Posted on 08/22/2018 8:43:00 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
President Trump reportedly was somber following his former attorney Michael Cohen’s guilty plea on Tuesday and “appeared to realize” the seriousness of the situation, according to a New York Times report.
“We started with collusion,” the president said, per the Times, citing several witnesses. “How did we end up here?”
Witnesses described to the Times a “grim” mood inside the White House after Cohen pleaded guilty to charges of bank fraud, tax fraud and campaign finance violations and after Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted of eight charges of bank and tax fraud.
According to the Times, Trump's lawyers argued privately that Cohen’s plea “was a punch but not a knockout blow.”
Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s newest personal lawyer, told the Times that, between Cohen’s plea and Manafort’s conviction, “none of it had to do with collusion, none of it has to do with obstruction.”
Giuliani also said Trump isn’t considering a pardon for Manafort but added that Trump “really thinks Manafort has been horribly treated.”
Trump echoed that feeling publicly Wednesday morning, when he tweeted that he feels “very badly” for Manafort and his family. In the same tweet, Trump attacked Cohen, accusing him of lying to get a “deal.”
"I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. 'Justice' took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to 'break' — make up stories in order to get a 'deal.' Such respect for a brave man!" he wrote.
Fox News Host Ainsley Earhardt said Wednesday night on the network's “Hannity” that Trump told her he was considering a pardon for Manafort, following an exclusive interview Earhardt had with the president, which is set to air Thursday morning.
“I think he feels bad for Manafort. They were friends, he didn’t work for him very long, worked for him for basically one hundred days,” she said. Manafort, however, was involved with Trump's campaign for five months.
A number of Republican senators have said that Trump pardoning Manafort would be a major misstep for his administration, saying the move would be a "misuse of his power" and "very damaging to the presidency and to his position as president."
You won. Hillary lost.
More of the MSM staple unnamed “witnesses”. Fake News.
Why is the Manafort conviction reported as hurting Trump when there is no connection? Of course I know the answer.
Cohen was obviously timed with the Manafort verdict.
Trump supporters saw it as blatant overkill.
The Hill.
You can tell which way the paper slant is by their readers comments below.
Ze wind, she blows left.
“Trump’s lawyers argued privately that Cohen’s plea “was a punch but not a knockout blow.”
A punch? It was more like a fart.
The Times is just making s*** up again.
I second your call on fake news. Nobody close enough to President Trump would spill that he was in a dark mood. They flat made this stuff up. Check out Sundance’s remarks on Cohen at conservative treehouse.
“The New York Times reported,” lol.
Ha. They sure are good at making up fake boardroom blather.
I wonder when their Mexican sugar daddy will get tired of pouring money into this buggy whip factory.
John 8:44.
We ended up here because Sessions/Rosenstein did not keep the scope of investigation on Russia collusion, as originally set. If anyone thinks sessions is a white hat still, is gullible at best...and what happened to the all knowing oracle, Q ?
It’s just puffery. Trump has zilch to worry about. If you want to address this specific allegation head-on: Trump had $480,000 retainer with Cohen. Cohen was his legal representative. Cohen says Trump told him to pay Daniels. So Cohen did not use his own money, he used Trump’s retainer, and therefor it could not be construed as a donation. So Cohen is pleading guilty to a crime he did not commit.
And there are many other ways to challenge this particular allegation as well.
But Trump doesn’t have to address the charges. And he hasn’t. Because no matter his guilt or innocent he cannot be charged with the crime anyway. The only way to get him is through Congress and the Senate and that just isn’t going to happen - not with these charges, anyway.
But Mueller is desperate to tie some kind of crime to Trump. So he got Cohen to plead guilty to this campaign finance crime simply to make the argument that Trump broke the law. And one of the few ways to break attorney-client privilege is when the client and attorney both commit the same crime together. So it is a huuuuge stretch, but by getting Cohen to cop to this campaign plea Mueller is trying to break the lawyer-client privilege and of course try to paint Trump with the same brush. IMO it won’t work. Very weak. If this is the best they got, then it is over.
Now, time for payback.
What kind of moron would believe this? Trump doesn't realize what's going on? Hilariously fake.
They are desperately trying to put a Watergate pall on the Whitehouse. Trump’s comment was not morose...it was a fighting comment. It’s ridiculous.
I often wonder who this style of fake news is geared to. Obviously democrats, but I always picture a lonely women with cats.
he keeps embarrassing himself in public. the answer to your question Mr president is MUELLER
Apparently, Sessions is a no hat
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