump’s lawyers on his sessions with Mueller’s team, meaning Manafort has all but acting as a spy for the president. Manafort is still valuable to Trump; Cohen is not.
But it’s more than that. Just about everyone who has followed this story closely understands that whatever might or might not have happened with Trump and Russia during the campaign, the real threat to the president lies in the Trump Organization. As Adam Davidson of the New Yorker put it, “I am unaware of anybody who has taken a serious look at Trump’s business who doesn’t believe that there is a high likelihood of rampant criminality.”
Cohen was intimately involved for years in that business, making deals and putting out fires. If he’s telling Mueller everything he knows, Trump could be in serious trouble.
Some of what Cohen has to reveal could indeed involve Russia. Let’s recall that despite his denials, Trump has had extensive financial connections to Russia for some time. After a series of business bankruptcies in the 1990s, Trump found it increasingly difficult to convince banks to loan to him, but as Eric Trump reportedly told a golf journalist a few years ago, “we don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia.” (Eric Trump has denied saying this.)
Donald Trump Jr. has said something similar. “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,” the older brother said in 2008, “say in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.” In addition, Trump properties have been a magnet for Russian oligarchs and mobsters, who have bought hundreds of millions of dollars worth of them for the apparent purpose of money laundering.
Will all of that appear perfectly legal and not potentially scandalous in any way once the details are fully known? What do you think?
From everything we’ve learned over the past couple of years, Cohen seems to have worshiped Trump and wanted desperately to win his favor. But the admiration went only in one direction. As Roger Stone told the New York Times in April, “Donald goes out of his way to treat him like garbage.” It might be time for Cohen to get his payback.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cohen’s new plea deal may be only the tip of the iceberg
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/11/29/cohens-new-plea-deal-may-be-only-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/?utm_term=.36a58e1450e3
Robert S. Mueller III is closing in on President Trump.
That’s the best interpretation of Thursday’s striking news that the special counsel has obtained a guilty plea and an agreement to cooperate from Michael Cohen, President Trump’s erstwhile attorney, fixer and all-around handyman.
Cohen is now admitting that he lied to Congress about some key matters involving his former boss. But the really important part isn’t what’s in the documents that have been released Thursday; it’s what isn’t in them.
In a nine-page filing, prosecutors laid out a litany of lies that Cohen admitted he told to congressional lawmakers about the Moscow project — an attempt, Cohen said, to minimize links between the proposed development and Trump as his presidential bid was taking off.
Cohen falsely said efforts to build a Trump-branded tower in Moscow ended in January 2016, when in fact discussions continued through that year, the filing said. Among the people Cohen briefed on the status of the project was Trump himself, on more than three occasions, according to the document.
Trump has repeatedly said that he had no business dealings in Russia, tweeting in July 2016, “For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia” and telling reporters in January 2017 that he had no deals there because he had “stayed away.”
When he spoke to reporters about this Thursday, Trump stressed over and over that it would have been perfectly fine for him to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, as he had long sought to do. Legally speaking, that’s true. But given the controversy around Trump’s solicitousness toward Vladimir Putin and the growing realization that Russia was intervening in the campaign on his behalf, through 2016 it was important for him to distance himself publicly from Russia, which he did many times by stressing that he had no investments there.
That provides the explanation for why Cohen would have lied to Congress about the Moscow deal, claiming that by the time the campaign heated up it was no longer being considered. In the document filed Thursday with Cohen’s guilty plea, the Mueller team explains that while Cohen testified and said publicly that the Moscow project was abandoned before the Iowa caucus in early 2016, that was in fact false:
COHEN made the false statements to (1) minimize links between the Moscow Project and [Trump] and (2) give the false impression that the Moscow Project ended before ‘the Iowa caucus and . . . the very first primary,’ in hopes of limiting the ongoing Russia investigations.
The status of Trump’s long-pursued dream to build a Trump Tower Moscow might seem like a relatively minor part of the entire scandal. Indeed, if you were Trump you might say, “I never told Cohen to lie about that, and anyway, who cares?”
But this matter is only what Cohen is admitting to in exchange for his cooperation with Mueller. It tells us nothing about what else he has told Mueller, and on what subjects.
Here’s what Trump told reporters today about Cohen:
He was convicted of various things unrelated to us. He was given a fairly long jail sentence, and he’s a weak person, and by being weak, unlike other people that you watch, he’s a weak person, and what he’s trying to do is get a reduced sentence. So he’s lying about a project that everybody knew about.
Interestingly enough, just moments later Trump lamented how terribly unfairly Paul Manafort — who also pleaded guilty in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors — is being treated. Manafort is apparently not “weak” in Trump’s eyes. That’s probably because Manfort’s lawyers have been regularly briefing Trump’s lawyers on his sessions with Mueller’s team, meaning Manafort has all but acting as a spy for the president. Manafort is still valuable to Trump; Cohen is not.
But it’s more than that. Just about everyone who has followed this story closely understands that whatever might or might not have happened with Trump and Russia during the campaign, the real threat to the president lies in the Trump Organization. As Adam Davidson of the New Yorker put it, “I am unaware of anybody who has taken a serious look at Trump’s business who doesn’t believe that there is a high likelihood of rampant criminality.”
Cohen was intimately involved for years in that business, making deals and putting out fires. If he’s telling Mueller everything he knows, Trump could be in serious trouble.
Some of what Cohen has to reveal could indeed involve Russia. Let’s recall that despite his denials, Trump has had extensive financial connections to Russia for some time. After a series of business bankruptcies in the 1990s, Trump found it increasingly difficult to convince banks to loan to him, but as Eric Trump reportedly told a golf journalist a few years ago, “we don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia.” (Eric Trump has denied saying this.)
Donald Trump Jr. has said something similar. “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,” the older brother said in 2008, “say in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.” In addition, Trump properties have been a magnet for Russian oligarchs and mobsters, who have bought hundreds of millions of dollars worth of them for the apparent purpose of money laundering.
Will all of that appear perfectly legal and not potentially scandalous in any way once the details are fully known? What do you think?
From everything we’ve learned over the past couple of years, Cohen seems to have worshiped Trump and wanted desperately to win his favor. But the admiration went only in one direction. As Roger Stone told the New York Times in April, “Donald goes out of his way to treat him like garbage.” It might be time for Cohen to get his payback.
Last edited:
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
Trump should be freaked out right about now
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/11/29/trump-should-be-freaked-out-right-about-now/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c3747eac6ea8
By Jennifer Rubin
Opinion writer
November 29 at 2:17 PM
The Post reports on the latest plea deal with President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen:
President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty Thursday in New York to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate project that Trump and his company pursued at the same time he was running for president.
In a nine-page filing, prosecutors laid out a litany of lies that Cohen admitted he told to congressional lawmakers about the Moscow project — an attempt, Cohen said, to minimize links between the proposed development and Trump as his presidential bid was well underway.
Cohen’s guilty plea — his second in four months — is the latest development in a wide-ranging investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Activity in that probe has intensified this week, as one planned guilty plea was derailed, and, separately, prosecutors accused Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort of lying to them since he pleaded guilty.
[…] Cohen previously said the project stalled in January 2016, prompting him to email a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin seeking help. Cohen previously said that he never received a response and that the project was halted that month.
Just hours after that news broke, Trump decided to cancel a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Buenos Aires, perhaps fearing a replay of the disastrous appearance with Putin in Helsinki, when Trump sided with him over the conclusive findings of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia meddled in our election.
“Cohen was Trump’s fixer and was clearly part of the effort to conspire with Russia,” said Max Bergmann, who heads the Moscow Project. “Most worrying for Trump, Cohen knows what Trump knew and when he knew it. The walls are closing in.”
There are multiple issues here.
Trump: Cohen lying to get reduced sentence
President Trump on Nov. 29 said his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen is lying to federal prosecutors about a Trump real estate project in Moscow. (The Washington Post)
First, Trump recently turned in his written answers to Mueller. If Mueller asked about the Moscow Trump Tower deal and Trump lied, saying that it had ended in January, that would be a strong basis for a perjury charge. Trump might say that he didn’t know Cohen was continuing in talks with Russia, but the tantalizing detail from the indictment, namely that Cohen communicated with Individual 1 (presumably Trump) three times, suggests that Mueller may have some definitive evidence of the conversations. (Did Cohen tape them?) The Post reports: “Prosecutors seemed to make a point in the document of emphasizing how Cohen had talked with Trump himself — whom they didn’t name — about the project. The document said Cohen lied because he hoped his testimony would limit the ongoing Russia investigations.” In other words, both Cohen and Trump tried to disguise the extent of Trump’s ties with Russia, which, in the context of the campaign, may have been part of a conspiracy to help get him elected.
Second, Trump appears to be conducting foreign policy to avoid implicating himself in wrongdoing, it seems, and therefore has to cancel a meeting to avoid underscoring the appearance that he is under Putin’s thumb. The idea that Trump would meet with Putin and read him the riot act appears to be out of the question.
Third, Cohen plainly is cooperating with Mueller — and not communicating with Trump. Unlike the situation with Manafort, Trump has no way of seeing inside the Cohen-Mueller talks. That creates enormous uncertainty and risk. Trump may already have contradicted himself under oath.
Fourth, if it weren’t obvious already, Cohen’s plea agreement shows that the Mueller probe is not a “witch hunt.” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), in line to chair the House Judiciary Committee, issued a statement, which read in part:
The Special Counsel has now secured guilty pleas from President Trump’s personal attorney, his campaign manager, his deputy campaign manager, a foreign policy advisor to his campaign, and his National Security Advisor. He has filed 191 charges against more than thirty individuals—almost all of whom are in President Trump’s orbit, Vladimir Putin’s orbit, or both. The President can pretend that this investigation has nothing to do with him and nothing to do with Russia, but these indictments speak for themselves. We must allow this investigation to run its course without interference from the President or his allies on Capitol Hill. As the new Congress begins, these developments make clear that my colleagues and I must step in and provide accountability. No one is above the law, not even the President, and our job will be to check his impulse to abuse his office to protect himself. We will do everything in our power to allow the Special Counsel to finish his work and follow the facts and the law to their conclusion.
Fifth, the Cohen revelations emphasize the need for legislation to protect Mueller. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) implored his colleagues to do just that: “It’s a reminder that there has been a remarkable volume of criminal activity uncovered by the special counsel’s investigation. No one — especially not the president — can credibly claim that the investigation is a fishing expedition. Calling Mueller’s investigation a ‘witch hunt’ is just a lie. Plain and simple. A lie.” He continued, “The president’s actions clearly show he has a lot to hide, but he is afraid of the truth and doesn’t want Mueller or anyone else to uncover it. . . . Let’s not forget, President Trump has already fired the attorney general and replaced him with a lackey, without Senate approval, a nominee whose only qualification seems to be that he has a history of criticizing the special counsel.”
Finally, if Cohen is telling the truth, Trump lied during the campaign in flatly denying any deals in Russia. That in itself is a big deal. Trump took a bizarrely pro-Putin stance during the campaign and in the debates specifically. The notion that a candidate would take the side of a foreign foe of the United States while negotiating business deals in that country should be seen as wholly unacceptable, perhaps even an attempt to defraud voters. If he was doing it to assist his own economic interests, it can be seen as a quid pro quo.
But was it illegal or impeachable? If lying about the Trump Tower deal was part of a scheme to conspire/collude with Russia, the latest revelation will be one more fact in a conspiracy charge (or campaign finance violation against Trump). Trump’s shocking insistence Thursday that he was “allowed to do whatever I wanted during the campaign” seems to leave open the possibility that he did not comprehend the ramifications of working with the Russians to feather his own nest and get him elected.
Lying about Russia deals also might be considered one in a series of impeachable acts. Constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe told me, “The only pre-election lying (or other misconduct) that becomes impeachable if and when the candidate wins office is conduct that contributes materially to a fraudulent victory, which much of Trump’s activity with Russia during the 2016 campaign may well have done.” Remember, Article One of Richard Nixon’s impeachment included “making or causing to be made false or misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States.”
Cohen is helping Mueller to tie Trump — financially, personally, politically — to the highest levels of the Russian government. Whether that amounts to crimes (apart from efforts to obstruct justice) remains to be seen. It does, however, mean that Trump lied his way into the presidency, in part, to protect financial interests in Russia and perhaps to get Russian assistance (e.g., in disclosing dirt on Hillary Clinton). Trump has every reason to panic.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/11/29/trump-should-be-freaked-out-right-about-now/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c3747eac6ea8
By Jennifer Rubin
Opinion writer
November 29 at 2:17 PM
The Post reports on the latest plea deal with President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen:
President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty Thursday in New York to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate project that Trump and his company pursued at the same time he was running for president.
In a nine-page filing, prosecutors laid out a litany of lies that Cohen admitted he told to congressional lawmakers about the Moscow project — an attempt, Cohen said, to minimize links between the proposed development and Trump as his presidential bid was well underway.
Cohen’s guilty plea — his second in four months — is the latest development in a wide-ranging investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Activity in that probe has intensified this week, as one planned guilty plea was derailed, and, separately, prosecutors accused Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort of lying to them since he pleaded guilty.
[…] Cohen previously said the project stalled in January 2016, prompting him to email a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin seeking help. Cohen previously said that he never received a response and that the project was halted that month.
Just hours after that news broke, Trump decided to cancel a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Buenos Aires, perhaps fearing a replay of the disastrous appearance with Putin in Helsinki, when Trump sided with him over the conclusive findings of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia meddled in our election.
“Cohen was Trump’s fixer and was clearly part of the effort to conspire with Russia,” said Max Bergmann, who heads the Moscow Project. “Most worrying for Trump, Cohen knows what Trump knew and when he knew it. The walls are closing in.”
There are multiple issues here.
Trump: Cohen lying to get reduced sentence
President Trump on Nov. 29 said his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen is lying to federal prosecutors about a Trump real estate project in Moscow. (The Washington Post)
First, Trump recently turned in his written answers to Mueller. If Mueller asked about the Moscow Trump Tower deal and Trump lied, saying that it had ended in January, that would be a strong basis for a perjury charge. Trump might say that he didn’t know Cohen was continuing in talks with Russia, but the tantalizing detail from the indictment, namely that Cohen communicated with Individual 1 (presumably Trump) three times, suggests that Mueller may have some definitive evidence of the conversations. (Did Cohen tape them?) The Post reports: “Prosecutors seemed to make a point in the document of emphasizing how Cohen had talked with Trump himself — whom they didn’t name — about the project. The document said Cohen lied because he hoped his testimony would limit the ongoing Russia investigations.” In other words, both Cohen and Trump tried to disguise the extent of Trump’s ties with Russia, which, in the context of the campaign, may have been part of a conspiracy to help get him elected.
Second, Trump appears to be conducting foreign policy to avoid implicating himself in wrongdoing, it seems, and therefore has to cancel a meeting to avoid underscoring the appearance that he is under Putin’s thumb. The idea that Trump would meet with Putin and read him the riot act appears to be out of the question.
Third, Cohen plainly is cooperating with Mueller — and not communicating with Trump. Unlike the situation with Manafort, Trump has no way of seeing inside the Cohen-Mueller talks. That creates enormous uncertainty and risk. Trump may already have contradicted himself under oath.
Fourth, if it weren’t obvious already, Cohen’s plea agreement shows that the Mueller probe is not a “witch hunt.” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), in line to chair the House Judiciary Committee, issued a statement, which read in part:
The Special Counsel has now secured guilty pleas from President Trump’s personal attorney, his campaign manager, his deputy campaign manager, a foreign policy advisor to his campaign, and his National Security Advisor. He has filed 191 charges against more than thirty individuals—almost all of whom are in President Trump’s orbit, Vladimir Putin’s orbit, or both. The President can pretend that this investigation has nothing to do with him and nothing to do with Russia, but these indictments speak for themselves. We must allow this investigation to run its course without interference from the President or his allies on Capitol Hill. As the new Congress begins, these developments make clear that my colleagues and I must step in and provide accountability. No one is above the law, not even the President, and our job will be to check his impulse to abuse his office to protect himself. We will do everything in our power to allow the Special Counsel to finish his work and follow the facts and the law to their conclusion.
Fifth, the Cohen revelations emphasize the need for legislation to protect Mueller. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) implored his colleagues to do just that: “It’s a reminder that there has been a remarkable volume of criminal activity uncovered by the special counsel’s investigation. No one — especially not the president — can credibly claim that the investigation is a fishing expedition. Calling Mueller’s investigation a ‘witch hunt’ is just a lie. Plain and simple. A lie.” He continued, “The president’s actions clearly show he has a lot to hide, but he is afraid of the truth and doesn’t want Mueller or anyone else to uncover it. . . . Let’s not forget, President Trump has already fired the attorney general and replaced him with a lackey, without Senate approval, a nominee whose only qualification seems to be that he has a history of criticizing the special counsel.”
Finally, if Cohen is telling the truth, Trump lied during the campaign in flatly denying any deals in Russia. That in itself is a big deal. Trump took a bizarrely pro-Putin stance during the campaign and in the debates specifically. The notion that a candidate would take the side of a foreign foe of the United States while negotiating business deals in that country should be seen as wholly unacceptable, perhaps even an attempt to defraud voters. If he was doing it to assist his own economic interests, it can be seen as a quid pro quo.
But was it illegal or impeachable? If lying about the Trump Tower deal was part of a scheme to conspire/collude with Russia, the latest revelation will be one more fact in a conspiracy charge (or campaign finance violation against Trump). Trump’s shocking insistence Thursday that he was “allowed to do whatever I wanted during the campaign” seems to leave open the possibility that he did not comprehend the ramifications of working with the Russians to feather his own nest and get him elected.
Lying about Russia deals also might be considered one in a series of impeachable acts. Constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe told me, “The only pre-election lying (or other misconduct) that becomes impeachable if and when the candidate wins office is conduct that contributes materially to a fraudulent victory, which much of Trump’s activity with Russia during the 2016 campaign may well have done.” Remember, Article One of Richard Nixon’s impeachment included “making or causing to be made false or misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States.”
Cohen is helping Mueller to tie Trump — financially, personally, politically — to the highest levels of the Russian government. Whether that amounts to crimes (apart from efforts to obstruct justice) remains to be seen. It does, however, mean that Trump lied his way into the presidency, in part, to protect financial interests in Russia and perhaps to get Russian assistance (e.g., in disclosing dirt on Hillary Clinton). Trump has every reason to panic.
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
Cohen Exposes Trump's Business Ties With Russia
In confessing his own crimes, Michael Cohen has exposed potential wrongdoing by his former boss. Again.
DIY-HP-LED
Well-Known Member
Toobin: First day I thought Trump may not finish term
CNN's Jeffrey Toobin discusses Michael Cohen pleading guilty to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower project in Moscow.
