Political Wire

You are here: Home / Archives for Michael Cohen

Whitaker ‘Did Not Deny’ Talking to Trump about Cohen

By Leave a Comment

House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said that former acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker “did not deny” that President Trump “called him to discuss the case” against his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen.

Speaking to reporters after a two-hour meeting with Whitaker, Nadler presented Whitaker’s closed-door comments as a contradiction with his public testimony from February, during which Whitaker said Trump never expressed his dissatisfaction with Cohen for pleading guilty to various financial crimes and lying to Congress. When asked at that hearing whether he had ever discussed the Cohen case with Trump, Whitaker refused to answer the question.

Giuliani Had Backchannel to Michael Cohen

By Leave a Comment

An attorney who said he was speaking with Rudy Giuliani reassured Michael Cohen in an April 2018 email that Cohen could “sleep well tonight” because he had “friends in high places,” according to a copy of an email obtained by CNN.

“Two emails — both dated April 21, 2018, and among documents provided to Congress by the President’s former attorney and fixer — do not specifically mention a pardon. Cohen, in his closed-door congressional testimony, has provided these emails in an effort to corroborate his claim that a pardon was dangled before he decided to cooperate with federal prosecutors.”

Jonathan Chait: “This is a really, really big deal. The power to pardon convicted criminals for federal crimes is a legitimate use of presidential authority. Whether it’s legitimate for the president to use this power to pardon criminals who committed crimes on his behalf, or might have otherwise testified against him, is a subject of intense debate.”

Lawyers Claiming Ties to Giuliani Approached Cohen

By Leave a Comment

Michael Cohen “was contacted by two New York attorneys who claimed to be in close contact with Rudy Giuliani, the current personal attorney to Trump,” ABC News reports.

“The outreach came just as Cohen, who spent more than a decade advocating for Trump, was wrangling with the most consequential decision of his life; whether to remain in a joint defense agreement with the president and others, or to flip on the man to whom he had pledged immutable loyalty. The sources described the lawyers’ contact with Cohen as an effort to keep him in the tent.”

Michael Cohen Is Back on Capitol Hill

By Leave a Comment

“Michael Cohen was supposed to report to prison Wednesday to begin serving a three-year sentence for tax crimes, tax evasion and lying to Congress. Instead, President Trump’s former lawyer will be on Capitol Hill talking about the crimes he is now accusing Trump of committing,” CNN reports.

“Cohen, who is now slated to begin his prison term May 6, is back on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for his fourth appearance in the last eight days, concluding his closed-door testimony before the House Intelligence Committee that began last week.”

Cohen’s Attorney Sought Possible Pardon

By Leave a Comment

An attorney for Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, raised the possibility of a pardon with attorneys for the president after federal agents raided Cohen’s properties in April, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The attorney hinted that Cohen would consider cooperating with prosecutors if he did not receive a pardon. Trump’s attorneys rejected the idea, but Rudy Giuliani left the door open to a pardon down the road.

Lawmakers Probe Possible Pardon Talks with Cohen

By Leave a Comment

“Lawmakers are investigating whether President Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen was involved in any discussions about possible pardons — which they view as a potentially ripe area of inquiry into whether anyone sought to obstruct justice,” the Washington Post reports.

“Cohen has said publicly he never asked for — and would not accept — a pardon from Trump. But people familiar with the matter said his knowledge on the topic seems to extend beyond that statement.”

Why Cohen’s Testimony May Help Take Down Trump

By Leave a Comment

John Dean: “There are several parallels between my testimony before Congress in 1973, about President Richard Nixon and his White House, and Michael Cohen’s testimony this week about President Trump and his business practices… We both found ourselves speaking before Congress, in multiple open and closed venues, about criminal conduct of a sitting president.”

“There is one overarching similarity that Mr. Cohen and I share. He came to understand and reject Mr. Trump as I did Mr. Nixon.”

“I was surprised by the number of people who surfaced to support my account. The same, I suspect, will happen for Michael Cohen. The Mafia’s code of omertà has no force in public service. I have heard no one other than Roger Stone say he will go to jail for Donald Trump.”

Trump Says Cohen’s Book Contradicts His Testimony

By Leave a Comment

“President Trump sought to attack the credibility Friday of his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen by pointing to a book that he has reportedly written that depicts Trump far more favorably than did the scathing testimony he delivered to Congress this week,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Trump: “Book is exact opposite of his fake testimony, which now is a lie!”

He added: “Congress must demand the transcript of Michael Cohen’s new book, given to publishers a short time ago. Your heads will spin when you see the lies, misrepresentations and contradictions against his Thursday testimony. Like a different person! He is totally discredited!”

“The president also referenced a description of Cohen’s reported book as a ‘love letter to Trump.’ That echoed a characterization of a Cohen book proposal by journalist Liz Plank of Vox Media during a February 2018 appearance on MSNBC.”

Trump Called Matt Gaetz from Vietnam

By Leave a Comment

President Trump called Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) last night from Hanoi to talk about the Michael Cohen’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee and the threats, since rescinded, that Gaetz made about Cohen, The Atlantic reports.

Gaetz was heard telling Trump: “I was happy to do it for you. You just keep killing it.”

GOP Didn’t Defend Trump Against Cohen Accusations

By Leave a Comment

David Frum: “Michael Cohen’s testimony to the House Oversight Committee was uncontradicted. The former personal attorney of the president of the United States today accused him of a litany of crimes, improprieties, immoralities, and betrayals of national security. And not one Republican member of the committee breathed one word in defense of the leader of their party.”

“Those Republicans have learned the hard way never to trust President Donald Trump’s denials.”

Cohen Says Trump Being Investigated for Other Crimes

By Leave a Comment

Michael Cohen testified that federal prosecutors are investigating unspecified criminal allegations regarding President Trump that haven’t been made public, the Washington Post reports.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) asked Cohen whether he was aware of “any wrongdoing or illegal act'”concerning the president that had not been acknowledged during Cohen’s testimony. Cohen said he was unable to answer because it’s a topic under investigation by the Southern District of New York.

Wall Street Journal: “We’re not sure what this means exactly, but it’s certainly an interesting revelation.”

Roger Stone Says Michael Cohen Is Lying

By Leave a Comment

“Roger Stone pushed back against Michael Cohen’s claims that Stone told Trump in July 2016 that he had spoken to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange about an email dump that would hurt Hillary Clinton’s campaign, saying in a text message to BuzzFeed News: ‘Mr. Cohen’s statement is not true.'”

“Stone’s text, which he made clear was a ‘statement,’ was just the one sentence, and he did not explain what exactly about Cohen’s testimony he maintained was false. Stone, who is facing criminal charges for lying to Congress, is under a gag order not to publicly comment on his case, special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, or any ‘participants’ in his case or the investigation.”

It’s Not Just Cohen Against Trump on Hush Money

By Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “On the hush-money payments, it’s not just Mr. Cohen’s word against President Trump’s. David Pecker, the chief executive of the National Enquirer’s publisher, has also told federal prosecutors about Mr. Trump’s involvement in the payment scheme, the Journal has previously reported.”

“For instance, Mr. Pecker met with then-candidate Donald Trump in August 2015 and offered to use the National Enquirer to buy the silence of any women who tried to publicize allegations of sexual encounters with Mr. Trump.”

Michael Cohen Testifies

By Leave a Comment

Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer,” will testify before the House Oversight Committee at 10 a.m. ET.

The Washington Post has an annotated version of Cohen’s opening statement in which he makes three explosive charges:

  • “Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time… Mr. Trump knew from Roger Stone in advance about the WikiLeaks drop of emails.”
  • “Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it… And, so, I lied about it, too… Mr. Trump’s personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it.”
  • “He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie to his wife about it… Mr. Trump directed me to use my own personal funds from a Home Equity Line of Credit to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign… The president of the United States wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws.”

Underscoring the significance of the testimony, it will be carried by all broadcast and cable television networks.

Leave your own reactions in the comments.

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Praise for Political Wire

"There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them."

-- Chuck Todd, host of "Meet the Press"

"Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all."

-- Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

"Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

-- Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

"The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom -- nicely packaged, constantly updated... What political junkie could ask for more?"

-- Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.