Political Wire

Trump Attorneys May Have Lied About Cohen Payments

February 15, 2019 at 5:22 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) said that his panel received new documents showing that two attorneys for President Trump may have lied to government ethics officials about Michael Cohen’s payments to women alleging affairs with the president ahead of the 2016 election, Politico reports.

Said Cummings: “It now appears that President Trump’s other attorneys — at the White House and in private practice — may have provided false information about these payments to federal officials.”

Justice Department Probes Leak of Cohen Bank Records

February 14, 2019 at 6:25 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Justice Department is investigating the leak last year of confidential reports about Michael Cohen’s personal bank records which led to revelations that the former Donald Trump lawyer was profiting by selling his access to the White House,” CNN reports.

“Prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in the Northern District of California are leading the criminal investigation, one of the people said, and criminal charges in the case could be announced soon.”

Cohen Will Testify Before 3 Congressional Committees

February 13, 2019 at 12:11 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Michael Cohen’s lawyer told CNBC that his client will testify before three congressional committees before he enters prison on March 6.

“Those panels include the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where Cohen’s testimony will be public. Cohen had previously indefinitely postponed his appearance at that committee due to fears for his family’s safety.”

“Cohen’s testimony to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Intelligence Committee will be closed.”

Michael Cohen Had His Own Political Aspirations

February 10, 2019 at 11:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “No one in the billionaire’s coterie was more enthusiastic than Cohen about the prospect of a Governor Trump. Albany, Cohen believed, was a great opportunity not only for his boss but also, as it happened, for himself.”

“After the meetings, Cohen would adjourn to his office at Trump Towerto plan next steps with Michael Caputo, the Republican strategist plotting Trump’s gubernatorial campaign. But Cohen surprised Caputo by talking about his own political aspirations.”

“He told Caputo he had always wanted to run for mayor of New York City, a race he said he could win if Trump was governor. At one point, Cohen floated the idea of a Trump-Cohen statewide ticket, an idea Caputo considered as absurd as Cohen running for mayor.”

Michael Cohen Gets New Lawyers

January 28, 2019 at 5:52 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Michael Cohen has hired two new criminal defense lawyers, and dropped his old ones, as he prepares for testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee next month, CNBC reports.

Meanwhile, ABC News reports Cohen has also agreed to testify behind closed doors in front of the House Intelligence Committee.

Trump Inner Circle Follows a ‘Godfather’ Script

January 25, 2019 at 6:59 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Todd Purdum looks at the history of Corleone-family language in the administration in light of Robert Mueller’s indictment of Roger Stone, charging that Stone allegedly urged an associate to “do a ‘Frank Pentangeli.'”

“It is perhaps remarkable, and pitiable, enough that the president of the United States for years employed Cohen, a lawyer who is unself-consciously also described as a ‘fixer,’ as his own personal Michael Clayton (to cite another movie), the in-house ‘janitor’ on call to clean up his every mess. It is yet another thing to learn that Stone…is on the record as threatening canine kidnapping and even death to a colleague whose mere telling of the truth could subject him to perjury charges. If a horse’s head turns up in somebody’s satin sheets, should anybody still be surprised?”

Cohen Subpoenaed by Senate Intelligence Committee

January 24, 2019 at 12:29 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Senate Intelligence Committee has issued a subpoena for President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, the Washington Post reports.

“Cohen had been scheduled to speak with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in public on Feb. 7, and both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees were in discussions with Cohen’s legal team to set up closed-door briefings around the same time. But Cohen on Wednesday sought to pull out of the Oversight hearing, citing alleged threats President Trump and his lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani had made toward Cohen’s family.”

Quote of the Day

January 23, 2019 at 4:25 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Are you fucking serious, Mikey?! What about my family? You gave zero shits about my baby. In all serious though, this is why you shouldn’t back down! This is your chance to be a hero! I’ll loan you some of my balls, hold your hand, or whatever else you need to do the right thing.”

— Stormy Daniels, excoriating Michael Cohen on Twitter, for postponing his testimony before the House Oversight Committee because of threats from President Trump.

Cohen Postpones Testimony Over Trump Threats

January 23, 2019 at 1:52 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen said that he will postpone his scheduled Feb. 7 testimony before the House Oversight Committee due to “threats against his family from President Trump and Mr. Giuliani,” as well as his cooperation in ongoing investigations, Axios reports.

Said Cohen’s lawyer: “This is a time where Mr. Cohen had to put his family and their safety first.”

Schiff May Subpoena Michael Cohen

January 20, 2019 at 4:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff told CBS News that he will subpoena President Trump’s former longtime attorney Michael Cohen to testify before his committee “if necessary.”

Cohen is already slated to testify before the House Oversight Committee next month prior to the start of his three-year prison sentence.

Cohen Returns Home with Black Eye and Injured Arm

January 18, 2019 at 3:02 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Michael Cohen returned to his Manhattan apartment Friday after getting medical treatment – with his arm appearing to be in a sling on a day President Trump and his team once again branded him a liar,” the Daily Mail reports.

“Cohen could be seen Friday with his left arm covered, hanging in a sling. He was holding a full-size white pillow while sporting a possible black eye. His right hand had a small bandage of the kind used to cover a small wound by an IV. He also wore a red identification bracelet of the kind distributed by hospitals.”

“Cohen advisor Lanny Davis said Cohen had gone into the hospital for pre-scheduled shoulder surgery.”

If Trump Told Cohen to Lie, Impeachment Is Coming

January 18, 2019 at 2:11 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Garrett Graff: “The allegation, which Buzzfeed sourced to two federal law enforcement officials, simultaneously adds new information to both the ‘collusion’ and ‘obstruction’ sides of the Russia probe. The idea that the President of the United States directed his personal attorney to lie to Congress about his attempt to complete a multi-hundred-million-dollar deal with Vladimir Putin in the midst of the presidential campaign is, in short, as big as it gets.”

“While we’ll be unpacking the implications of the apparent revelation for days to come, there are six aspects of the new report which, if true, make clear the scale of the political peril facing the president as of Friday morning.”

Cohen Paid Liberty University Official to Rig Polls

January 17, 2019 at 8:23 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump’s former fixer and personal attorney Michael Cohen paid a technology expert to rig online polls in Trump’s favor, the Wall Street Journal reports.

John Gauger, the owner of Red Finch Solutions and chief information officer at Liberty University, said Cohen offered him $50,000 to rig two online polls. Cohen handed Gauger a Walmart bag loaded with about $12,000 in cash during a 2015 meeting at Cohen’s Trump Organization office, but he never paid him the remainder of the promised $50,000.

Cohen Fears Trump Rhetoric Puts His Family At Risk

January 16, 2019 at 7:33 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Michael Cohen is having reservations about his highly anticipated public appearance before Congress next month, fearing that President Trump’s frequent diatribes against him could put his family in danger,” ABC News reports.

“While his testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform appears to be on track to occur as scheduled on Feb. 7, it is now less certain than it initially appeared that Cohen – Trump’s former attorney and fixer – will sit before lawmakers.”

Mueller Probe Will Restrict Michael Cohen’s Testimony

January 15, 2019 at 3:36 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The testimony of Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, before the House Oversight Committee next month is expected to be highly restricted to avoid interfering with the special counsel’s Russia investigation, suggesting the hearing may be less revelatory on certain subjects than anticipated,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Mr. Cohen, who is scheduled to speak in an open hearing on Capitol Hill for the first time Feb. 7, won’t be able to talk about topics that he has discussed with special counsel Robert Mueller.”

That said, Cohen “is expected to give an explosive recounting of his experience working for Mr. Trump.”

Said one person close to Cohen: “He’s going to tell the story of what it’s like to work for a madman, and why he did it for so long. He’s going to say things that will give you chills.”

Cohen Will Testify Before Congress

January 10, 2019 at 3:33 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen will testify voluntarily before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 7, CNBC reports.

New York Times: “Mr. Cohen’s decision to appear before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Feb. 7 sets the stage for a blockbuster public hearing that threatens to further damage the president’s image and could clarify the depth of his legal woes. Mr. Cohen, a consigliere to Mr. Trump when he was a real estate developer and presidential candidate as well as informally as president, was privy to the machinations of Mr. Trump’s inner circle and key moments under scrutiny by both the special counsel, Robert Mueller, and federal prosecutors in New York.”

“He could soon share them on national television under oath.”

Cohen Says Trump Knew Hush Money Was Wrong

December 14, 2018 at 7:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Michael Cohen told ABC News that Donald Trump directed him to arrange hush-money payments with two women because then-candidate Trump “was very concerned about how this would affect the election” if their allegations of affairs became public.

Said Cohen: “I knew what I was doing was wrong. I stood up before the world and I accepted the responsibility for my actions.”

When asked if the president also knew it was wrong to make the payments, Cohen replied: “Of course,” adding that the purpose was to “help him and his campaign.”

Trump Denies ‘Dirty Deeds’ that Cohen Alleges

December 13, 2018 at 8:39 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump disputed claims by former lawyer Michael Cohen that he engaged in “dirty deeds” that include hush payments to two women to keep them quiet during the 2016 election, USA Today reports.

Said Trump: “I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law.”

He added: “It is called ‘advice of counsel,’ and a lawyer has great liability if a mistake is made. That is why they get paid.”