Trump 2019 - There are still children in detention separated from their parents

[october_midnight]

Michael Cohen's prepared statement has been released: https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000...d-bfb99a790001

[theimage13]

Michael Cohen's prepared statement has been released: https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000...d-bfb99a790001

I'm only a few pages in, but so far what I find most concerning (if true) are the multiple statements that Trump "never wanted" and "never expected" to be president - that the entire campaign was an "infomercial" and that the guy currently serving as commander in chief absolutely, positively, 100% does not WANT to be doing so.

Throughout all of the utterly shocking things that asshole has done, this is actually the information that gets under my skin the most.

[allegro]

Michael Cohen's prepared statement has been released: https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000...d-bfb99a790001

I was just coming here to post it after reading it, OH MY GOD this guy is bringing RECEIPTS, THIS IS GONNA BE AWESOME!!!!!!

I was watching some legal experts on MSNBC tonight talking about how can a guy like Cohen who has been convicted of lying be valuable, and they said this happens a lot; that Cohen shows up and says "okay, yup, I lied, and you don't have to believe me, but here's why I lied, and here are DOCUMENTS that don't lie, and here's other proof."

And that's pretty much what he's doing.

[allegro]

I'm only a few pages in, but so far what I find most concerning (if true) are the multiple statements that Trump "never wanted" and "never expected" to be president - that the entire campaign was an "infomercial" and that the guy currently serving as commander in chief absolutely, positively, 100% does not WANT to be doing so.

Throughout all of the utterly shocking things that asshole has done, this is actually the information that gets under my skin the most.

Howard Stern has been insisting this is true for long time: https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-kno...re-than-donald

[theimage13]

Oof, here's another cringeworthy line: "I lied, but I'm not a liar."

Nah dude, you're a fucking liar. That doesn't mean you can't be telling the truth now or that you've never told the truth at any point, but you literally spent YEARS lying for a career. You're a fucking liar.

[allegro]

OMG people screenshotting this and sending it to the OCE. I love it.

edit: I'm gonna open a big can of worms here and ask this question: if you believe that someone who was documented making poor decisions (not illegal, but dumb) literally 30-40 years prior, as college students, should be forced to resign when said actions come to light, should people like this also be forced to resign? (Not commenting on this one way or another myself; just curious to see how others feel)

I dunno, we shall see. I think he should at least be censured, forced off of his committees. He has issued this lame apology and deleted the original tweet. BUT CHECK THIS OUT, lol lol

[allegro]

Oof, here's another cringeworthy line: "I lied, but I'm not a liar."

Nah dude, you're a fucking liar. That doesn't mean you can't be telling the truth now or that you've never told the truth at any point, but you literally spent YEARS lying for a career. You're a fucking liar.

That can be said about most of the corporate and legal world, unfortunately. But it's not called lying, it's called "spin." It's called "protecting your client."

Big trials have liars as witnesses all the time. Big kingpin drug dealer trials, for example; the key witnesses are DRUG DEALERS. They're not exactly bastions of society. But, they can often at least bring information and documentation that can lead to other credible information.

This case involves a whole bunch of mob slime balls; Trump is at the top of the pile of mob slime balls. It's going to be REALLY hard to find anyone involved in this mess who ISN'T a liar and a thief who was willing to protect the guys at the top, sometimes just out of fear. In this case, Trump's attorneys were writing Cohen's responses to Congress (lies), promising to take care of him for protecting the President. If Cohen can prove this is true, those attorneys can lose their law licenses.

It doesn’t matter what Cohen is saying; what's important is what information he provides, particularly the documents. Look at the documents he's bringing. He allegedly also has information and documents that can prove that Trump has filed fraudulent tax returns.

The above-referenced tweet is absolutely intended to scare him before he gets there tomorrow morning. Cohen already canceled one appearance because he was scared for his and his family's safety, saying he was threatened by Trump and Giuliani.

[hellospaceboy]

Reading this testimony fest so good! I don't have a hard time believing any of it, it all rings very true, I really hope that it's the beginning of the end for the Trump presidency.

[Jinsai]

Howard Stern has been insisting this is true for long time: https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-kno...re-than-donald

Its the opening revelation in that Fire and Fury book too, and feels like one of the sincere portions of its testimony

[allegro]

Right out of the gate, the Republicans were bitching in the Cohen hearing about documents and rules. My husband was yelling at the television, “yeah, that’s for KAVANAUGH YOU FUCKHEADS! FUCK YOU!” Lol lol

[allegro]

This is so funny, Republicans painting Cohen as a liar and con man. He is. But “birds of a feather stick together.” The BIGGEST liar and con man of them all is Trump, hence why Trump hired Cohen. Or why Trump hired anyone in his business. Republicans are demanding that the committee instead provide a witness who is credible. Trump didn’t HIRE anyone who’s credible.

So far, the FUNNIEST thing in this testimony is Cohen’s documents showing that Trump provided a large portrait of himself to be auctioned at a big charity auction, and Trump’s notes submitted show that they had a straw man bid higher on that portrait than any other portrait at the auction, then the Trump Foundation paid that guy back later. LOL LOL.

Edit: HAAAAA HA HA HA!!!

[Jinsai]

I guess I find it more frustrating than funny... Oh, the next time we subpoena a witness, let's not have someone who's a noted serial liar? Ok cool, well that lets Roger Stone, Manafort, Flynn... ah fuck it, let's just say everyone in Trump's orbit shouldn't be testifying because they've already been proven to be unreliable sources for truthful testimony. Does that wrap stuff up?

He has EVIDENCE! Republicans are spending their time trying to paint him as a self-serving liar, so therefore he has no damning reliable testimony to offer. He has fucking EVIDENCE beyond his own testimony!

Also, WOULD SOMEBODY LET HIM ANSWER A FUCKING QUESTION ALREADY?!!!!

[allegro]

Rep. Lynch summed it up: Republicans are focusing on Cohen’s lies because the truth scares them.

They are using diversionary tactics to sway the public away from EVIDENCE Cohen has presented, to sway Congress away from determining if the President has committed impeachable actions.

“High crimes and misdemeanors” isn’t defined in writing; it’s a political definition.


Man, Lanny Davis and Michael Monico are awesome! NOTHING upsets those guys! Cohen needs some (a lot) of their courtroom control.

[thelastdisciple]

Can these Republican shitheads defending Trump be found guilty of aiding and abetting a criminal and removed from office? because jesus tap dancing christ! Getting on my damn nerves.

[ickyvicky]

This is rough!

[allegro]

Jim Jordan is SUCH AN ASSHOLE.

[Jinsai]

What is this Higgins motherfucker talking about!?!??!?!?

Mr Higgins: "Where did these boxes you were searching through for records come from?"

MC: "Uh, they're in storage."

Higgins: "So why didn't you turn them over to authorities?"

MC: "uh, they WERE when they raided my office... then they were returned to me."

Higgins: "I've never heard of you before today!"

WHAT THE FUCK?!

[ickyvicky]

"Have you ever been to Prague?" HUH???

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

I laughed out loud when “Liar, liar, pants on fire” was brought up as a legitimate point of contention by a republican adult in this hearing. This is FASCINATING.

I may actually be taking work off for the rest of the day to see this all the way through.

[zecho]

Can these Republican shitheads defending Trump be found guilty of aiding and abetting a criminal and removed from office? because jesus tap dancing christ! Getting on my damn nerves.

I don't know how it works at all, but I hope that when Trump is convicted, there's an investigation into what the GOP knew, and each person who attempted to protect him despite what they knew are tried for conspiracy against the United States. As far as I'm concerned, knowingly aiding a Russian asset in hurting the United States is treasonous itself.

[zecho]

It's amazing that you can tell if a speaker is Republican or not by whether they ask questions or just go on a rant attacking the guy. And they all keep bringing up that he lied to congress, but neglect to mention that he lied in their favor. That's a big thing to ignore.

[Mantra]

So isn't some of Cohen's testimony today reiterating the same thing that was reported in that buzzfeed article from a month or so back? Or am I misunderstanding?

The buzzfeed article said:

President Donald Trump directed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter.

Trump also supported a plan, set up by Cohen, to visit Russia during the presidential campaign, in order to personally meet President Vladimir Putin and jump-start the tower negotiations. “Make it happen,” the sources said Trump told Cohen.

And even as Trump told the public he had no business deals with Russia, the sources said Trump and his children Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. received regular, detailed updates about the real estate development from Cohen, whom they put in charge of the project.

The special counsel has disputed this buzzfeed article, and yet today we're getting this from Cohen...

Mr. Cohen did testify that Mr. Trump personally monitored negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, asking about it “at least a half-dozen times” between January and June 2016 while running for president. “Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it,” Mr. Cohen said in his opening statement.

And while Mr. Trump did not explicitly instruct him to lie, through his actions he “made clear to me” that “he wanted me to lie” and the president’s lawyers reviewed Mr. Cohen’s false testimony to Congress about the Moscow project, Mr. Cohen said.

Isn't this pretty much the same as what the buzzfeed article reported? And if so, how exactly was the article wrong?

[zecho]

So isn't some of Cohen's testimony today reiterating the same thing that was reported in that buzzfeed article from a month or so back? Or am I misunderstanding?

The buzzfeed article said:



The special counsel has disputed this buzzfeed article, and yet today we're getting this from Cohen...



Isn't this pretty much the same as what the buzzfeed article reported? And if so, how exactly was the article wrong?

"President Donald Trump directed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie"

vs.

"And while Mr. Trump did not explicitly instruct him to lie"

[allegro]

@Mantra , I think the Special Counsel’s Office carefully worded its response as to “accuracy” but did not dispute “truth.” It did not point out which portions of the Buzzfeed report were inaccurate, despite Buzzfeed’s demands. Most of this info had been known for YEARS. @zecho got the specifics correct with that last quote as to accuracy.

[allegro]

What is this Higgins motherfucker talking about!?!??!?!?

Mr Higgins: "Where did these boxes you were searching through for records come from?"

MC: "Uh, they're in storage."

Higgins: "So why didn't you turn them over to authorities?"

MC: "uh, they WERE when they raided my office... then they were returned to me."

Higgins: "I've never heard of you before today!"

WHAT THE FUCK?!

Someone on Twitter:

“Higgins looks like he just left his other job as a blackjack dealer on a riverboat casino.”

LOL LOL

Higgins (a former Sheriff) thinks the FBI somehow FORGOT to raid Cohen’s office?? When Cohen had already answered that the FBI had RETURNED THE BOXES OF DOCUMENTS TO HIM (since the case is over).

Wanna know about Clay Higgins’ law enforcement career?

IT AIN’T GOOD!! http://theind.com/article-permalink-24002.html

”Pfc. Clay Higgins used unnecessary force on a subject during the execution of a warrant and later gave false statements during an internal investigation. Although he later recanted his story and admitted to striking a suspect in handcuffs and later releasing him ..."

The account details a pair of general orders in the police code of conduct Higgins was accused of violating and recommended four actions:
1) Demotion from Patrolman First Class to Patrolman
2) Reassignment to a Patrol Shift for more direct supervision and training
3) Immediate removal from the SWAT Team
4) 160 hours suspension from duty without pay

[allegro]

"Have you ever been to Prague?" HUH???

This is a big deal, the FBI was trying to prove that he went to Prague to meet with Putin operatives and that he’s been lying about it and somehow forged his passport.

Edit: See this, for example: https://www.vox.com/2018/4/13/172366...steele-dossier

[ickyvicky]

Ok, I wasn't aware of that story. Thank you!

[allegro]

[allegro]

Also, re that asshole Meadows threatening criminal action against Cohen:

[ickyvicky]

Investigation now opened up on Matt Gaetz's tweet. Woo hooo!