Tag: Michael Cohen

Posted on

Former Trump Attorney Pleads Guilty To 8 Counts, Former Trump Campaign Chair Found Guilty Of 8 Counts

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen (L), former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort (R)

 Well, the folks in the White House have got to be serious shook at this point.

In a single afternoon, Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to 8 counts

From The New York Times:

Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s former fixer, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to breaking campaign finance laws and other charges. He made the extraordinary admission that he arranged payments to two women “at the direction of the candidate,” referring to Mr. Trump, to secure their silence about affairs they said they had with Mr. Trump.

Mr. Cohen told a judge in United States District Court in Manhattan that the payments were “for the principal purpose of influencing the election” for president in 2016.

Mr. Cohen also pleaded guilty to multiple counts of tax evasion and bank fraud, bringing to a close a monthslong investigation by Manhattan federal prosecutors who examined his personal business dealings and his role in helping to arrange financial deals with women connected to Mr. Trump.

Of course, the most stunning news here is that Cohen said, under oath, that he committed a crime at the direction of Donald Trump.

Prosecutors promised Cohen a prison sentence of between 43 to 63 months, although the judge isn’t bound by that agreement.

Cohen also did not agree to a cooperation deal regarding the Special Counsel’s ongoing investigation, but he could in the future. Robert Mueller could, in exchange, recommend a lesser sentence for Cohen.

At almost the same time, 250 miles south of New York City, Trump’s former campaign chair, Paul Manafort, was found guilty of 8 counts of the 18 he was charged with. The judge declared a mistrial on the other ten counts leaving the door open for a retrial on those charges.

Also from The New York Times:

The verdict was a victory for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, whose prosecutors built a case that Mr. Manafort hid millions of dollars in foreign accounts to evade taxes and lied to banks repeatedly to obtain $20 million in loans.

Mr. Manafort was convicted of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining 10 counts, and the judge declared a mistrial on those charges.

Kevin Downing, a lawyer for Mr. Manafort, said his client was “evaluating all of his options at this point.”

Manafort faces a maximum of 80 years in prison for the 8 guilty counts. One legal scholar on MSNBC just said the sentencing guidelines would call for between 8-10 years in prison, possibly more since the judge can consider the other 10 charges in terms of sentencing if the evidence was considerable.

Plus, we don’t know if the prosecutors plan to retry the ten remaining counts.

However, I’ll state right now – you can count on Donald Trump to pardon Manafort.

Watch.

Posted on

Former Trump Attorney Michael Cohen Reaches Plea Deal, Taken Into Custody

President Trump's former lawyer and 'fixer,' Michael Cohen, has reportedly reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors in New York.
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen

President Trump’s former lawyer and ‘fixer,’ Michael Cohen, has reportedly reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors in New York.

According to The New York Times, Cohen’s agreement may not include a plan to cooperate with federal prosecutors.

Additionally, ABC News reports the deal reportedly includes campaign finance violations, bank fraud, and tax evasion.

At this time, there are no indications if possible violations of campaign finance law, regarding payments he facilitated to several women who claimed to have had extramarital affairs with Trump, are in the mix.

In related Trump news, a jury decision in the trail of former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort could be handed down this afternoon.

Posted on

Former Trump Lawyer Investigated For $20 Million Tax/Bank Fraud

The New York Times is reporting that Donald Trump's former personal attorney and 'fixer,' Michael Cohen, is being investigated for possible tax and bank fraud to the tune of $20 million in loans related to the taxi business he and his family own.
Former Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen

The New York Times is reporting that Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and ‘fixer,’ Michael Cohen, is being investigated for possible tax and bank fraud to the tune of $20 million in loans related to the taxi business he and his family own.

Investigators are also examining whether Mr. Cohen violated campaign finance or other laws by helping to arrange financial deals to secure the silence of women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump. The inquiry has entered the final stage and prosecutors are considering filing charges by the end of August, two of the people said.

Any criminal charges against Mr. Cohen would deal a significant blow to the president. Mr. Cohen, 52, worked for the president’s company, the Trump Organization, for more than a decade. He was one of Mr. Trump’s most loyal and visible aides and called himself the president’s personal lawyer after Mr. Trump took office.

Trump keeps calling the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller a “witch hunt.”

If that were true, Mueller sure has found a considerable number of witches to indict.

Trump is also angry that Mueller is filing indictments that don’t seem related to “Russian interference,” but the Special Counsel was charged with investigating not only the election interference but any crimes that might arise from the investigation.

Does it make any sense that the police, while investigating a robbery, should ignore a dead body they trip over in the course of the investigation?

Posted on

Michael Cohen Recorded Trump ‘Hush Money’ Conversation

Former ‘fixer’ for Donald Trump – Michael Cohen

From The New York Times:

President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, secretly recorded a conversation with Mr. Trump two months before the presidential election in which they discussed payments to a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump, according to lawyers and others familiar with the recording.

The F.B.I. seized the recording this year during a raid on Mr. Cohen’s office. The Justice Department is investigating Mr. Cohen’s involvement in paying women to tamp down embarrassing news stories about Mr. Trump ahead of the 2016 election. Prosecutors want to know whether that violated federal campaign finance laws, and any conversation with Mr. Trump about those payments would be of keen interest to them.

The recording’s existence further draws Mr. Trump into questions about tactics he and his associates used to keep aspects of his personal and business life a secret. And it highlights the potential legal and political danger that Mr. Cohen represents to Mr. Trump.

Once the keeper of many of Mr. Trump’s secrets, Mr. Cohen is now seen as increasingly willing to consider cooperating with prosecutors.

You’ll recall the White House ferociously denied that Donald Trump knew ANYTHING about the payments to Karen McDougal, who says she began a nearly yearlong affair with the Trumpster in 2006, shortly after Melania Trump gave birth to their son, Barron.

According to CNN’s Dana Bash and Gloria Borger, Trump is privately livid about the revelation:

From Stormy Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti:

Posted on

News Round-Up: July 2, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• I’m going to try this next time Michael is wrong and starts a disagreement – InstaHunks Rick and the Griffopotamus shared this pic today with the caption, “It was one of those Monday’s where every little annoyance felt like it would blow up into an argument. We decided to just keep our mouths busy doing other things… problem solved! #relationshipHack #husbands #lovewins #kiss #mondaymotivation”

• A gay couple in Ireland was attacked and brutally beaten by a gang of four young men. One of the victims suffered broken jaw bones, lost four front teeth and has nerve damage.

• Bette Midler, of all people, was accused of homophobia when she joked on Twitter about Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Trump and Putin are meeting in Finland next month. That’s a long way to travel for a blowjob, but hey — Putin’s got the money.”

• Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former attorney and “fixer,” told ABC News that his loyalties lie with his family and country, not his former client.

• Congressional Democrats are asking the Pentagon why there was no official memo recognizing June as Pride Month nor was there any senior leadership at the annual Pride event. The concern is the lack of recognition marks a decline in LGBTQ support.

• Speaking at a rally for immigration reform this weekend, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California) slapped back at Trump supporters calling for death threats against her:

“All I have to say is this: If you shoot me, you better shoot straight. There’s nothin’ like a wounded animal. I am not about to let this country go by the way of Donald Trump. How dare you? How dare you?”

Posted on

Michael Cohen May Be Open To Cooperating With Special Counsel Investigation

michael-cohen.jpg

Former Donald Trump attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen

CNN reports that Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s longtime attorney and “fixer,” has signaled to friends that he is “willing to give” investigators information on the President, and is planning on hiring a new lawyer to handle a possible indictment from federal prosecutors.

“He knows a lot of things about the President and he’s not averse to talking in the right situation,” one of Cohen’s New York friends who is in touch with him told CNN. “If they want information on Trump, he’s willing to give it.”

Cohen is planning to hire Guy Petrillo, a former chief of the criminal division of the US attorney’s office in Manhattan and an experienced trial lawyer, a source familiar confirmed. The source said all the paperwork and retainer may not have been finalized just yet.

The shift in legal strategy and signals of potential cooperation with investigators come as Cohen feels increasingly isolated from the President, whom he has been famously loyal to for more than a decade. Last week, CNN reported Cohen has indicated a willingness to cooperate to alleviate pressure on himself and his family.

“He feels let down by him and isolated by him,” another friend of Cohen’s told CNN. Cohen has famously said he would take a bullet for Trump and he has fashioned himself as Trump’s “fixer,” willing to help handle situations quietly.

Cohen facilitated a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels weeks before the 2016 election to keep quiet her allegations of an affair a decade earlier with the then-candidate.

The White House has denied any affair.

Cohen hasn’t been indicted on any charges at this time.

Posted on

Trump’s “Fixer” Michael Cohen Expects To Be Arrested Soon

Michael Cohen

MSNBC news anchor reports that Michael Cohen, longtime attorney and “fixer” for Donald Trump, expects to be arrested any time now.

Lawyers at the Southern District of New York have reportedly called Cohen’s attorneys, saying they were “preparing paperwork” to arrest Cohen.

It was reported earlier today that his legal team has quit and Cohen could flip on Trump.

From The New York Times:

Mr. Cohen has not yet been contacted by the prosecutors who are conducting the inquiry, according to two people briefed on the case.

But as the investigation widens, and with Mr. Cohen’s legal team in turmoil, the chances increase that Mr. Cohen could cooperate with prosecutors, as first reported by ABC News.

Mr. Cohen’s current legal team is expected to stay with him for the rest of the week as they struggle to complete a laborious review of a trove of documents and data files seized from him by the authorities two months ago. But after that review is finished, he will seek new legal counsel, the people familiar with his case said. The issue is primarily over payment of the legal bills of one of his lawyers, Stephen Ryan, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

On April 9, federal agents descended on Mr. Cohen’s office, apartment and hotel room, hauling away reams of paperwork and files from about 30 cellphones, iPads and computers. For several months, the prosecutors have been looking into whether Mr. Cohen broke the law in any business projects, including hush-money payments he made to women who claim they had affairs with Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers have resigned themselves to the strong possibility that this investigation could lead Mr. Cohen to cooperate with prosecutors.

Check out Katy Tur’s report below.

Posted on

NYT: Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Received Payments From Russian Oligarch

Michael Cohen

You have to ask – is this the Russian collusion?

 The New York Times has the details:

A shell company that Michael D. Cohen used to pay hush money to a pornographic film actress received payments totaling more than $1 million from an American company linked to a Russian oligarch and several corporations with business before the Trump administration, according to documents and interviews.

Financial records reviewed by The New York Times show that Mr. Cohen, President Trump’s personal lawyer and longtime fixer, used the shell company, Essential Consultants L.L.C., for an array of business activities that went far beyond what was publicly known. Transactions totaling at least $4.4 million flowed through Essential Consultants starting shortly before Mr. Trump was elected president and continuing to this January, the records show.

Among the previously unreported transactions were payments last year totaling about $500,000 from Columbus Nova, an investment firm in New York whose biggest client is a company controlled by Viktor Vekselberg, the Russian oligarch. A lawyer for Columbus Nova, in a statement Tuesday, described the money as a consulting fee that had nothing to do with Mr. Vekselberg.

Posted on

NBC News: Federal Investigators Monitored Trump Lawyer’s Phone Calls For Weeks

Michael Cohen

NBC News is reporting that the phone lines of Donald Trump’s longtime attorney, Michael Cohen, have been monitored by federal investigators for several weeks.

Cohen is currently under investigation for his part in a $130K “hush money” payment to porn star Stormy Daniels regarding an alleged affair she had with Donald Trump.

It is not clear how long the monitoring of phone calls has been authorized, but NBC News has learned it was in place in the weeks leading up to the raids on Cohen’s offices, hotel room, and home in early April, according to one person with direct knowledge.

The calls are logged by what is commonly referred to as a pen register, which records the number of the phone that made the call and the number that received it, but does not record the contents of any conversation.

NBC News originally reported that Cohen’s phone lines had been wiretapped, meaning a judge had given investigators approval to listen to phone calls. Three senior U.S. officials now dispute that, saying the monitoring of the calls was limited to a log of calls.

At least one phone call between a phone line associated with Cohen and the White House was logged, the person said.

Posted on

Trump Lawyer Will Plead The Fifth In Stormy Daniels Case

Click image to enlarge

A court filing shows Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen will assert 5th amendment rights in all proceedings of the ongoing Stormy Daniels case.

You’ll recall in September of 2016 during the presidential campaign, Donald Trump told a campaign crowd in Iowa, “The mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”