Re: F.B.I. Raids Office of Michael Cohen
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 1:55 pm
How clever!silverscreenselect wrote:If his lips are moving, he's lying.Bob78164 wrote:So was Rudy lying then or is he lying now? --Bob
How clever!silverscreenselect wrote:If his lips are moving, he's lying.Bob78164 wrote:So was Rudy lying then or is he lying now? --Bob
Go flock yourself. --Bobflockofseagulls104 wrote:From what you present on the bored, bob-tel, you are neither.Bob78164 wrote: And I certainly think of myself as both honest and honorable. There are many of us. --Bob
So sue me.Bob78164 wrote:Go flock yourself. --Bobflockofseagulls104 wrote:From what you present on the bored, bob-tel, you are neither.Bob78164 wrote: And I certainly think of myself as both honest and honorable. There are many of us. --Bob
WSJ reports Federal prosecutors gave Weisselberg immunity. And unlike Cohen, his extensive records aren't protected by attorney-client privilege.silverscreenselect wrote:According to the Wall Street Journal, the CFO of the Trump Organization, Michael Weisselberg, has been subpoenaed by a New York federal grand jury. And, before anyone starts hollering about Mueller overreach, this is not Mueller's investigators, but the regular prosecutors who would look into such things as money laundering and fraud.
The New York Times says the Manhattan D.A., who was already investigating the Trump charity, is probing Trump Inc. executives such as Weisselberg.jarnon wrote:In case Trump has pardons ready, most of Cohen's crimes, and some of what Trump is accused of, also violate New York law.
Pecker was seen yesterday at the New York courthouse where DA Bragg’s grand jury is hearing testimony. Maybe Bragg is trying to show a pattern of conduct by Cohen and Trump.jarnon wrote: ↑Fri Jul 20, 2018 11:03 amNew York Times wrote:Michael Cohen Secretly Taped Trump Discussing Payment to Playboy Model
By Matt Apuzzo, Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt
WASHINGTON — 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.
Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, confirmed in a telephone conversation on Friday that Mr. Trump had discussed the payments with Mr. Cohen on the tape but said the payment was ultimately never made. He said the recording was less than two minutes and demonstrated that the president had done nothing wrong.
“Nothing in that conversation suggests that he had any knowledge of it in advance,” Mr. Giuliani said, adding that Mr. Trump had directed Mr. Cohen that if he were to make a payment related to the woman, write a check, rather than sending cash, so it could be properly documented.
“In the big scheme of things, it’s powerful exculpatory evidence,” Mr. Giuliani said.
Mr. Cohen’s lawyers discovered the recording as part of their review of the seized materials and shared it with Mr. Trump’s lawyers, according to three people briefed on the matter.
“We have nothing to say on this matter,” Mr. Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny J. Davis, said when asked about the tape.
The former model, Karen McDougal, says she began a nearly yearlong affair with Mr. Trump in 2006, shortly after Mr. Trump’s wife, Melania, gave birth to their son Barron. Ms. McDougal sold her story to The National Enquirer for $150,000 during the final months of the presidential campaign, but the tabloid sat on the story, which kept it from becoming public. The practice, known as “catch and kill,” effectively silenced Ms. McDougal for the remainder of the campaign.
David J. Pecker, the chairman of The Enquirer’s parent company, is a friend of Mr. Trump’s, and Ms. McDougal has accused Mr. Cohen of secretly taking part in the deal — an allegation that is now part of the F.B.I. investigation.
When The Wall Street Journal revealed the existence of the payment days before the election, Mr. Trump’s campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said, “We have no knowledge of any of this.” She said Ms. McDougal’s claim of an affair was “totally untrue.”