“From what I’ve heard, from what I’ve seen, there’s no question that Michael Cohen is going to be charged. It’s only a question of when.”
— Michael Avenatti, lawyer for Stormy Daniels, in an interview on Morning Joe.
Trump Is Much More Worried About Cohen Than Comey
Jonathan Swan: “The main game for Trump — and the reason his agitation levels went through the roof the last two weeks — is what happened to Michael Cohen. Trump allies are exponentially more worried about the New York feds’ probe and the prospect of investigators poring over Trump’s business dealings than they are anything Comey is saying.”
Cohen Used Same LLC for Payments to Women
“Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney, used the same Delaware limited-liability company in two secret deals relating to alleged sexual encounters involving his clients,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Federal prosecutors are examining money flowing in and out of Essential Consultants as part of a broad investigation into Mr. Cohen’s activities to silence women with allegations against Mr. Trump or those in his orbit.”
Also interesting: “Mr. Cohen succeeded around 2013 in killing a story Us Weekly was preparing about an alleged affair between Donald Trump Jr., who had been a judge a year earlier on the television show, ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ and one of the contestants, Aubrey O’Day, a member of the singing duo Dumblonde.”
Deals to Silence Women Had Something In Common
The New York Times looks at the deals arranged by President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to silence three different women:
“One of the women, a former Playboy model named Karen McDougal, sold the rights to her story for $150,000 to American Media Inc., the publisher of The National Enquirer. The other woman, Stephanie Clifford, a pornographic film actress known as Stormy Daniels, received a payment of $130,000 that Mr. Cohen said came out of his own pocket.”
“Both of the women were represented by Keith M. Davidson. Mr. Davidson also represented the woman in the agreement Mr. Cohen struck on behalf of Mr. Broidy, further establishing a pattern of collaboration between the lawyers in striking for-pay accommodations to silence women’s allegations about powerful men.”
[alert type=”general” dismiss=”no”]All three women were “represented” by the same lawyer?[/alert]
Cohen Is Under Criminal Investigation
Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney, is “under criminal investigation,” CNN reports.
“In response to Cohen’s motion to restrain the evidence collected in Monday’s raids of his home and office, the US attorney in New York asserted the raids were authorized by a federal judge to seek evidence of conduct ‘for which Cohen is under criminal investigation.'”
The filing redacts what Cohen is under investigation for.
Cohen May Have Taped Conversations
President Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen “sometimes taped conversations with associates… and allies of the president are worried that the recordings were seized by federal investigators in a raid of Cohen’s office and residences this week,” the Washington Post reports.
“Cohen was known to store the conversations using digital files and then replay them for colleagues.”
Feds Seek Cohen Communications with National Enquirer
Federal investigators have requested all communications between two top execs. at American Media Inc. — which publishes the National Enquirer — and Michael Cohen, NBC News reports.
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Raid Also Sought Info on Taxi Medallions
“The search warrant behind Monday’s raids on the office and hotel room of President Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, included a request for documents related to Cohen’s ownership of taxi medallions,” CNN reports.
“The search was also related to porn star Stormy Daniels, with whom Cohen is in a legal dispute over a hush agreement Daniels signed before the 2016 campaign to keep quiet about an alleged affair between her and Trump… In addition, the warrant said it related in part to election laws.”
Mueller Digs Into Episodes Involving Trump’s Lawyer
“Special counsel Robert Mueller has requested documents and interviewed witnesses about incidents involving Michael Cohen, the longtime lawyer for President Trump whose wide-ranging portfolio has given him a unique vantage point into Trump’s business, campaign and political activities,” the Washington Post reports.
“There is no indication that Cohen is a subject or target of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. But the scrutiny of his interactions is another sign of the far-reaching nature of the special-counsel probe.”
Trump Lawyer Got Inside Info from Russia Investigation
Daily Beast: “On Dec. 19, 2017, a former staffer for Sen. John McCain named David Kramer testified before the House intelligence committee behind closed doors. He’d played a role in bringing the salacious and unverified Steele dossier to the FBI’s attention, and members peppered him with questions about it.”
“Then something unusual happened. Word of Kramer’s testimony got out—to the lawyer of another witness.”
“A few days after Kramer’s testimony, his lawyer, Larry Robbins, got a strange call. The call was from Stephen Ryan, a lawyer who represents Trump’s longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen. Cohen is facing scrutiny from Special Counsel Robert Mueller and congressional investigators regarding potential coordination between Trump’s team and the Kremlin. He featured prominently in the Steele dossier—the document that Kramer handled—and is currently suing Buzzfeed for publishing it.”
Stormy Daniels Claims She’s Now Free to Talk
Sources close to Stormy Daniels tell The Blast that her legal team notified President Trump’s legal team, including attorney Michael Cohen, that they are in violation of the agreement they made back in 2016.
Daniels is apparently “ready to spill all the tea regarding her alleged affair with Donald Trump” because Cohen allegedly breached the contract he negotiated with the porn star.
A manager for the adult film actress confirmed to the Associated Press that Daniels believes Trump’s lawyer invalidated a non-disclosure agreement by publicly discussing the payment.
Trump’s Lawyer Says He Paid Stormy Daniels Himself
Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, told the New York Times that he paid $130,000 out of his own pocket to a pornographic-film actress who had once claimed to have had an affair with Mr. Trump.
Cohen said he was not reimbursed for the payment.
Said Cohen: “Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly. The payment to Ms. Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone.”
Trump Adviser Flipped Buildings to Mysterious Buyers
McClatchy: “Donald Trump’s long time business lawyer Michael Cohen may be best known for his aggressive campaign television defenses of the real estate mogul, his role in an abortive effort to build a Trump Tower in Moscow and allegations that he attended a meeting last summer with Russians in Europe.”
“But while serving as a top executive at the Trump Organization for a decade, Cohen himself was a sometime New York real estate wheeler dealer whose companies appear to have netted as much as $20 million in profit by flipping properties to mysterious buyers.”
Trump Lawyer Denies Any Role In Russian Meddling
“Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for President Trump’s business and a close associate of the president, met with the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday morning and planned to vigorously deny that he had played any role in Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election,” the Washington Post reports.
“Cohen has made similar denials in the past but his statement to the panel, which was expected in a closed-door session, was made under the penalty of perjury.”
Key Trump Adviser Will Testify to Senate
“Michael Cohen, one of President Trump’s closest business advisers, said on Sunday he would testify on Tuesday to the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, as the panel investigates alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election,” Reuters reports.
CNN: “Cohen is not expected to be under oath during the appearance, but all witnesses appearing before congressional committees are required to tell the truth or potentially face criminal charges.”
Key Trump Ally Sidelined by Russia Investigation
New York Times: “Since Mr. Trump became president, his need for loyal foot soldiers like Mr. Cohen has never been greater. But instead of helping his longtime employer navigate F.B.I. and congressional investigations into whether his campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, Mr. Cohen now appears to be outside the Trump inner circle, a man on the defensive.”
“The House Intelligence Committee has summoned him for questioning in its inquiry…. He is under scrutiny by the F.B.I., along with other Trump associates, in the Russia investigation. An unverified dossier prepared by a retired British spy and published this year said that Mr. Cohen had met overseas with Kremlin officials and other Russian operatives, which he has denied.”
“After years of loyal service to Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen, 50, expected to be offered a senior administration post, according to four people who know him, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they feared angering Mr. Cohen. He was given no such job.”
Even Trump’s Lawyer Has Lawyered Up
“Michael Cohen, who for years has served as President Trump’s personal attorney, has hired a lawyer of his own to help him navigate the expanding Russia investigation,” the Washington Post reports.
“Cohen’s decision is the latest indication that the Russia probe overseen by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is intensifying and could end up focusing on a number of Trump associates, both inside and outside the White House.”
