NYT: "Michael Cohen Says He Paid Off Women Who Claimed Affairs at Trump’s Direction."
Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s former fixer, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to campaign finance and other charges. He made the extraordinary admission that he paid a pornographic actress “at the direction of the candidate,” referring to Mr. Trump, to secure her silence about an affair she said she had with Mr. Trump.NYT: "Paul Manafort Guilty of 8 Charges in Fraud Trial."
Mr. Cohen told a judge in United States District Court in Manhattan that the payment was “for the principal purpose of influencing the election” for president in 2016.
Mr. Cohen also pleaded guilty to multiple counts of tax evasion and bank fraud, bringing to a close a monthslong investigation by Manhattan federal prosecutors who examined his personal business dealings and his role in helping to arrange financial deals with women connected to Mr. Trump.
Trump made a short statement as he was getting off the plane in West Virginia (where he'll have a rally soon). Trump repeatedly expressed empathy for Manafort and stressed that it had nothing to do with Russian collusion, and — it was quite noticeable — didn't mention Cohen at all.
On Fox News — "The Five" — there's too much talk about the Iowa murder case, with a suspect who's been in the country illegally, and how this might be what ordinary Americans really care about. I was groaning aloud at this labored effort.
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328 comments:
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Drudge is an idiot.
All's for the best in this best of all possible Trumpworlds.
Hah, Jim!
It has to be difficult for the president. Neither man was charged with anything to do with Trump, but their association with him brought them under scrutiny.
Do we still have 4.1% GDP Growth?
Cohen telling the judge that the payments were “for the principal purpose of influencing the election” has the ring of a Stalin show trial confession.
Inga put a fresh set of batteries in her vibrator.
Don't they all pay off people from their past? I always wondered about that cardiologist in the senate or ran for president, was it Frist? or First? It always amazed me that there weren't some disgruntled patients that couldn't be dug up to complain about him.
If Cohen is guilty, we need to drop the hammer on a lot of people who tried to influence the election with money.
No surprise on Manafort. Even without CNNs last minute doxxing threat. Shame Manafort didn't stay left wing like Podesta. He'd never have been on trial if he was.
"All's for the best in this best of all possible Trumpworlds."
There is no other world, really, as whatever happens to him, he is your last chance before the time of true crisis. Trump is your last throw of the dice, before you go at each other, directly, with murder in your eyes.
All's for the best in this best of all possible Trumpworlds.
Actually, Manafort's crimes - committed long before Trump entered the political arena - mean nothing to me. Crooks get sent away all the time.
Cohen? If Trump paid hush money to a hooker - and it didn't come out of campaign funds (which I can't imagine it did considering he's ... well, rich) that's a big nothingburger, too.
The fact is, we've been told time and time again Trump colluded with the Russians to win the 2016 election. None of this has anything to do with that. And with each passing day, it appears there's less and less smoke, let alone any fire.
So, enjoy. Some money guys who happen to be connected to Trump are going to jail. How I'll ever get to sleep tonight is a mystery to me.
Uh, every single charge against Manafort predates Trump's campaign. How the hell does that merit inclusion in "Trump Hell Hour"?
Is the idea that Trump is faulted for ever having anyone who ever did something remotely criminal anywhere near him ever in his life? How many Democrats could withstand that same standard? And isn't guilt by association always, ALWAYS the most horrific thing ever whenever it's done to Democrats?
John Edwards had rich friends pay about $1M to his mistress and was indicted on 6 felony charges. Judge dismissed one and jury deadlocked on other 5 - mistrial. If $ actually came from Trump then more of a technical than substantive violation, but still looks kind of bad. I had forgotten all about the Edwards indictment.
@Sydney - That was Bill Frist. Senate Majority leader.
He pondered running for POTUS, but decided against it.
Surely this means Hillary becomes President.
Hillary the Incorruptible! And don't call me Shirley.
Given that the investigation will climax at the lefties ideal preferred inflection point in the election cycle- and that has always been a given- what’s the juicy meat they’ve been wet aging for that time?
How dare people care more about a murder victim than a tax fraud and loan fraud conviction?
Really, Althouse?
Fucking really?
Murder > tax charges
Illegal immigration is a slight increase in the give a shit meter.
Trump will make that point note obvious.
As for this:
"On Fox News — "The Five" — there's too much talk about the Iowa murder case, with a suspect who's been in the country illegally, and how this might be what ordinary Americans really care about. I was groaning aloud at this labored effort."
So let me get this straight. Deeming Trump responsible for something someone near him did years before meeting him is NOT at all a labored effort. Guilt by association with someone who committed petty tax fraud is absolutely newsworthy. But talking about a MURDER by an illegal immigrant as if people would care more about that IS a labored effort.
Yeah. Okay, Ann.
If Trump paying someone to shut up is a campaign contribution, how is granting access to journalists not the same? Both involve granting something of value to promote or restrict speech.
I think this broad interpretation is stupid. Especially since Clinton financing actual international espionage isn't going to be considered a campaign expenditure I see little reason I should think of the Cohen prosecution as an actual matter of law. No matter how slimy he is.
Never Trump is very excited on my Twitter timeline.
Forget about Russian collusion. Did you hear that Trump slept with two hot chicks many years ago and then paid money to keep that perfectly legal behavior under wraps during the election?
I'm pretty sure these Never Trump folks are smelling a Pence presidency.
They're going to be disappointed.
Unless Republicans really do want a blue wave. In which case they'll start an impeachment trial of trump any day now.
He made the extraordinary admission ... paid ...to secure her silence
What's wrong or illegal about that? People are paid to talk, why not be paid to not talk?
Strictly speaking, Stormy Daniels was paid off to avoid her story having an influence on the 2016 election.
Not quite the same thing.
Manafort? Guilty of collusion with the Russians, right? Thank goodness. The walls (as I heard a leftie say on tv last night) are beginning to close in on Trump. snort.
Can someone explain why the Cohen admission would be a legal problem?
Edwards was in legal trouble because he had rich friends paying off his mistress -- that's an unreported campaign donation.
Trump can spend as much of his own money on campaign expenses as he likes -- he doesn't need to report his personal expenditures as campaign donations.
I am fine with convictions for actual crimes.
I am also fine with a pardon for Manafort to undo the selective prosecution triggered only by his association with Trump.
I am not fine with shake-down tactics intended only to attack a sitting president.
Well Ann I disagree. I am angry about Mollie Tibbetts murderer, but don’t give a damn about Manafort or Cohen
Buckley v Valeo
Candidates can spend as much of their own money as they like of their own money.
If Trump ultimately pays I cannot see the violation.
The police chief called the man in custody an ‘illegal alien’. CNN would be outraged if they didn’t already plan to unreport the murder.
As I understand it (not my area) if Trump had just written one of the women a check from his own account and asked her to be quiet about their affair - no crime / no campaign law violation. But by doing it through third parties he created the potential for an illegal campaign contribution. But. . . if Trump actually/ultimately paid the money from his own pocket for the payoff I see the shell game used to make the payoff as more of a technical rather than substantive violation.
Too bad Trump denied being the source of the money. He needs better taste in both counsel and mistresses!
So Trump did what Bill Clinton and Asia Argento did?
Let the lynching begin!
There is a reason Mueller dumped this case off to NY.
This is Trump’s personal lawyer/fixer. This is his campaign chairman. GUILTY AF. If you thought James and Susan McDougel being found guilty doing the Clinton Presidency was a big deal, then you have to acknowledge this is gigantic.
The Leftie guy on The Five also pointed out how damaging these building blocks stacking up against Trump would be moving into election time in September and October. How convenient- almost as if the timing were planned.
Sidenote: I kind of do care about murder more than I care about selectively prosecuted financial crimes. Both are bad -- but dead bodies should perhaps get more of our focus.
And as will surely come up (from 2013):
BARACK OBAMA'S presidential campaign has been fined $375,000 by the Federal Election Commission for violating federal disclosure laws, Politico reports.
An FEC audit of Obama for America's 2008 records found the committee failed to disclose millions of dollars in contributions and dragged its feet in refunding millions more in excess contributions.
The resulting fine, one of the largest ever handed down by the FEC, is the result of a failure to disclose or improperly disclosing thousands of contributions to Obama for America during the then-senator's 2008 presidential run, documents show.
I'm willing to wait for the trial for the guy they arrested for the Tibbets murder; he deserves his day in court.
"GUILTY AF."
-- Actually, Manafort was, primarily, hung -- they couldn't decide on the majority of his crimes. And the ones they found him guilty of? Small potatoes; the sort that the Podesta group got a break from Mueller on. So, guilty? Yes. But "GUILTY AF?" Eh.
"Drudge is great by the way," Trump said to "Fox and Friends" host Steve Doocy. "Matt Drudge is a great gentleman, he really has ability to capture stories that people want to see."
Individual 1.
"Hell" is a bit strong, but given this news plus the information regarding Mollie Tibbetts I get the feeling that tonight's campaign stop in WV will be full of fire (to say the least).
Anyway, the question everybody is harping on is what this means for Trump, and the answer to that is "probably not much".
Assuming that there's not some unknown information lingering out there what we're looking at is a campaign finance violation which is about as uninteresting a crime as there can be in politics.
I suppose the facts of the story are somewhat titillating (i.e. paying off strippers and playmates to stay quiet about affairs) but it's unlikely to cause anybody to change their views. He's a scumbag, everybody has known he's a scumbag, and everybody's opinions will remain the same. For stuff like this to stick you need somebody who has cultivated a squeaky clean persona (e.g. John Edwards).
I suppose he could get subpoenaed and then perjury becomes a question, but we already went through with that with Clinton.
The real question is whether the Dems. will impeach when they take the House this fall. People seem to think it's a given but I'm a bit less certain about it. Given how many politicians have paid people off do you think even the Dems would want to set the precedent that campaign finance violations are impeachable?
Virgil: Let's not forget that Obama *fired the IG who was investigating his campaign and smeared him as a senile old fool.*
GUILTY AF
Guilty of what? What is the crime, genius?
I am a bit surprised about the "at the direction" piece. Not for the truth of the matter (it is consistent with what we have heard about tapes), but because if it implicates the President in a criminal election financing violation, it makes Mueller's decision to transfer the Cohen investigation away from the special counsel look a lot shadier than I had previously thought. So, score one for the deep state conspiracy theorists, I guess.
Over one year this special council office has gotten more convictions of more important people close to the president than Ken Starr and others who ran the Whitewater investigation got over seven years.
"The real question is whether the Dems. will impeach when they take the House this fall."
-- If they think they can knock him and Pence both out, yes. But if they only think they can get Trump, I don't think they will. I also still think it is an "if" not "when" on the House changing hands.
Cohen/Manafort being guilty isn't GOOD for Trump, but it is only Hell because stupid people with megaphones will insist on it very, very loudly. This is like when we found out that Obama's senate seat was a bleeping valuable thing or that Obama may or may not have been involved in shady land deals with his old friend. It had potential to be bad, but Obama avoided the fallout. It'll be a few months or maybe years, before we know if Trump does or doesn't.
How did Hillary record the payment for the Seth Rich hit on her campaign disclosure forms?
Just as a check on regular people, I just texted my brother - sitting in traffic after getting off work:
"Hey. Did you hear about the Manafort trial? Trump's campaign manager?"
Who?
"Thanks. Nevermind."
Chuck, fopdoodle extraordinaire, thinks this will make John Kasich POTUS?
I put a question mark because I want to make Chuck available to answer to himself.
What a fantastic world that you inhabit.
"So, score one for the deep state conspiracy theorists, I guess."
-- I've been saying that for years. Almost every time I say something like, "The government wouldn't do THAT," I turn out wrong. So now, I'm just kind of waiting to find out how naive I really was.
So six people given immunity to prosecution to convict one person of incomes tax fraud. One count for each year- not one count. And from what I was reading the income he didn't report was money he withdrew from bank accounts.
Ummm... that's confusing. Interest from accounts is taxable. But money you withdraw? That should already have been taxed as income. But so what! Mueller has a scalp! Absolutely nothing to do with Trump, with charges that weren't brought 10 years ago, but he has a scalp. Convicted for being a Republican.
Once: Well, it's kinda hard to convict people who kept turning up mysteriously dead.
My favorite was the close Clinton associate who was found decapitated. The death was deemed due to natural causes. "I was talking to her and her head just... fell... off."
Nothing new, I don't see that it is a big deal. YMMV, and if you are a Democrat, it probably does. Reason #1 it sucks to be a Democrat.
Donald Trump has managed to stay one step ahead of the Sheriff for decades, in a very tough environment. This is not his first rodeo.
Shouldn't payments for personal indiscretions be kept off campaign filing--i,e, paid out of your own pocket? I don't put hookers on my expense reports afterall, do I?
Birkel said...
Buckley v Valeo
Candidates can spend as much of their own money as they like of their own money.
If Trump ultimately pays I cannot see the violation.
You've been repeating shit like that for months. And for months, I was saying that no matter if Cohen paid it, or Trump paid it, or if Cohen paid it and Trump paid Cohen, it can all run afoul of campaign finance rules, campaign expenditure reporting rules, banking disclosure laws and regulations, etc.
And I was right, Birkel. And you were wrong.
It would be more interesting if Cohen claimed he was directed by the Russians, no?
Good on Fox News for covering a murder case over a blackmail case.
John Katshit paid his mailman to stop shitting on his front porch.
Did he list that on his campaign filings?
Does Mueller want to go to court with Michael Cohen and Lanny Davis as witnesses with regard to Trump's motivation?
What Chuck is saying is that you can make anything seem sinister and illegal--like buying a stick of gum.
If you are a disingenuous steaming asshole.
Once written, twice...
"If you thought James and Susan McDougel being found guilty doing the Clinton Presidency was a big deal, then you have to acknowledge this is gigantic."
I would, but - twenty years ago all my liberal friends told me I was uptight, a prude, probably getting none and just jealous of Bill's magical sexual magnetism; that the economy was doing great; that really there's a correlation between this kind of behavior and successful leadership; that Europeans think we're ridiculous puritans, and Mitterand's wife and mistress both attended his funeral and were cordial to each other; and so forth.
So I used to think character mattered, and that presidents should be held to a higher standard than the rest of us, but my liberal friends won the argument. Still, I wish them joy of President Pence should they get their way this time around.
actually it does chuck, ask john Edwards he had payments at the time of each of the primaries,
the oligarchs are losing their touch, all that money, and with gates and podesta, little of it went to lobbying,
Over one year this special council office has gotten more convictions of more important people close to the president than Ken Starr and others who ran the Whitewater investigation got over seven years.
You think this is a good thing. But I think it speaks volumes - not about the guilty parties - but of the investigations themselves. And how they've been conducted.
You're just fine with it because it's not your ox being gored. This time.
Jurors saw CNN's maneuvering to doxx them, and put their homes and love ones in jeopardy from Leftist blackshirts because they weren't sequestered. How could this NOT be jury tampering?
"How could this NOT be jury tampering?"
-- I mean, it helps that Manafort probably IS guilty as sin on the tax fraud stuff.
Manafort’s lawyers did a good job. Hung jury on 10 counts is the same as an acquittal since even Mueller isn’t stupid enough to retry those. I give the jury credit for sifting through all the shit and to the holdouts who thought 10 counts weren’t proven beyond a reasonable doubt. It would have been easy to convict on them all if you agree he did 8 crimes already.
Manafort is going to get a pardon. I think sooner rather than later. I think Cohen is going to prison. The campaign violations he pleaded to are not the serious crimes he was charged with. Maybe Trump pardons him for those two counts, which will reduce his sentence by a week maybe.
The fun is just getting started now. Trump is going to fire Mueller soon. Long overdue.
(eaglebeak)
Mollie Tibbetts' murder is going to enrage a lot of people. Like me.
In 2015, when Kate Steinle was murdered by an illegal alien, no politician said a word until candidate Trump began slamming it, slamming our laws, etc.
That started momentum that carried him all the way to the White House.
I'm willing to bet that people--like me--would rather have him and his policies in the White House than hear about what dodgy Michael Cohen had to say to buy five years.
BTW, doing something to influence the election is pretty thin gruel--everything a campaign does is intended to influence an election.
Every August 17th up to and through my birthday (which occurs within the week) I get back to my roots by re-watching Walt Disney's "Davy Crockett, King Of the Wild Frontier," which had a great influence on me when I was a Baby Boomer tyke. Recently I was also listening to "Mike Fink, King of the River," from the prequel shows about Davy's fictional adventures with legendary keelboatman Mike Fink. The Mike Fink song reminds me of today's SJWs and their Trump Derangement Syndrome:
Listen to the thunder
Hear the winds roar
Hurricane's a-coming
Board up the door
Load up the cannon
Call up the law
Worstest calamity
That folks never saw
Girls run and hide
Brave men shiver
I'm Mike Fink
King of the river"
I'd change the last part to "I'm Don Trump/King of Manhattan" even though it doesn't rhyme.
Once written, twice... said...
Over one year this special council office has gotten more convictions of more important people close to the president than Ken Starr and others who ran the Whitewater investigation got over seven years.
Then you can count this as a moral victory, because not one single conviction has had anything to do with Russian collusion. Not one. Which validates the point that this is just a witch hunt to try and hurt the president.
"Well Ann I disagree. I am angry about Mollie Tibbetts murderer, but don’t give a damn about Manafort or Cohen"
Yeah, this time I'm a Me too, though I realize that all the liberals will agree with Althouse.
I hate all murder, but why is one local murder story made a national news story and put in competition with important new developments in presidential legal troubles?
Murder stories seem to be selected for special coverage when there are lovely photographs of a young white woman.
Chuck, fopdoodle extraordinaire,
Are you saying Buckley v Valro is no longer authoritative?
Given the answer must be ‘no’ I think we can agree any law or interpretation of law in opposition is unconstitutional.
Now what?
A person can agree to any bull shit.
A person who does not agree will win if the law is on their side.
You’re not a lawyer, are you?
Trumps wins and by winning, he exposes losers. And I'm still not tired of all the winning.
I agree with all who think Althouse doesn’t have a very good idea of what flyover America will think of all this.
Althouse,
Murder > tax evasion
Racism < Murder
WTF is wrong with you?
recall manafort let two man, die in prison, for a crime he didn't commit,
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/paul-manafort-split-verdict-says-nothing-on-trump-russia-and-the-2016-election
This young white woman’s disappearance was prominent on social media. So it matters. Just like JonBenet Ramsey was prominent ore social media. Chandra Levy had the congressman angle, which ended up a red herring.
People also care about illegal immigration. So the story has some prominence. Wetback kills young, attractive white lady in the Heartland. That’s a story.
This is unprecedented! Paying off a girl after CONSENSUAL sex. Clintons had far more class than that! They only paid of victims of sexual coercion and abuse of the office.
"I hate all murder, but why is one local murder story made a national news story and put in competition with important new developments in presidential legal troubles?"
Because the accused murderer is an illegal immigrant, people care about their safety and their children.
R. Stacy McCain reposted this conspiracy theory thread. It is lengthy but a worthwhile read. Seeing how the Clinton investigations got shuffled back and forth to the same characters, some now involved in the Trump stuff. Hope someone figures out a way to make a graphical chart of this.
Who Is Lisa H Barsoomian
Murder stories seem to be selected for special coverage when there are lovely photographs of a young white woman.
Or children.
-- I mean, it helps that Manafort probably IS guilty as sin on the tax fraud stuff.
You mean the same information viewed by several Federal prosecutors ten years ago that declined to bring charges?
Murder stories seem to be selected for special coverage when there are lovely photographs of a young white woman.
I am sure you have read enough of rhhardin's posts to understand the dynamic.
People care about illegal immigration.
Kennedy's motto? Dead girls tell no tales.
Am I the only one who thinks that Trump isn't bothered by this news at all? He thrives on this sort of thing. Let the Dems and journalists obsess about what will surely bring Trump down this time. Meanwhile, he'll continue to pile up victories under the radar.
And I think a majority of Americans will indeed care far more about yet another murder from an illegal alien. How many citizens have to die before the establishment politicians get a clue? Trump is the only one with the guts to confront it.
We tried to talk about the 8 killed and more than 60 shot in Chicago.
We were also told that conversation was racist.
#HaveItBothWays
Really, Althouse?
WTF?
"And for months, I was saying that no matter if Cohen paid it, or Trump paid it, or if Cohen paid it and Trump paid Cohen, it can all run afoul of campaign finance rules, campaign expenditure reporting rules, banking disclosure laws and regulations, etc."
Chuckles,
If you are right, did Trump commit a high crime worthy of impeachment?
How about the Obama campaign allowing the improper use of credit card donations?
How about the Clintons violations of numerous campaign finance and charity laws?
How many candidates have NOT run afoul of campaign finance regulations?
Use that sharp legal mind you tout and tell me the significance of Mickey Cohen saying that he committed campaign finance violations.
"You mean the same information viewed by several Federal prosecutors ten years ago that declined to bring charges?"
-- I think it is more likely they didn't press charges because they didn't think they could get the conviction. Either they found more stuff since then, or Manafort being associated with Trump was enough to roll the dice.
Birkel, I am enough of a lawyer to know that if there was one chance in a hundred that Cohen's lawyers could have used Buckley v Valeo to defeat any charges made against Cohen, then Cohen wouldn't have entered a guilty plea today. That federal guilty plea, and his allocution in the U.S. District Court, just kills any chance of an appeal and any argument that the campaign finance law (a different statute, by the way, than the one at issue in Buckley v Valeo) is unconstitutional, is effectively waived by Defendant Cohen.
Oh, and Cohen will lose his law license as a matter of almost instantaneous procedure. A guilty plea, to a federal felony, gets an automatic disbarment.
Rahahm said, “CNN would be outraged if they didn’t already plan to unreport the murder.”
Unreported. Nice. That’s a word that has been begging to be coined.
I agree with all who think Althouse doesn’t have a very good idea of what flyover America will think of all this.
I don't know what flyover America thinks of this, but speaking for myself, I find it impossible to think the DOJ, and in particular, Mueller, as have any more legal legitimacy than the average crime organization. This opinion is fairly new to me, but has been strongly reinforced over the last ten years or so.
Given the murder rate in this country I guess folks here want to see The Five converted to a daily murder discussion panel.
@Matthew Sablan:
I think Gregg Jarrett on Hannity today said something to that effect, that Mueller dusted off the old charges and pumped them up.
Hey, dumb ass, of course Cohen couldn’t make a Buckley argument.
He was not the fucking candidate, you shyster shit head!
Trump is in the same position as Buckley.
You’re an obtuse jack ass.
Cohen got some bad legal advice. The sympathy angle for him is that he was being prosecuted for being Trump’s lawyer. Just as Manafort was being prosecuted for being Trump’s campaign manager. These tax evasion and loan fraud charges could be brought against 1 million people. The case for pardons based on selective prosecution are strong. Pay the back taxes and move on.
But Cohen was dumb. Pleading guilty to a campaign violation is going after Trump. He’s hoping the Resistance will take care of his wife and family. Maybe Mueller will kick in $1,000 for the Cohen family from his NFL money. Lanny Davis can have the Clintons use some cut outs to funnel money. But it’s a dumb play.
Manafort is smarter.
He made the extraordinary admission ... paid ...to secure her silence
The ordinary way to do it is to pay off the victims of your sexual appetites, and then let the media provide the silence. That's how it worked for all of these years before Trump.
His lawyer was lanny davis, he represented a really nasty oligarch, dimitro firtash, Pakistani junta members, and a whole host of others you wouldn't want to invite to dinner,
LLR Chuck: "Birkel, I am enough of a lawyer to know that ...."
LOL
Solid gold comedy right there!
Solid. Gold! Babyyyyyy!
Hey, you guys!
A guy who was guilty of other charges pleaded guilty to further charges that he could have otherwise beaten.
That proves the prosecutor’s point about a 3rd party.
Fucking ignoramus, Chuck, fopdoodle extraordinaire.
"If you thought James and Susan McDougel being found guilty"
The origins of that case were bank regulators, who had for years recommended audits because of irregularities and janky real estate deals. Seems the powers that be kept waving them off.
"Drudge is an idiot."
Maybe. He is mostly a drama queen. That's how he built his business.
How many people are able to get 10 billion views a year?
I am not sure about the number, but it is an awful lot for someone starting as a one man operation.
Ann,
I think you're incorrect - people are more concerned about their personal safety than about some issues that will likely end up having minimal impact on the president.
Cohen attorney Lanny Davis said his client had pleaded guilty "so that his family can move on to the next chapter.
Unfucking believable. Anybody who was alive in the '90s knows that Lanny Davis was a Clinton hatchet man. Wow.
Read somewhere that with today's Hunter indictment following the Collins indictment the first two Representatives to endorse Trump have been indicted. Hmm.
And why did he plead guilty of charges he could have beaten?
Because Mueller was giving out deals.
Chuck, fopdoodle extraordinaire, does not want the Swamp drained.
Ever.
Because LLR.
Campaign finance violations are a snooze. They aren’t real crimes. Evading income taxes is pretty much a civil issue. It’s too common to charge as a crime. Lying on a loan application only matters if the bank loses a lot of money. Even then it’s not a big deal after the 2008 Financial Crash. Wall Street Scum was a big factor in that crash and none of gen were charged. They all tithed politicians like Obama who is taking it in now from the guys he covered for. Corzine is going to funnel the Obama’s at least $50 million.
Cohen is a garden variety shady New York lawyer. Scenario is the same type of guy. They are the low level guys who get busted. The big guys like Corzine walk away. They are protected.
"I hate all murder, but why is one local murder story made a national news story and put in competition with important new developments in presidential legal troubles?"
I'm not sure but all I can say is that as of this afternoon the discovery of her body was the main headline on multiple local news stations in Philly while the Manafort/Cohen stuff was in the sidebar.
It's switched for now, but how long will that last?
That there's no definite logical crime is part of the trick.
You get it with #MeToo as well.
Hysteria shrouds everything but the hysteria.
readering,
Correct!
The Swamp does fight back.
Now what, you fucking slime creature?
LLR & "Brian Stelter republican" Chuck's biggest problem tonight?
Not enough TV's and Picture Within Picture to watch Maddow on 17 screens...
LOL
and yet john podesta, who defrauded some of these same businessmen, funneling the proceeds into bad art, gets tried in a whole other courtroom, as does greg craig,
This thread is so great. A James Milam reference? So rich! Loving this.
Matthew Sablan said...
"You mean the same information viewed by several Federal prosecutors ten years ago that declined to bring charges?"
-- I think it is more likely they didn't press charges because they didn't think they could get the conviction. Either they found more stuff since then, or Manafort being associated with Trump was enough to roll the dice
Manafort being associated with Trump was enough to roll the dice is correct.
does this sound like you, chuck:
https://twitter.com/chrislhayes/status/1032015140529553408
"Murder stories seem to be selected for special coverage when there are lovely photographs of a young white woman."
Wow, am I disappointed.
The Iowa teenager was missing for some time. Her body was just found. Then her alleged killer turns out to be an illegal alien. This is a huge news story (although it will be glossed over by the msm).
Speaking for myself, I would be feeling the exact same anger if the victim was black, or any other race, or unattractive.
"Murder stories seem to be selected for special coverage when there are lovely photographs of a young white woman."
A lot of people have lovely white daughters and nieces and realized that they're more vulnerable than males regardless of all the liberal political correctness.
Let's not be gentle. Donald Trump in fall 2016 is Asia Argento in the Harvey Weinstein scandal, calling out Hillary Clinton for collusion in her husband Bill's misconduct while making secret deals to keep his own similar misconduct under wraps.
Except that Donald Trump's secret deals were illegal. Yes, the deals might have been legal if he'd made the payments himself, so you can all say that he's only guilt of statutory rape and not rape rape.
Fortunately, this country can largely run itself or it would be hell hour for all of us.
I have figured for a while that Manafort was kicking the can down the road. Be guilty, appeal.
The fun is in both of these guilty outcomes happening in alignment for the same news blast.
the more interesting part of the story,
http://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/402660-What-crime-did-Manafort-allegedly-commit%3F#.W3sCSfQ5pVg.twitter
if that were so, cbs would be in serious legal jeopardy,
LOCK HIM UP! However, paying off women to keep quite about dalliances hardly seems like much of a crime. However, look at the pathetic impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, and you will understand what schadenfreude means. The swamp has two less creeps to worry about. Schlump is known by the slimy company he keeps. LOCK HIM UP!
Thinking Trump should have been willing to live with Comey as FBI director.
so waldman, deripasha's man, has been the middleman between steele and warner, and apparently assuange,
Left Bank,
You think Bill’s rape and Trump’s poorly considered trysts are equivalent?
You’re a sick fucker, says I.
"Let's not be gentle. Donald Trump in fall 2016 is Asia Argento in the Harvey Weinstein scandal, calling out Hillary Clinton for collusion in her husband Bill's misconduct while making secret deals to keep his own similar misconduct under wraps.
Except that Donald Trump's secret deals were illegal. Yes, the deals might have been legal if he'd made the payments himself, so you can all say that he's only guilt of statutory rape and not rape rape"
Well, you gave it the old college try.
> Lanny Davis was a Clinton hatchet man. Wow.
Good choice by Cohen in this case ;)
Now what? Googled fucking slime creature. Got hentai porn sites.
"LOCK HIM UP! However, paying off women to keep quite about dalliances hardly seems like much of a crime. However, look at the pathetic impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, and you will understand what schadenfreude means. The swamp has two less creeps to worry about. Schlump is known by the slimy company he keeps. LOCK HIM UP!"
Maybe someone should be lock up for exposing himself, you exposed yourself as a loser. Trump keeps on winning and MAGA.
you've been talking to kurt eichenwald, the fellow who made up the Texaco discrimination story,
"I hate all murder, but why is one local murder story made a national news story and put in competition with important new developments in presidential legal troubles?"
You'd have a solid point if the missing woman hadn't been on the news daily for the past several days. But it has been. Early on I wondered, "With all the kids that go missing, why her?" I certainly agree the fact she was an attractive, young, white woman was a factor.
But, because she was already an every evening fixture on the news, I doubt the conspiratorial concept that she was advanced in the news to lessen the lawsuit impact.
does he have any proof in the matter, you recall that vaguely ancient aspect of the law, bill allen accused a whole host of figures including ted stevens of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds, most were tossed out,
This is what Americans actually care about, Ann.
Everyone lives near illegal aliens, not so many near international lobbyists.
Labored Effort?
This was the Typical "Pretty Young girl goes missing - was she murdered?" story that usually dominates the news. However, once we found the Killer was an illegal alien, MSNBC and CNN dropped it like a hot potato.
As for Manafort, he had nothing to do with Trump, other than 1 month as his Campaign manager. The Cohen plea IS big news, but what the whole Campaign Finance thing is a big zero.
Trump is upset because he knows these two men would NEVER have been indicted or convicted if they had NOT been involved with the campaign. Hillary and Bill would be in Prison right now, if the Press and DOJ had gone after them the way they've gone after Trump & Associates.
And ALL because of Sessions and Rothenstein. I think both of them will be fired the day after the Midterms or the Mueller's report.
I'm shocked, shocked that a candidate would try to influence the election.
I'm so, so disappointed in you Althouse.
This is - by far - the most dumbed-down commentary I'v ever seen you make....especially on a 'batch' of complicated, extremely detailed stories-issues.
You have contempt for the entire subject? Fine, then just pass it by or take the time to think/write something more than snarky?
And, I'm sorry, I found your vapid dismissal of the Iowa murder case almost contemptible .
Readering... you should delete your cookies!
No shock there with the "performers" on"The 5". Just look at Jessie Watters, the Billy Carter of Fox news. Their entire shows are dedicated to forward the Trump message and looking away from what is really going on. The obsession that they and Trump have with illegal aliens, MS 13 and the like is just ridiculous. Not that those items are not worthy of our attention. However, the crimes committed by citizens of the USA as opposed to illegal aliens is about 15-1.
Panderers.
Vicki from Pasadena
meanwhile the awan bros can commit any crime short of murder, and they get no jail time,
Yeah, the family of the murdered victim should just get over it, right Ann?
All those victims of illegal immigrant murderers, drunk drivers, sexual assaults and child abuse.
Just get over it already.
/sarc
why's he being such a baby?
The Bullshit Campaign Finance charge confirms Mueller is going to trash Trump in his report.
Of course, that was the whole point. How we started out as an investigation into "Russian Collusion" during the Trump Campaign and ended up with Tax Fraud is anyone's guess.
like ed Schultz, threatening to burn down a studio, joy reid with multiple tax liens, Donnie deutsch being Donnie deutsch, no explanation needed, and well joe scarborough, no explanation needed,
Left Bank said: "Except that Donald Trump's secret deals were illegal. Yes, the deals might have been legal if he'd made the payments himself, so you can all say that he's only guilt of statutory rape and not rape rape."
How is it illegal to have your lawyer make the payments?
WTF are you talking about re: statutory rape?
But what a Great Click Bait headline.
Drudge is the master.
Andy McCarthy made a good point today on Hannity's radio show.
Of course he is not a patch on our own Chuck, but he said that traditionally campaign finance violations, like the Obama violations in 2008 are treated as civil matters. The same goes for tax cases.
Five of the guilty verdicts on Manafort today were individual tax years. All charged as felonies.
It's pretty obvious that the Trump association is why they were charged as felonies and the D'Souza case was similar.
Of course our Chuck knows better.
Meanwhile Menendez walks while another poor schmuck gets 17 years.
The man, Theodore Symonds, 51, had traveled to Puerto Plata, known for its silvery waters and beach resorts, to engage in sexual conduct with two girls in March 2017, the United States attorney’s office for the Southern District of Florida said on Friday, a day after the sentencing. At the time, one girl was 13 and the other was 15
See how that works ? What party is Menendez again ?
U.S. Man Gets 17 Years in Prison for Traveling to Dominican Republic to Prey on Girls - New York Times
No no no, it wasn't Bob Menendez, D - NJ. He has the golden 'D" after his name, so no prison for him! And liberals wonder why conservatives no longer trust the "just us" system.
looking away from what is really going on
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Chuck said...
Birkel, I am enough of a lawyer to know that if there was one chance in a hundred that Cohen's lawyers could have used Buckley v Valeo to defeat any charges made against Cohen, then Cohen wouldn't have entered a guilty plea today.
I'm enough of a lawyer to know that pleading to that charge was the result of a leverage play. Cohen's exposure on other counts is so enormous that this count was the price for a reduction in exposure.
Manafort was caught with his $60M from Ukraine and wherever, good.
How many others like him aren't caught because they don't have a special prosecutor after them?
I think these "pretty young murdered" stories get ridiculous amounts of coverage.
I'm sorry they've missing and then end up as murder stories.
Remember the Chandra Levy story? Or the girl who was killed in Aruba?
Those stories went on FOREVER. Does anyone care when Men get killed? Or old women? Or young - not so pretty - girls?
Somehow those murders never get 24/7 TV news coverage.
victoria: "Not that those items are not worthy of our attention. However, the crimes committed by citizens of the USA as opposed to illegal aliens is about 15-1."
Illegal aliens commit crimes (other than entering the US illegally) far in excess of their percentage of the population.
Teh Maths is Hard!
But its cool, because the victims of those crimes probably had it coming.
There is a price to pay when the Clintons lose.
looking away from what is really going on
Why can't those US citizens being raped, assaulted or murdered by illegals just keep the noise down so the liberals don't have to raise their voices?
I mean, how ruuuuuuuuude......
Of course, the reason illegal alien murders are so infuriating is that they are COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY.
If we would just enforce the immigration laws - that pretty young girl would be alive.
But liberals would rather cry about "kids at the Border"
I wonder what Laura Bush thinks?
However, the crimes committed by citizens of the USA as opposed to illegal aliens is about 15-1.
100% of illegal aliens have committed a crime.z
So, Hillary Clinton deliberately concealed the purpose of her Fusion GPS payments, which involved payments to actual Russians for dirt on Trump as run-of-the-mill "legal services" payments to Perkins-Coie and hardly a word about that has been mentioned in the media, let alone by any federal prosecutor, DOJ staffer, or Special Counsel Investigator of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and related matters.
OK, then.
How many others like him aren't caught because they don't have a special prosecutor after them?
You mean like John Podesta and all of that Gazprom money?
On Fox News — "The Five" — there's too much talk about the Iowa murder case, with a suspect who's been in the country illegally, and how this might be what ordinary Americans really care about. I was groaning aloud at this labored effort.
Althouse, it reminds me of the commenters who complain that you don't blog enough about what's important to them.
I don't put too much stock in commentary downplaying significance of Cohen pleaded crimes. It was a bargain. Prosecutors got counts relating to Trump. Cohen avoided counts that could have led to huge forfeitures of money he wants his family to have.
As I said from the beginning, the odds are they (and by that I mean the powers that be) will "get" Trump, eventually. There is simply too much money against him, and too many people they have bought.
Trump snuck in due to errors on their part, stemming from overconfidence, an oversight.
It should have been a pro forma election, and instead there was this inconvenient interlude. Once they have "got" Trump, you who supported him will be next.
The problem is not Trump, its you.
Its the only way to prevent Trump II, whoever he is. Democracy is irrelevant to a regime that can justify anything, down to and including replacing the population with something more suitable.
And the result of that will be very ugly.
How many Syrian, Iraqi, and Afgan Kids have died or been maimed for life since 2001.
And yet Laura Bush hasn't written any editorials.
No, its only the illegal aliens, who didn't have to put their kids at risk.
Ha. Here's Ann always telling us she doesn't watch cable TV news, and now when it turns out that she does, she watches The Five. Oh my stars.
But sure, it's a piece of news even Ann can't ignore. Manafort is convicted of eight felony counts related to the money he got from the Ukrainian oligarch and Putin puppet. Mueller is pursuing ties to Russia. This bolsters his case.
Cohen has explicitly ratted on trump with at a minimum felony campaign dirty tricks regarding Stormy and the Playboy bunny.
Ann's readers will stand by trump. Ann regards him as a comic genius whose hilarious rapport with her and her tribe has inspired her love. Ann couldn't care less about whether trump commits crimes that with any other president would lead to impeachment,, she's having too much fun. In what sense is this trump in hell? He's in his element! How funny is this, you guys? What terrific disruption the genius leader has worked
Well that's funny Pickering. You're one of "Ann's Readers" too and YOU don't stand by Trump.
But then you're just using the standard "I'll pose as the superior outsider, and then regurgitate the usual leftwing bilge I heard on MSNBC" tactic, we've seen constantly.
Here’s my attempt at explaining: Illegal immigration has been a story building for 30 years. Americans against illegal immigration have been ignored by both political parties, excoriated as racists by the media and Presidents and essentially told that eggs gotta be broken to make a scrumptious omelet. The Federalists and Anti-Federalists BOTH agreed that safety, both domestic and foreign, is the NUMBER ONE job of any government. Finally, we elect a President who takes safety seriously and I believe won the election on two promises - jobs and the wall. Today, after nearly 2 years of hysteria and turmoil generated by both political parties we see the outline of how they intend to whip the American people into line. It is a very broad attack on many fronts. What I see is enemy action to remove the guy I voted for. If you think the hysteria of the day over some overhyped legal cases is more important than the death of an American citizen, you need to re-evaluate your view of what’s important. The cases are only important insofar as they may turn out to be the last straw.
Cormac Kehoe,
Chuck, fopdoodle extraordinaire, knows but will never understand.
"On Fox News — "The Five" — there's too much talk about the Iowa murder case, with a suspect who's been in the country illegally, and how this might be what ordinary Americans really care about. I was groaning aloud at this labored effort."
You don't live in Texas.
Chuck and "John Pickering" have a lot in common, don't they?
I don't put too much stock in commentary downplaying significance of Cohen pleaded crimes. It was a bargain. Prosecutors got counts relating to Trump. Cohen avoided counts that could have led to huge forfeitures of money he wants his family to have.
So he pleaded under duress...
On Fox News — "The Five" — there's too much talk about the Iowa murder case, with a suspect who's been in the country illegally, and how this might be what ordinary Americans really care about. I was groaning aloud at this labored effort.
The election in November is going to prove what the country cares more about.
Remember as well Most of the people who care about this voted for a known rapist.
The leftists should be cheering for trump.
If they pull down Danton they will get robspierre.
These are the same people who claim that torture doesn't work.
Manafort being associated with Trump was enough to roll the dice is correct.
And an unlimited budget.
The critical development today is Cohen's guilty plea on the campaign finance violation and his assertion in court (with the ghost of Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria looking over his shoulder) that he did so at the direction of "the candidate."
The plea allows for two things:
1. Mueller did not have to prove in court that the payments constituted a crime.
2. He can now accuse (but not indict) Trump for conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws in his final report for use in an impeachment proceeding without having to prove that the payments constituted a crime.
One other point, which may be meaningless - the Cohen plea agreement stated that neither the Office of the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York nor the Tax Division of the DOJ would prosecute Cohen further for any of the charges to which he pled guilty. It did not state that another office, i.e. The Office of the Special Counsel, would not prosecute further.
I would be interested in further informed analysis of the criminality of the payments.
College student robbed of her life, her parents robbed of their beloved daughter, all in the most brutal and dehumanizing way possible. Yet the LAW Professor cannot be troubled by this awful tragedy, which was wholly preventable by the mere enforcement of existing law. This murder was unlawfullness abetted by unlawfullness.
Have you no humanity?
No compassion?
What, no "Benghazi" here today?
The modern situation is such that the law and moral standards (or the perception thereof) are no longer relevant.
What you have is a power struggle pure and simple, with no rules and no limits, the only considerations in this war amount to terrain obstacles, mere circumstances that one must engineer away or maneuver around. It is an entirely amoral conflict.
I'll save everybody some time: All pre-existing biases and opinions were confirmed.
There, now you can ignore the majority of the internet for the next week or so.
Everything is simply ammunition, including the murder of a young woman. Why not?
This is fair, as no side is obliged to actually constrain themselves for any reason other than what remnant there is of public qualms. But these are going away very quickly. Indeed, on one side they are already entirely absent.
You are approaching the point of insect politics.
Think of today's revelations relating to pretty blonde women whom an overweight philandering "billionaire" was trying to get to experience the "little death" (without much success no doubt).
"Murder stories seem to be selected for special coverage when there are lovely photographs of a young white woman."
Matthew Shepard's murderers might feel that that statement is a bit too exclusive.
When you are fully in insect politics, the winner is he who can bite or sting first and best.
There is no insect Marquess of Queensberry, and insects do not sin.
Think of today's revelations relating to pretty blonde women whom an overweight philandering "billionaire" was trying to get to experience the "little death" (without much success no doubt).
Much better we should have had the rapist padding around the West Wing. The guy who was forced to pay $900K to Paula Jones and on the news that night they were crowing that they kept the number under a million.
Paula Jones: Trailer park slut. Juanita Broaddrick: Liar along with her five witnesses. Stormy Daniels: Proud fighter for right!
Sorry, "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" is what Stormy Daniels has been fighting for.
[College student robbed of her life, her parents robbed of their beloved daughter, all in the most brutal and dehumanizing way possible. Yet the LAW Professor cannot be troubled by this awful tragedy, which was wholly preventable by the mere enforcement of existing law. This murder was unlawfullness abetted by unlawfullness.
Have you no humanity?
No compassion?]
You're a sick fuck to talk such drivel on the day Schlump's world is crashing around him. *Unlawfulness* is how it is spelt.
buwaya,
Absolutely correct.
But Trump has shown himself willing to bite, sting, and claw.
The Left is used to fighting unopposed.
You're a sick fuck to talk such drivel on the day Schlump's world is crashing around him.
Trump's world has been "crashing around him" since the day he rode down that escalator. Get back to us in a month.
Do you think he will cry at the WV rally tonight? Do you think Joe Manchin is happy Trump is there?
rcocean, you are right to correct me, I should always qualify Ann's readers, like me, with "some of" or "many of." As in, many of Ann's readers will dismiss both the facts and the implications for trump of the Manafort and Cohen felony convictions today. Many are more than content, delighted even, to lie down with trump and his fate, up to and including evidence that he's a witting or unwitting Russian agent. Many, like Ann, can't sustain interest and others don't think there's been a crime at all. Still others are way into Powerline etc and buy the witch hunt story. Trump hasn't been able to hire good lawyers so he has terrible ones, and all he can do is fight it out in the media, supported and loved by Ann and many of her readers.
Trumpit can't say Trump's name because he recognizes the power of it.
Many are more than content, delighted even, to lie down with trump and his fate, up to and including evidence that he's a witting or unwitting Russian agent.
Where is that evidence. Enlighten us.
I guess the fact that he beat Hillary proves that he is an evildoer.
@Althouse: The political issue of illegal immigration is quite clear cut. We have one party which appears wholly on board with open borders — personified here by Inga et al. Can you think of just one Dem candidate who dares buck the party line at this time? In addition, we have approximately one half of another party which is ok with open borders — the never Trumpers as personified by Chuck. These disparate Americans support open borders for differing reasons, but neither is willing to side with a majority of Americans at this time. Presumably out of spite because they don’t want to seem to be siding with Trump. So Trump wins again because you let him win. How to get around this? Hint: Listen to your fellow Americans.
Oleg Deripaska is a name likely unfamiliar to John Pickering.
Bruce and Nellie Ohr know who he is.
http://frmartinfox.blogspot.com
Shunning decency repeatability is a mark of the undecent.
Never, not once, as I am over-privledged enough to know having Catholic grace taught, at least although most-likely the best.
I had more thzn Tupac reasons to first-pull.
Laws and the legal system are illusions, shared hallucinations.
They just mask and justify the acts of those who have the power to fine or imprison those who annoy them, and to impose behaviors they prefer on everyone else, through threats. There is no “law” here, no impartial system, simply the will of those who can dominate.
Generally those who run things are after order, and that is what most perceive as “law”.
Singapore, for instance, was and is an orderly place, where “laws” are understood.
Do as the leaders will and it will go better for you.
Drop the illusions and everything makes a great deal more sense.
Is there anyone who really cares if Trump paid Stormy Daniels to keep quiet? Whether he did it directly or through his lawyer? Of course he did it to influence the election. Both he and Hillary spent billions of dollars to influence the outcome of the election.
Once again the MSM and all of the pundits will be amazed in a week or two when none of this makes any difference in Trump's approval numbers.It makes no difference to Hillary voters that she funneled money to her campaign through state Democrat organizations to get around individual contribution limits. This will likewise make no difference to Trump supporters. They know what's going on here. And they wake up every morning glad that Hillary Clinton is not President. Nothing is going to change that.
Not a day that did a lot for my morale although I am fully aware that Manafort's guilt well pre-dates anything to do with Trump. Cohen is another sleazeball whose admission of "campaign finance" misdoings is really nothing. I think it would be very hard to prove that the transaction had anything to do with the election even though Cohen said it did.
The morale problem is just the weariness of knowing what great things are getting done and the fact that a large group of our citizens are more concerned with their personal power than the welfare of the general public. Susan Collins came on board today for Kavenaugh .
Manafort and Cohen will be soon forgotten as they should be. Susan Collins came on board today for Kavenaugh . My morale will recover by tomorrow.
The real problem is that the Red Sox are losing to Cleveland again. That sucks!
Trumpit: "You're a sick fuck to talk such drivel on the day Schlump's world is crashing around him."
LOL
This is the 17,492nd time in the last 3 years that Trump's world crashed down around him.
You'd think by now there's be more rubble.....but instead, all economic numbers are up, up and away and Mexico got real smart real quick and is likely to participate in a real "win win" with the US.
China has slinked back to the negotiating table because "duh". Folks who possess a production economy alone and can only consume 10 - 15% of their own production and have a $500B trade deficit with a nation (the US) that is both a Producer and Consumer nation (we can consume fully 80% of what we produce) really, in the end, has no choice.
But don't tell Pickering! He thinks increasing supplies creates increased prices!! LOL
He's a real rocket scientist, that one....
If you are a Democrat and you are are opposed to open borders, the best thing you can do for your country at this time is to state your opinion openly, bravely, and with courage. Otherwise you look like a coward cowed by your party.
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