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Cohen testifies Trump told him to commit crime by paying off women
Reuters ^ | August 21st, 2018 | Brendan Pierson

Posted on 08/21/2018 8:24:53 PM PDT by Mariner

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen testified on Tuesday that Trump had directed him to commit a crime by arranging payments ahead of the 2016 presidential election to silence two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.

Cohen, 51, made the statements as he pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges in federal court in Manhattan, including tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations.

Cohen did not name Trump in court, but his lawyer, Lanny Davis, said afterward that he was referring to the president.

“Today he (Cohen) stood up and testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election,” Davis said in a statement.

“If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn’t they be a crime for Donald Trump?” Davis said.

The two payments were intended to silence two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump and were made prior to the 2016 presidential election. One was for $130,000 given to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. The other for $150,000 related to former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: alreuters; baitandswitchnews; cohenpleadsguilty; itbegins; lannydavis; michaelcohen; robertmueller; rutroh
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To: eddie willers
Kissing babies is trying to influence an election.

Correct, but, remember in order for there to be a violation, it must be done with the sole purpose of influencing the election.

If you actually like kissing babies, that adds a personal reward, which takes baby kissing off the table.

[And note this is not irrelevant to Trump's defense. If he had an additional motive, that of protecting his family from scandal, that takes payouts to porn stars off the table as well. It was precisely on that point that John Edwards' jury was hung.]

101 posted on 08/21/2018 11:58:00 PM PDT by FredZarguna (And what Rough Beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward 5th Avenue to be born?)
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To: Mariner
The wording of this is clearly designed for obfuscation. Cohen didn’t mention whether Trump knew that what he asked Cohen to do was illegal. If it even was. That is Cohen’s job to determine. That’s why people hire lawyers. To advise them on the legality of actions.

If Trump paid Cohen to determine the legality of controlling these bimbo eruptions, and Cohen was too stupid to do it legally, how can that possibly put Trump in any legal jeopardy? Am I legally responsible if I hire a state licensed physician to handle medical issues for my company and that doctor turns out to be a quack. How can I be liable if I’m not a doctor, and I was told by the governing licensing bodies that the person was qualified?

This sounds to me like Trump hired an idiot for a lawyer, who got in over his head and botched what is pretty much standard operating procedure for every Presidential candidate for the last 30 years. I don’t see that as a legitimate problem for Trump.

102 posted on 08/22/2018 12:00:05 AM PDT by TruthBeforeAll
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To: MplsSteve

Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Walkaway, Diamond and Silk, Hannity, Rush, Free Republic to name a few alternative news sources.....the truth is getting out there. THE MSM no longer have a monopoly on the news. That is one thing driving them to insanity.


103 posted on 08/22/2018 12:04:38 AM PDT by Freedom'sWorthIt
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To: Mariner

Ed Henry on Fox News looked like the cat who swallowed the canary he was so excited that Cohen turned on Trump. Henry’s true colors are showing.


104 posted on 08/22/2018 12:07:55 AM PDT by tired&retired (Blessings)
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To: Hostage

“This will not stop POTUS from destroying the democrat leadership.”

They don’t need any help from him on that score. They’re doing great on their own.


105 posted on 08/22/2018 12:09:05 AM PDT by Eleutheria5 (“If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism.)
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To: FredZarguna

If an attorney can be rousted and his client privilege trampled, then it’s time to buy more guns and start shooting. The rule of law is irrelevant in that case - we are our own law, as in the Wild West.

Stock up. Lock and load.


106 posted on 08/22/2018 12:11:18 AM PDT by confederatecarpetbag
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To: Mariner
A stern warning from the swamp. Schumer speaks for the uniparty-
107 posted on 08/22/2018 12:13:47 AM PDT by Electric Graffiti (Jeff Sessions IS the insurance policy)
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To: Electric Graffiti

So much for freedom of speech...


108 posted on 08/22/2018 12:15:12 AM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: tired&retired

“Time to start the special prosecutor to go after the Hillary Deep State crime syndicate.”

I agree and Trump should appoint it before it’s too late.


109 posted on 08/22/2018 12:15:13 AM PDT by Electric Graffiti (Jeff Sessions IS the insurance policy)
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To: WASCWatch

And isn’t it a violation of a attorney client privilege


110 posted on 08/22/2018 12:26:20 AM PDT by A_Former_Democrat ("Moderates/Independents/Non-voters" Are DIMS REALLY who you'd want BACK in POWER?)
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To: MplsSteve

The problem is that no one has obtained a Democrat scalp yet. Until some Democrat scalps are taken, there are too many voters who see only “Republican” scalps and assume the lack of Democrat ones means Democrats never commit crimes.


111 posted on 08/22/2018 12:34:40 AM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: Spiridon

Not Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, or any of their faithful cronies.


112 posted on 08/22/2018 1:19:30 AM PDT by YogicCowboy ("I am not entirely on anyone's side, because no one is entirely on mine." - J. R. R. Tolkien)
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To: unlearner
".....It is becoming very clear that the aspiring tyrants running most of the major institutions of our nation will not relent and will only be stopped with thousands of heads on pikes....."

Sad but true. they will never stop; they have no intention of ever recognizing a duly elected president and the will of the voters. There is nothing that is beneath them to evade and override the will of the people. As some point soon it will be up to us to stop them.

113 posted on 08/22/2018 1:26:39 AM PDT by Sa-teef
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To: Mariner
I think of Kennedy and Marilyn, Bubba and Monica....Presidents WHILE IN OFFICE and it was a nothing.

Now there's two broads who ALLEGEDLY had affairs !0 YEARS AGO who became a pain in the a** and it's some kind of big deal.

114 posted on 08/22/2018 1:56:09 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: Mariner; All

So what does this have to do with the Russians hacking the election?

I thought that was what Mueller was hired to do?


115 posted on 08/22/2018 2:26:47 AM PDT by Enlightened1
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
[So we are supposed to be surprised that women throw themselves at billionaires?]

Of course.

Now Obama's gay past, well that's the new normal.

We could ask Donald Young. If he was still alive, that is.

Only the tabloids would cover it. And they spoke with Donald Young's MOTHER about it. Anybody who wondered about one of his agendas wasn't paying attention.


116 posted on 08/22/2018 2:30:33 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: Enlightened1

[So what does this have to do with the Russians hacking the election?]

Don’t worry. It all makes sense to liberals to have a Constitutional Crisis over anything Herr Mueller can dig up while totally ignoring the crimes of Hillary and her former boss Barack.

Because, like, Hillary lost, you know, so they must destroy the nation.


117 posted on 08/22/2018 2:33:00 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: boatbums

How does the FIB report their money spent on the Steele pee-pee video dossier as an attempt to influence the 2016 election?

Was there value in CNN giving one candidate the questions ahead of a town hall event? Was it reported as a campaign contribution since the other guy (Sanders) was not given the same treatment?

Was there value in certain reporters giving candidate Hillary right of review/refusal on articles before going to press?

Do leftist musicians report their concert appearances at campaign stops as $25,000-$1,000,000 campaign contributions (per event)?


118 posted on 08/22/2018 3:04:51 AM PDT by a fool in paradise
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To: Mariner

No crimes committed by our great POTUS - Mark Levin quickly breaks it down on Hannity’s show last night: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SWZjpAgfJg


119 posted on 08/22/2018 3:05:55 AM PDT by 4Liberty (Where are the Obama-Creamer audio tapes?/GM bondholders: America's SAfrica White farmers...)
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To: kabar

The FEC has time and time again shown itself to be useless.

vote fraud (voting more than once because of registration in two or more states, voting more than once because of falsified identity, voting with fraudulent claim of residency)

voter intimidation (knock and drag coercion to get minorities to the poll, election violence and vandalism because a person has “the wrong candidate/party” t-shirt, bumper sticker, or campaign sign on his property

illegal foreign campaign contributions (Clinton-Gore and Obama were both caught red handed doing this and no one went to prison)

illegal foreign national voting (e.g. claims of “naturalized dual citizenship” voting in both nations elections; illegal immigrant voting; visitors on visa voting)

etc...


120 posted on 08/22/2018 3:13:05 AM PDT by a fool in paradise
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