Russia probe tracking down Trump business partners, focusing on Michael Cohen
Trump once proclaimed his business background a “red line” Mueller can’t cross.
McClatchy Washington Bureau: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators this week questioned an associate of the Trump Organization who was involved in overseas deals with President Donald Trump’s company in recent years.
Armed with subpoenas compelling electronic records and sworn testimony, Mueller’s team showed up unannounced at the home of the business associate, who was a party to multiple transactions connected to Trump’s effort to expand his brand abroad.
Investigators were particularly interested in interactions involving Michael D. Cohen, Trump’s longtime personal attorney and a former Trump Organization employee.”
Read More at mcclatchydc.com
Cohen’s Other Bad News
Washington Post: Trump says he didn’t know his attorney paid $130000 to Stormy Daniels; Puts Non-Disclosure Agreement in jeopardy; Cohen could face FEC probe, law license challenge; Mueller could get involved.
Sorry about the delayed posting. I set the scheduler incorrectly last night.
LOL, Poobah. I’ve used that excuse before…”I set my alarm clock to 6PM.”
Actually, I was going to volunteer a thread starter but it would have been later in the morning – may submit it anyway – it would be about SFB’s comments in White Sulphur Springs yesterday.
Oh, wait, I meant to comment on the thread starter. Just what the hell makes SFB think he can define the scope of a special counsel investigation overseen by the assistant to Ernie? For a sentient person, the Clinton investigation that began with Whitewater and ended with impeachment over a cum stained dress and a lie about it might suggest that red lines are pink at best.
craig, you misunderstood him, he was talking about the metro red line…. or maybe the bus under which he just threw his attorney.
story’s lawyer sure noted the latter:
“You can’t have a binding agreement if you claim that you never knew about it,” Avenatti told TheWrap Thursday. On Twitter, Avenatti celebrated Trump’s denial more openly. “Good (actually GREAT) things come to those who wait!!! The strength of our case just went up exponentially,” he tweeted. “You can’t have an agreement when one party claims to know nothing about it. #nodiscipline #thanksforplaying #basta”
more about above, starting at 6:49 min in on this vid, Michael Avenatti Reacts To Mueller/Cohen News, Trump’s Stormy Comments:
Mueller is like Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.
he always gets his man.
“Well, King……this case is closed.”
uh oh,
npr: ‘Concerned’ Evangelicals Plan To Meet With Trump As Sex Scandals Swirl
https://www.npr.org/2018/04/06/599972396/concerned-evangelicals-plan-to-meet-with-trump-as-sex-scandals-swirl?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
As allegations continue to swirl about the president and a payout to a porn star to cover up a sexual encounter, evangelical leaders are organizing a sit-down with President Trump in June, four sources with knowledge of the planned meeting tell NPR.
“We’re very concerned” about the allegations, said a leader of a faith-based ministry. The leader is involved in hosting the gathering, which organizers are aiming to take place June 19 at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. The source said the combination of the Stormy Daniels sex-scandal allegations and Trump’s continued reputation for divisive rhetoric could suppress evangelical turnout in the November 2018 elections.
“It is a concern of ours that 2018 could be very detrimental to some of the other issues that we hold dear,” like religious liberty and restricting abortion rights, the source noted. The source, like the others with knowledge of the event, spoke to NPR on the condition of anonymity so as to not jeopardize the meeting.
Trump has denied Daniels’ allegations. Speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Thursday, he also denied knowing about the payment his attorney, Michael Cohen, made to Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election. She alleges she was paid $130,000 not to talk about the alleged affair.
Sources say organizers are working to firm up planning for the day-long event with the White House before sending invitations to hundreds of conservative Christian pastors and political leaders in the coming days.
Asked for comment Thursday, a White House spokesman declined.
Trump has been invited to take questions from the evangelical leaders for roughly 90 minutes during the meeting. It’s not clear whether the allegations from Daniels — or another woman who alleges she had an affair with Trump, former Playboy model Karen McDougal — are likely to come up while the president is on stage in a more open session.
But a source said the president is likely to be asked about the women during private discussions in at least a “sidebar conversation.”
The ministry leader said Trump’s tone and personal life remain a concern for many evangelicals.
“There’s things that are like fingernails on the chalkboard to people of faith. That’s not who we are; that’s not a ‘fruit of the Spirit’; that’s not leading with humility,” the source said, referencing a passage in the New Testament book of Galatians that describes the character traits Christians exhibit.
[….continues…]
Pogo, would welcome your post on that WV hot mess. And (this goes for all), if you find the posting process too cumbersome you can always just email your text to me — help@craigcrawford.com
Luv how Administration taking credit for something Congress enacted last year, was supposed to be done in October: U.S. Sanctions Russian Oligarchs
Yeah… trump’s finances have always been where the rubber meets the road. Looks like Mueller is going straight at them.
I saw Avenatti on Lawrence O’Donnell last night. What crossed my mind is… here we are about to go into a trade war with China… and a porn star’s lawyer is not only openly mocking our President and his personal lawyer, he’s winning. The Chinese must be giddy.
Oh… and I have just ordered another ton of popcorn…
RR, maybe the Chinese paid the $130k — altho seriously, i do wonder if Cohen got the money from the Russians, wouldn’t Bobby III have fun with that. I’ve never bought the home loan routine, but that’ll be easy to check. Someone on the teevee speculated Trump might have authorized Cohen to create a slush fund for paying off women and really didn’t know about individual payments.
off thread subject, except for thoughts on possible crimes of the CinC
way back in December 2016, bff carl said some interesting things that need be looked at like what he knew when he knew it regarding the current decision by the bull in the china shop and is he now making money on what he knew
The most important thing from Carl Icahn’s 40-minute CNBC interview
….. may not be what the investor said explicitly, but what he implied about the market risk of a trade war with China under Trump.
“If you have a trade war with China, by definition, I remember the days something like that would really knock the hell out of the market, but maybe if you’re going to do it, you should get it over with, right? So that’s a consideration, you have to just make up your mind, if that’s what you’re going to do, you go do it,” Icahn said.
Most telling is how Icahn ended the interview, unprompted.
“If you’re asking me am I concerned about the market on the short term. Yeah I’m concerned about it,” he said. “You can look at so many factors here that you have to worry about. Obviously, if you get into a trade war with China, sooner or later, I think we’re going to have to come to grips with that, maybe it’s better to do it sooner, but that’s not my decision at all. I don’t get involved with that.”
To be sure, Icahn said he is not “involved” in the transition team’s China trade policy discussions. However, the fact that he, as one of Trump’s closest confidants, repeatedly brought up the stock market risk of a trade war with China during the 40-minute interview speaks to how an aggressive trade policy with the Asian country is likely being considered by the president-elect.
Icahn even emphasizes repeatedly that if the China trade war is coming, we might as well do it sooner and “get it over with,” almost as if he’s speaking to Trump directly.
If a trade war with China does happen, we can’t say Icahn didn’t warn us.
Craig… they were speculating the same thing on O’Donnell’s show last night. It was said a slush fund would have been a handy thing to have as Steve Bannon admitted that there were 100s of Stormy Daniels.
In other news from Mueller world yesterday we learned in new court filings that he seized Manafort’s bank accounts the day before he indicted him, and more signs he plans additional charges against Manafort. This guy has to flip, unless he’s afraid Putin will kill him.
I just read an opinion piece at The Daily Best about Wisconsin and what Tuesday’s Supreme Court election could mean in a broader context. It’s a lot of good numbers generated by Rebecca Dallet, indicating strong support that a blue wave in November is highly probable. But one paragraph that struck a particular cord with me was
That last line…I know people with those kind of blinders. They start to rouse when the big world impacts their little world. The people I know are roused in a liberal direction at the moment. Now, I live in a progressive state and a liberal city. Most of the people I know lean that way. Most of the people I know vote in midterms, but not all of them do. Unless they are roused.
Question: Are Democratic candidates doing what it takes to rouse the people who feel that their little worlds haven’t been impacted?
“This guy has to flip, unless he’s afraid Putin will kill him.”
afraid? knows is more like it.
speaking of dastardly deeds by Donnie’s friend
the guardian: Sergei Skripal no longer in critical condition and ‘improving rapidly’
renee, perhaps that slush fund to buy silence is the mission statement of Essential Consultants LLC, the corp that cohen used for stormy’s payoff.
rubin also opined what you did and quoted others in her column today about other issues with it:
And that brings us to the third, most intriguing question: Did Cohen have general authorization to make settlements with women who had affairs with Trump? If so, how many women were involved? What were the sums paid out? Did any women allege sexual harassment or sexual assault (i.e., unwanted sexual conduct)? Where did the money come from? We know during the campaign that more than a dozen women came forward with such claims. These women apparently didn’t have settlement deals with nondisclosure agreements, but perhaps Cohen did not know about them or did not believe their stories.
Norman Eisen, an ethics guru and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, reacted to the news by cautioning that Trump could be lying about his lack of knowledge. “It has to be taken with a large grain of salt because of his history of lying — over 2000 times in his first year in office alone according to the Post.” If true, however, Eisen agreed that “it strengthens the case to throw out the hush agreement.” He added that “Trump’s statement also makes things much worse for his lawyer, Mr. Cohen. Legal ethics rules prohibit settling disputes without informing your client, and lending or giving your client large sums of money to fund such settlements. An investigation by the New York state bar of Cohen just became a lot more likely.” Finally, Eisen concluded that “Trump’s statement, if true, also removes the less serious campaign-finance violation, that Trump himself funded this contribution to his campaign, in favor of a far more serious one: that Cohen gave the campaign an in-kind contribution of $130,000.”
Madeline Albright on a roll: “Mr. Trump appears to like bullies, and they are delighted to have him represent the American brand. If one were to draft a script chronicling fascism’s resurrection, the abdication of America’s moral leadership would make a credible first scene.” (NYT)
Boy ole Jay Sekubuss must be wetting his pants
craig, she also came up with a vivid description of putin mentioned here in the transcript of albright’s npr interview with terry gross the other day:
GROSS: You met with Vladimir Putin when you were secretary of state. What was his position at the time?
ALBRIGHT: Well, it was interesting. The first time I met him was when he was still kind of acting president at an APEC meeting that took place in New Zealand. And he was in a stage of his life where he seemed to want to be very ingratiating to everybody and wanted to kind of pretend – or was, in fact, kind of a small figure. Then, when I went back to prepare for the summit that President Clinton had in the summer of 2000 – and I have to say, I was very impressed with how smart Putin was. And when he met with President Clinton, he – Putin – was able to talk without notes, as President Clinton was, and also took notes and really was very smart. I think that he is a smart man. He has played a weak hand very well. And he is a former KGB officer, and we can never forget that.
GROSS: You wrote down your impressions of him after your first meeting, and you wrote, Putin is small and pale, so cold as to be almost reptilian. Putin is embarrassed by what happened to his country and determined to restore its greatness.
Putin is small and pale, so cold as to be almost reptilian.
Yon Putin has that lean and hongry look…….
Happy Anniversary, David and Craig!! Wood is the traditional gift of the fifth anniversary and exchange your gifts wisely and safely. Have a great celebration.
climate change slayers help putin drill more. Since tillerson is gone and his exxon mobile still being investigated by NY for denying climate change? pruit leads putin’s charge of undoing any stinking regulations standing in the way of drilling, pipelines and production. The secret booth? back channel to lobbyists and russian oligarchs. trump cannot do putin’s bidding with sessions in the way. swamp scum moving towards the justice department despite the unethical stink surrounding trump’s cabinet.
Coincidence? Trump sanctions Russian oligarchs travel as Mueller questions them at our airports for proof of illegal campaign contributions.
uae crown prince brags kushner gave him intelligence for ritz carlton shakedown. From the Economist —
saudi role in lebanon.
From the intrepid last November —
Saudi-Israeli-Kushner plot to kidnap Lebanon’s PM and start a war —
The internal coup against rival members of the House of Saud engineered by Donald Trump’s “special envoy” Jared Kushner and the Binyamin Netanyahu government in Israel in concert with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has now extended beyond Saudi Arabia’s borders into Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.
if an oligarch flips in the forest and no one is around to hear, does he make it home?
BW, we got your delightful wood gift. Returning to the scene of the crime tomorrow night for dinner.
I am with you, Craig, no coincidence. The trump admin was stronger on the UK poisoning sanctions than any election sanctions…they have been avoiding implementing the congressional mandated sanctions for many months. This is the first time the disney villian, muchkin, is moving quickly to punish oligarchs. Keep them away from Mr. Mueller, I presume. We need more fbi, policing and border patrol at our airports, not our southern border. The real thieves and illegals are coming and going by plane. Glad to know Mr. Mueller is watching.
Craig, you can plant the 3 sticks (in honor of Bobby, III sticks) in an outside garden…keep the love growing.
BW, and as you said in your note: “3 sticks of wood in tribute to Mr. Mueller.” Luv it.
I have scheduled my hip replacement for May 1 btw.
How long of a recovery, Craig?
Happy Anniversary, You Two !
BW, am told about 4 weeks. Getting it done in Orlando. David taking vacation time for care giving. Dad and Toby will assist. Cousin Carolyn also checking in. So I’ll be plenty pampered.
Craig and David… happy anniversary!
5 years already… how the hell did that happen… 🙂
I see the March jobs numbers sucked and the Dow is down 2.4% today so far (SFB is trying to cast it as a correction). And Pruitt looks like the slimeball he is. Of course we’re hearing about oligarchs.
Craig, time just flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t it? Best of luck with the hip. As I told you, getting mine redone was about the best medical decision I ever made.
From WaPo this afternoon:
Talk about putting lipstick on a pig.
And this:
There ain’t enough lipstick at Ulta to pretty up this pig enough to make this sound like a good day in US jobs & money markets. Great job, dotard.
Craig and Dave – Happy 5th! Life speeds by, enjoy every second.
I was out of computer range today, driving around Virginia along the Potomac River, a beautiful day for a drive, a little windy though. There was a purpose, which was to make a final decision on buying a boat. The decision is made, the fleet will expand to include a 46ft motor yacht.
Although driving I was able to keep up on the drop of the stock exchange numbers. Not bad for “no trade war”. SFB is too low IQ to understand what happens when he does stuff. I refuse to allow that as an excuse. I can understand why no one person in his cult will stop him, the perks and possibly money will stop flowing. The prestige of being associated with a slimy crime family is too much to give up.
I am waiting (with martini in hand) for that fool Kushner to be indicted. He seems to be so dirty that he might even be arrested and tossed in jail until arraignment.
May Day! What a perfect day to get help for the hip. You’ll be up and around in no time.
Oh, and Happy 5th + 25
Happy Anniversaries Dave and Craig
I know a lot of people who have had hip replacement surgery. Every single one of them says they don’t know why they waited so long
I hope people aren’t counting on Trump to be impeached to fix things. The Republicans who went along with his nonsense to get things they wanted also have to go. Every day people should be reminding each other these are the people who want to take away the crappy health care you have and also end social security and medicare.
Goodness, I haven’t thought about this song in decades. Now, David and Craig, you boys behave yourselves–and enjoy your anniversary!
Flatus
SFB says Pruitt gets one more chance if anything more comes out he’s gone -ok everybody start digging
Although the trip to Morocco should be enough
Atty Chuck LaBella.
Is Tom Arnold the one who is gonna blow the lid off of Trumpsky’s trysts?
I just sense profound changes are on the near horizon in the “Olde Sod.”
Ha! Pruitt was a squatter & they changed the digital locks on him.
Too bad we can’t do that with Trumpsky & the WH.
We all need a reason to KOKO. Here is one “bring the tears on” moment.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5582263/Heartwarming-moment-blind-elephant-rescued-meets-hard.html
treasury press release —
Treasury Designates Russian Oligarchs, Officials, and Entities in Response to Worldwide Malign Activity
Last one for tonite–truly magnificent!
a happy anniversary to and song for “cravid” and many many more
and mustn’t forget your song
https://youtu.be/r9jmusgMgro
Thanks to everyone for the anniversary wishes, and the creative use of wood for #5, Blonde Wino! All the words, songs, cards and great art are VERY much appreciated by both of us.