Posted on 03/23/2023 9:31:12 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Robert Costello, a former legal advisor to Michael Cohen, appeared before the grand jury on Monday as a surprise witness and, according to Trump, had evidence that was both conclusive and irrefutable that would clear him of any wrongdoing. Costello’s testimony included information damaging to Bragg’s efforts to prosecute Trump.
One piece of evidence is an alleged letter from an attorney representing Michael Cohen, the disgraced former lawyer for Donald Trump, stating that Cohen acted independently in paying Stormy Daniels in 2016. This new evidence undermines the case against the former president brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and could explain the abrupt cancelation of the Wednesday session of the grand jury.
The letter, sent in 2018 by Cohen’s lawyer Stephen Ryan to the Federal Election Commission, says that Trump had no involvement in the payment made to Daniels to keep her quiet about their alleged affair. Furthermore, it states that the payment was not reimbursed by Trump.
“I am writing on behalf of my client, Michael D. Cohen, in response to your letter dated January 30, 2018. Specifically, this letter responds to the complaint numbered MUR 7313, which was filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by Common Cause and Paul S. Ryan,” Cohen’s lawyer wrote.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
Could he say, “I have no idea what my attorney was doing at the time.”?
That sounds quite similar to what Trump has stated about Cohen.
If I was a lib I wouldn’t bother to even reply knowing there is little likelihood of any real consequences.
Every Democrat knows the GOP’s words are hollow.
Yep. Dems just roll right over repubs and just laugh.
Why would Cohen pay Daniels for her silence without reimbursement?
What lawyer just says, oh there’s 130k in my pocket, I’ll give it to this porn star threatening to tell on my client, because I really like the guy. Chump change.
Soon to be discovered: Mr. Trump's exclusive bigfoot wrestling channel.
No joke, preferred pronoun here.
That's not at all what the letter said.
It said neither the Trump Organization nor the campaign had involvement.
It said nothing about Trump being involved nor about him reimbursing Cohen, which Trump has admitted he did.
Costello said he gave 600 pages of exculpatory information and the grand jury only saw six of those pages. Costello was livid.
Cohen is an A-grade suckup, so that could be a reason to pay her off from his money, knowing he would get more than enough to cover that in future work.
Even if Trump paid the money, where’s the crime?
Bragg is colored stupid by Soros.
Trump probably told Cohen to stuff her mouth with gold, as Trump has an Amendment I right to make his electoral goals clear.
They need 51 intelligence agency people to come out and say that the letter from the lawyer is Russian disinformation.
For days ABC radio was breathlessly breaking in every 5 seconds about the Grand Jury’s finding evidence of criminality committed by Trump.
Not so much today. Crickets....
So quid pro quo, but not spelled out. Did he tell Trump he paid off the bimbo for him?
Did they claim the subject of Daniels was part of a conversation between friends, rather than client and attorney? Did they ever mention hush money together?
Is client and fixer a different category, and how does that play legally?
Funny how none of Clinton’s women ever tried to extract hush money from him.
Oh yeah. Arkansas. They liked staying alive.
RE: Costello said he gave 600 pages of exculpatory information and the grand jury only saw six of those pages.
That’s the problem, in a grand jury, only the prosecution’s case is being presented, not the defendant’s and certainly the whole truth.
I was quite surprised that Bragg even allowed Costello to appear beore the grand jury.
Why does this whole affair of who paid and were they reimbursed seem like daja vu all over again? Didn’t we hash it all out years ago?
I read quotes from Cohen saying he paid Stormy to get rid of her and to prevent Melania Trump from finding out. Also, Cohen didn’t want his wife finding out about Stormy.
I think Cohen was the one riding that Storm.
That is why he never asked Trump for reimbursement of the Stormy hush money.
My understanding - this letter was written back when Cohen still worked for Trump, and the point of it was to try to lie, which Cohen is famous for, by wording it in such a way to protect Trump from any potential wrongdoing. It was ultimately considered inaccurate during his trial, after Trump had abandoned him, and Cohen pleaded guilty to the charge of paying her for Trump.
What lawyer just says, oh there’s 130k in my pocket, I’ll give it to this porn star threatening to tell on my client, because I really like the guy. Chump change.
Again, my understanding is, Cohen didn’t even have that much money laying around, and had to take out a loan to make the payment to her in the first place. Then, to mask it, Tump paid him back in smaller monthly payments, per Trump’s own Presidential financial disclosure documents, up to $250K overall. Trump himself, and his lawyer Giuliani, did eventually admit he had paid Cohen for it, trying to point to the fact he used personal funds, rather than campaign funds, to claim that alone might prove it wasn’t a campaign violation.
So this letter is old, and completely overcome by events. Bragg is a dirtbag for trying to extend the statute of limitations, and prosecute federal election law which is outside his jurisdiction, especially against a former President, but this attempt by Trump to use this old letter from back when Cohen still represented him is dubious as well.
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