Michael Cohen office raided by FBI

[DrLove]

Cohen paying Stormy for her silence has nothing to do with Russia and is not a crime.

Sorry - Highly likely to be a campaign finance crime.

Same thing that brought down John Edwards.

 

[paperview]

From a former FBI agent:


“I’ve been an FBI special agent for 20 years and have only seen a handful of searches executed on attorneys. All of those attorneys went to prison.”

 

[Hutch Starskey]

This will backfire on them, bigly.

Are you tired of whining yet?

Nope..I don't think they are--the whining has just started:

‘A bomb on Trump’s front porch’: FBI’s Cohen raids hit home for the president

"Trump “won’t like that Cohen is in the crosshairs, but you have to remember: He’d prefer the heat be on Cohen than on him,” said one of the president’s advisers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share a candid assessment. “His goal will be to figure out how much vulnerability he has.”


This was Trump’s first crisis without Hope Hicks, the recently departed White House communications director who knew her way around the broader Trump orbit, getting to the bottom of what was happening, counseling the president and intuiting how he would want the situation handled.


Trump also navigated Monday’s turn without a full slate of legal advisers. He has yet to replace John Dowd, who resigned last month as his personal attorney in the Russia matter. Reached briefly Monday afternoon, one White House official sighed when asked about Trump’s strategy, pointing to the “evident” limitations of the current legal team, as well as the absence so far of a public-relations plan to counter the hotly anticipated release next week of former FBI director James B. Comey’s memoir, “A Higher Loyalty.”


There was fear in Trump’s orbit that the president is liable to erupt in anger in coming days, escalating his attacks against Mueller at a time when his attorneys are negotiating a possible interview. And there was concern in some quarters that Trump, who has been shaking up his administration in recent weeks, may also seek to terminate Mueller.


Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a friend of Trump, called the Cohen raids “a little heavy-handed.”


“Is this surprising? Yes,” said Giuliani, also a former U.S. attorney. “Is it extraordinary? No. This is the way prosecutors get information — sometimes to convict and prosecute, sometimes to exculpate.”


Criticizing Mueller for veering into “highly personal issues,” such as the alleged Daniels encounter, Giuliani added, “The only thing that’s happening, perhaps, is that Mueller is trying to compel the president to testify.”

Cohen has long been a fixer for Trump, as well as his family and business, and associates said he was disappointed when he was not brought officially on board the campaign, and again when he was passed over for a coveted White House job.

“He’s done the dirty work that the president hasn’t wanted to do himself, and he’s been doing it for a decade,” O’Brien said.

In the early weeks of the administration, Cohen was spotted unshaven, roaming the lobby of the Trump International Hotel in Washington. He has stayed in touch with the president through late-night phone calls.

But now, Cohen is back squarely in Trump’s orbit — though perhaps not in the way he had hoped to be. Cohen himself has become the kind of distraction that he was usually tasked with handling for his boss.

“When it comes to Michael Cohen, anything is possible,” said Louise Sunshine, a former Trump Organization executive who knows Cohen. “Anything and everything is possible.”"

Wasn’t Trump just boasting about how every lawyer wants to be his lawyer?

I bet Cohen's lawyer is seeking counsel now.

 

[DrLove]

It's a witch hunt. you know it, I know it, even the left knows it.

Yes, it is a witch hunt being conducted by Republicans and Trump appointees.

Donald must really like witches!

 

[DrLove]

a non disclosure agreement is a legal document. paying someone to sign an NDA is not illegal.

None of this has anything to do with why Mueller was appointed-----------to investigate Russian influence in the 2016 election.

Which is why Mueller kicked it over to the Trump-appointed Southern District US Attorney. They are the ones that jumped through about a million hoops and with the FBI, conducted the raid.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Cohen paying Stormy for her silence has nothing to do with Russia and is not a crime.

Sorry - Highly likely to be a campaign finance crime.

Same thing that brought down John Edwards.

Maybe..although I'm intrigued by the possible Wire Fraud/Bank Fraud allegations...usually a money laundering sort of thing. Of course, we both could be right.

 

[DrLove]

Wasn’t Trump just boasting about how every lawyer wants to be his lawyer?

I bet Cohen's lawyer is seeking counsel now.

Trump has been great for employment with lawyers' lawyers' LAWYER lawyering up.

Problem is, there are no attorneys remaining in Washington DC (not that would want to work for Trump anyway) ...

We have achieved full employment!

 

[OldLady]

Cohen paying Stormy for her silence has nothing to do with Russia and is not a crime.

Sorry - Highly likely to be a campaign finance crime.

Same thing that brought down John Edwards.

Why would that need to be prosecuted in NYC? Isn't campaign finance part of Mueller's baliwick?

 

[Votto]

Mr. Cohen is at the center of several aspects of the special counsel’s investigation. He also acknowledged paying $130,000 to Stephanie Clifford, who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump.

The F.B.I. on Monday raided the office of President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, seizing records related to several topics including payments to a pornographic-film actress.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan obtained the search warrant after receiving a referral from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to Mr. Cohen’s lawyer, who called the search “completely inappropriate and unnecessary.” The search does not appear to be directly related to Mr. Mueller’s investigation, but likely resulted from information he had uncovered and gave to prosecutors in New York.

“Today the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York executed a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications between my client, Michael Cohen, and his clients,” said Stephen Ryan, his lawyer. “I have been advised by federal prosecutors that the New York action is, in part, a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.”

More: F.B.I. Raids Office of Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen - The New York Times

Apparently involves Stormy Daniels - and more.

And to think that what you discuss with your lawyer is private and protected under the law.

Not even Nixon had to deal with this.

Please note, Trump is in no way the object of these investigations. The fact that everyone around him is has to do with pure coincidence only.

 

[DrLove]

Geoffrey Berman even donated to Trump’s campaign.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Berman to the job in January. Berman has a reputation among his friends and co-workers as a sharp, hard-working lawyer. And he’s certainly not part of any Democratic cabal out to get Trump: He donated $5,400 to Trump’s presidential campaign.

Berman also met personally with Trump when he was up for the job, according to CNN.

More: U.S. Attorney Behind The Michael Cohen Raid Is A Trump Appointee

Some have speculated that Berman may have recused himself.

LOCK HIM UP for violating Donald's Loyalty Oath!

 

[Dragonlady]

IN the payment? Simple, it could be That trump evaded campaign finance laws by asking Cohen to do it.

Asking his lawyer to pay on a contract? Which campaign finance law is he violating?

The payment to Stormy Daniels a few days before the election is said to be a campaign contribution because it was to buy her silence in light of the Access Hollywood scandal.

If Cohen made the payment to Daniels from his personal funds, the amount is far in excess of the $3000 limit that an individual is allowed to donate. That’s illegal.

If Trump supplied the funds, it’s a legal campaign contribution but he failed to report the payment. Failure to report the payment makes it a violation of campaign finance law.

 

[Cellblock2429]

Hitler's lawyer never got his house raided by the FBI

/——/ That’s True, your hero Hitler had the SS protecting him.

 

[DrLove]

How many days 'til Mueller gets fired? I'm guessing TODAY

Oh boy - And all the "Trump whisperers" have left the building. Come back Hope Hicks.

Or not .. he fires Mueller two things happen: 1. The investigation will continue and 2. the beginning of impeachment.

But I bet you're right - by the end of this week is my bet. The loon is completely unhinged.

 

[DrLove]

And to think that what you discuss with your lawyer is private and protected under the law.

Not even Nixon had to deal with this.

Please note, Trump is in no way the object of these investigations. The fact that everyone around him is has to do with pure coincidence only.

Not if a crime has been committed. Up your game Willy Wonka

 

[debbiedowner]

Cohen can choose...either flip or spend decades in jail. I expect the idiot trump is still talking to Cohen....and the FBI IS listening.....

I guess the presumption of innocence isn't in your vocabulary.

BTW, Cohen is his lawyer.
He shares attorney client privileges.
He has a right to talk to him.
And that's the only reason they raided his home.

So what? That doesn't protect against crimes.

Cohen paying Stormy for her silence has nothing to do with Russia and is not a crime.

How do you know it's not a crime? Do you know all the details?

a non disclosure agreement is a legal document. paying someone to sign an NDA is not illegal.

None of this has anything to do with why Mueller was appointed-----------to investigate Russian influence in the 2016 election.

Again, what part of Mueller is not doing the investigation don't you understand? Evidence was turned over to one of Trumps appointee's in N.Y. and said do what you want with it. You people just don't get it, do you?

 

[Contumacious]

I guess the presumption of innocence isn't in your vocabulary.

BTW, Cohen is his lawyer.
He shares attorney client privileges.
He has a right to talk to him.
And that's the only reason they raided his home.

Holyfuckingshit!

Weren’t you the one earlier claiming Hillary committed crimes but was never charged with them??

You should have “hypocrite” tattooed across your forehead..... backwards, so you can read it every time you look in a mirror.

Yeah because our justice system ALWAYS gets the crook...LOL!

Moron, what does that have to to with someone talking about presumption of innocence after crying that Hillary got away with committing crimes?

Why didn't they raid the place where Hillary's server was? It was under subpeona and she failed to produce it.

I get your drift

Anything Trump does is suspicious

anything the demo rats do is not

.

 

[OldLady]

Cohen paying Stormy for her silence has nothing to do with Russia and is not a crime.

Sorry - Highly likely to be a campaign finance crime.

Same thing that brought down John Edwards.

Maybe..although I'm intrigued by the possible Wire Fraud/Bank Fraud allegations...usually a money laundering sort of thing. Of course, we both could be right.

The dirtiest thing I've seen yet was when Trump first came in, he abruptly got rid of Preet Braharar after asking him specifically to stay, and within a couple of days, a Russian money laundering case he was handling was settled for peanuts -- even the Russians couldn't believe it. The more interesting part was that the case was defended by the same Russian attorney who met with Donald Trump Jr. in Trump Tower to discuss "adoptions."
We can speculate on what, exactly, the smell is coming from, but that was either a quid pro quo or blackmail, and it was directly to do with Trump. Whether Cohen would have had anything to do with that, I don't know, but Trump clearly wanted that case to go away.

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

Cohen paying Stormy for her silence has nothing to do with Russia and is not a crime.

Sorry - Highly likely to be a campaign finance crime.

Same thing that brought down John Edwards.

​

Trump ally Chris Christie shoots down president’s crazed tweets: ‘Attorney-client privilege is not dead’

 

[Faun]

This will backfire on them, bigly.

Are you tired of whining yet?

Nope..I don't think they are--the whining has just started:

‘A bomb on Trump’s front porch’: FBI’s Cohen raids hit home for the president

"Trump “won’t like that Cohen is in the crosshairs, but you have to remember: He’d prefer the heat be on Cohen than on him,” said one of the president’s advisers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share a candid assessment. “His goal will be to figure out how much vulnerability he has.”


This was Trump’s first crisis without Hope Hicks, the recently departed White House communications director who knew her way around the broader Trump orbit, getting to the bottom of what was happening, counseling the president and intuiting how he would want the situation handled.


Trump also navigated Monday’s turn without a full slate of legal advisers. He has yet to replace John Dowd, who resigned last month as his personal attorney in the Russia matter. Reached briefly Monday afternoon, one White House official sighed when asked about Trump’s strategy, pointing to the “evident” limitations of the current legal team, as well as the absence so far of a public-relations plan to counter the hotly anticipated release next week of former FBI director James B. Comey’s memoir, “A Higher Loyalty.”


There was fear in Trump’s orbit that the president is liable to erupt in anger in coming days, escalating his attacks against Mueller at a time when his attorneys are negotiating a possible interview. And there was concern in some quarters that Trump, who has been shaking up his administration in recent weeks, may also seek to terminate Mueller.


Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a friend of Trump, called the Cohen raids “a little heavy-handed.”


“Is this surprising? Yes,” said Giuliani, also a former U.S. attorney. “Is it extraordinary? No. This is the way prosecutors get information — sometimes to convict and prosecute, sometimes to exculpate.”


Criticizing Mueller for veering into “highly personal issues,” such as the alleged Daniels encounter, Giuliani added, “The only thing that’s happening, perhaps, is that Mueller is trying to compel the president to testify.”

Cohen has long been a fixer for Trump, as well as his family and business, and associates said he was disappointed when he was not brought officially on board the campaign, and again when he was passed over for a coveted White House job.

“He’s done the dirty work that the president hasn’t wanted to do himself, and he’s been doing it for a decade,” O’Brien said.

In the early weeks of the administration, Cohen was spotted unshaven, roaming the lobby of the Trump International Hotel in Washington. He has stayed in touch with the president through late-night phone calls.

But now, Cohen is back squarely in Trump’s orbit — though perhaps not in the way he had hoped to be. Cohen himself has become the kind of distraction that he was usually tasked with handling for his boss.

“When it comes to Michael Cohen, anything is possible,” said Louise Sunshine, a former Trump Organization executive who knows Cohen. “Anything and everything is possible.”"

Wasn’t Trump just boasting about how every lawyer wants to be his lawyer?

I bet Cohen's lawyer is seeking counsel now.

Cohen’s already been cut off by Squire Patton Boggs...

After FBI Raid, Squire Says It Severed Ties to Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen | National Law Journal

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

I guess the presumption of innocence isn't in your vocabulary.

BTW, Cohen is his lawyer.
He shares attorney client privileges.
He has a right to talk to him.
And that's the only reason they raided his home.

So what? That doesn't protect against crimes.

Cohen paying Stormy for her silence has nothing to do with Russia and is not a crime.

How do you know it's not a crime? Do you know all the details?

a non disclosure agreement is a legal document. paying someone to sign an NDA is not illegal.

None of this has anything to do with why Mueller was appointed-----------to investigate Russian influence in the 2016 election.

Again, what part of Mueller is not doing the investigation don't you understand? Evidence was turned over to one of Trumps appointee's in N.Y. and said do what you want with it. You people just don't get it, do you?

They don't WANT to get it---the unvarnished truth is just too much for some...the attempts to spin and deflect are getting outright hilarious.