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 ...
According to a former Federal Election Campaign Chairman.... there is NO CAMPAIGN VIOLATION by Trump paying off some women in these cases.
End of story.
However Mueller is using LAWFARE to extract criminal admissions by people he has leverage over...and willing to perjur themselves... to support the libtard impeach TRUMP narrative...
THE IRONY IS THAT IF WE HAD A REAL AG .... THE CLINTONS COULD BE CONVICTED OF MORE GREVOUS CRIMES X 1000.
Campaign violations (Seth Rich) revelations, failure to file tax returns, lying on FEC docs, lying on IRS dics.. the kickback money laudering Clinton Foundation/Initiative..... ONCE SESSIONS IS GONE.... IT WILL HAPPEN
Not a crime, but the media loves, especially NorDUH O'Donnell, to say Trump tole him to "commit a crime" - not true, more fake hate filled news. Dersowitz said this am if Trump used his own funds, not a crime.
Mueller is concerned Trump will reveal corruption by his friends within the government agencies. Mueller is selective
with possible crimes committed by those with a “D” after their name.
I had a lawyer friend that stated Trump will at best be indited the minute he leaves office.
Said friend is not a Never Trumper, but is very skeptical that Trump is clean.
Are we really being asked to believe Cohen???
He first told an entirely different story. Then changed the story and now revised it again after being coached by that bastard Mueller.
Liars can be forced to say anything you can force them to say. And this guy certainly can be classified as a prime time LIAR!
Cohen has no credibility to support that accusation. And what campaigns were the contributions for, campaigns to elect the women of ill repute? That’s who the money was alleged to have been paid to.
I can’t fathom how it’s a crime to use your own money to make a problem, real or imagined go away.
the old saying holds true. “If you can buy your way out of a problem, you don’t have a problem.”
I also read that the payoff to Daniels to go away was the equivalent of about $20 to you and I.
I was let go from an 18 year career during the recession and given a severance package. It was about 6 months pay. I called it Go Away money. This is no different.
Agree Then we want ever Congressman who use TAX $$$ to pay off sexual Harassment cases in prison NOW!
And for that reason, they need a grand jury and criminal court in a solid Hillary venue. Even then, such a case would be overturned eventually.
But Davis and company need talking points for the November election, and they hope for impeachment (which requires congress to vote, not a crime). I would think that voters would see through this, but the sockpuppet media will do its best to spin this for their side, whether or not it actually goes to court.
Remember some months ago when this was in the news?
There was an audio tape where Donald Trump insisted on paying these women with a check.
So he used his personal money, not money from the campaign.
Therefore, was it really an “illegal campaign contribution?”
Even better: Webb’s Filly.
I hope Trump is getting good advice now. He needs to fight this.
I was stunned to learn a while back that he was being advised to quit when the Access Hollywood tape came out. Thank God he didnt.
The powers that be on Wall Street don’t seem too worried.
Payoffs to women to silence them and/or settle lawsuits (thus influencing elections), appears to be a longstanding tradition in America.
And further, in the case of Congress, they didn't even use their own money to silence these broads.
I don’t see anything wrong with it. I suspect the special consul bailed on this case for that very reason. Plus it is a charge not a conviction. If folks are concerned with a campain election law violation, report it to the fec. They nailed obama for millions of unreported campain donations. Fined like $400k.
The only “people” urging Trump to quit when that Access Hollywood tape came out were the usual suspects....the GOPe dirtbags like Paul Ryan, Susan Collins, and a whole slew of GOPe pundits and politicians.
And what Trump said on the tape was correct....there are women out there who will literally throw themselves at wealthy, famous and successful men. Women who will let these men do anything they want to them, including grabbing them by the, ahem, pu$$y.
Yes, it was crudely stated, but Trump wasn’t saying that he engaged in that behavior; he was saying there were women out there who would allow rich and famous men to do that to them. Gold diggers, fame seekers, etc. Fortunately, most women are not like that......they have standards.
” I just wish I knew a way that we could counteract the MSM’s bul**hit.”
It is so frustrating that so many people listen to and believe the lies of the talking heads on CNN and MSNBC, the so- called journalists at NYT and WP, the late night show hosts, and the brainless celebrity actors, athletes and musicians they interview.
Trump is doing a couple of things to address this problem:
1) He tells the truth on Twitter, campaign rallies and press conferences. He purposely spikes his messages with something controversial, politically incorrect or “outrageous” so that his messages will make the headlines and receive air time. He has been very successful at getting his message out.
2) He is calling the MSM out - branding them as fake news - and again he trolls them into repeating his allegations on their own shows. The fake news has become obsessed with him calling them fake - it’s all they talk about - how unfair it is that he calls them fake and what a threat it is to the first amendment - but his message is getting out - at least everyone on the planet knows that he thinks the MSM is disgusting fake news.
3) He is passing his agenda, cutting taxes, cutting regulations, negotiating deals that put America First, securing the borders, nominating good judges - the economy is stronger, the world is safer, he is succeeding. This is potentially the thing that will knock the MSM off its perch and discredit them. Every day that goes by and Trump is not impeached, the world doesn’t blow up, the neo-nazi white supremacists don’t take over, the economy doesn’t tank, etc.etc.etc., Trump is putting the lie to what the MSM predicted. None of the terrible things they warned would happen with Trump as POTUS, have happened. None. People are watching - keeping score - MSM is always wrong - Trump is always right. It won’t happen over night, but their piss poor track record at reporting anything true will eventually catch up with them.
4) Trump is the ultimate troll - he is trolling the MSM so bad. He has them so angry that they are raging out of control. I don’t think they realize how bloodthirsty they look and sound when they are in the middle of yet another “gotcha” character assassination hit piece on Trump. I really think it’s not a stretch to say that they look like a bunch of vampires. You can almost see their fangs coming out when they talk about him. They rub their palms together like Mr Burns on the Simpsons. Trump has them so wound up they are a danger to themselves - a few years from now, who in their right minds will tune into these morons for “the news”? They are all repeating hyperbolic anti Trump narratives that bounce back and forth in their echo chamber. It’s not only made up, but it SOUNDS made up!
It looks to me as though our POTUS is destroying the fake news MSM as we speak. It will take a couple years to play out but they are going to bleed out and be replaced with some responsible, objective, honest journalism. People are too trusting but once it’s pointed out to them that they are being lied to and manipulated - they don’t like that.
IMHO
that Bubba will NOT be indicted/prosecuted for any crime that was committed while he was in office, lose his Arkansas license for 5 years and will never practice before the Supreme Court.
Five minutes later....Bubba walked out....and our next cross would be Hillary.
Apparently NO congress critter thinks it's important enough to expose and shut down
Plus it is our TAX MONEY in that fund.
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