Trump will go down in history as the President who fooled everyone by making them think he was too dumb to win an election but smart enough to promise them what they wanted all while robbing them at the same time. This guy is smart like a fox and we invited him and his gang into the chicken coop to rid the coop of foxes only to find that he filled it with foxes and ate the chickens.
1
Every time you read story like this you think what Trump had told us, that he would hire only the best people. Now imagine what would have happen if he had hired the worst people?
The common theme and bottom line of this and almost every report about Trump and his associates is this: a virulently unprincipled high-end thug of seriously questionable mental condition is still in the Oval Office repeatedly running the ship of state aground. The details differ from story to story, but the ultimate question remains how much longer the Republican solons in government will enable him to continue his criminality-laced administration. The rest of us are beyond ready to see this anti-American "presidency" terminated.
Donald Trump isn't concerned about the ongoing investigations; he knows he doesn't have to be. While praising the intelligence of the American electorate, he secretly knows that they can be led around like a bulls with nose rings - only instead of bull rings, he uses their beliefs and prejudices to lead them wherever he wants.
If DJT doesn't destroy our fragile democracy, he has published the blueprint and playbook for some other demagogue to do it later. If a democracy like America's is going to exist, there will have to be a paradigm shift in human thought throughout the world.
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds would see the survival of a particular group of people or a belief as more important than the survival of all. When we understand all this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
1
It appears that Trump would have been ahead if he had given Michael a job in the White House. Loyalty is a two way street even if Trump doesn’t believe in it.
1
Our court's and House of Representatives are holding our Democracy together, thank God!
6
Who in the Trump Organization has not and is not working with and for Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Russia?
Same question regarding the Trump campaign organization and administration.
3
Circumstantially it appears Mueller's report will be revealing and riveting. Those who have worked with/for 45 will have nowhere to run or hide. Justice will prevail. Whatever collective innocence the American public has will be lost.
3
Thank goodness that, despite Trump's and some Republicans' attacks, the FBI and Mueller continue to do a thorough job. Trust in these organizations as thorough and fair is critical to maintaining the rule of law.
65
@Ken L After Comey, McCabe how can you possibly trust the FBI?
1
@Ken L
Yes it is good. They have found out that Cohen was crooked before he even worked for Trump. As of yet no indictments for Trump on anything.
2
@Ken L
Ken, trust Mueller? Really?
If there has ever been anyone I trust the least in the entire world it is Mueller.
1
A recent poll said 50% of Americans believe Trump is subject to a witch hunt - for them, the truth does not matter, facts do not matter. But, for the rest of us and for the sake of our democracy, I hope that all of this information comes to light soon so we can truly assess Trumps' deeds.
233
@BMD
Actually, 50% agreed with a poorly worded (perhaps intentionally?) poll question from USA Today.
“President Trump has called the Special Counsel´s investigation a ‘witch hunt’ and said he´s been subjected to more investigations than previous presidents because of politics. Do you agree?”
So what did 50% agree with? That it's a "witch hunt," that he's been investigated more than previous presidents, that it's because of politics, or some combination of those 3?
144
@BMD
This is question asked:
"President Trump has called the Special Counsel´s investigation a 'witch hunt' and said he´s been subjected to more investigations than previous presidents because of politics. Do you agree?
It's a poorly worded question, as it's really two questions in one:
1. Do you believe it's a witch hunt?
2. Do you believe that Trump has been subjected to more investigations than other presidents
49
@KCL
Or the vocal 50% rather than the nation answered the question.
16
History will judge this period of our politics as the ascension of the biggest fraud in American history to our nation's highest office. One can somewhat explain how Richard Nixon defeated Hubert Humphrey in 1968, but our time will be viewed harshly in hindsight as one cannot reasonably explain how Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton when all the signs of his various criminal and unethical enterprises (as well as his lack of intelligence, character, and values) were there for all to see.
403
@Didier
Yes if Hillary won we'd probably be in a shooting war with Russia in Syria. Remember Hillary said she'd put a no fly zone over Syria and would order shooting down of any aircraft over that zone? Russia? we'd just tell them. Forget any possibility of getting out of Afghanistan or Yemen or Libya - actually I believe she was the architect of both Libya and Yemen interventions.
7
@Larry
Does a day go by where you do not think about former Sec. Clinton?!
Turn down your radio!
90
@Larry. But nonetheless, Trump is still awful.
53
Half of America does not believe facts. They believe lies, however. Half of America is scary.
17
@Mogwai
More like less than a third.
What's scarey is that the electoral college is not a fair representation of all Americans.
20
T-h-a-t half of America is what is scary. They seem to vote with the worst intentions and the worst, lowest instincts.
5
I feel like a flow chart or a spreadsheet showing all the 'players' and the interactions would be of great benefit to Everyman. Names, companies, tansactions are all so intertwined that my head spins trying to understand this quagmire.
26
Interestingly, this is really a referendum on Robert Mueller, not on Donald Trump. Anyone paying attention knows Trump has been a major international criminal since long before the election. If Mueller's report fails to put Trump away for many years, we can safely assume Mueller is part of the criminal enterprise and has simply created a diversion to exonerate a fellow Republican.
8
@VoiceofAmerica That's a very broad, vague and clearly defamatory statement. There could be legal consequences. I hope you have proof of your statements.
8
@VoiceofAmerica you just gave a great example of a "post ergo propter hoc" logical fallacy. If Mueller's report doesn't send Trump to prison (a big assumption) we cannot safely assume, as you put it, that Mueller is part of a criminal enterprise. One thing doesn't always follow the other. Correlation doesn't equal causation.
8
@Ronald Weinstein Did those who claimed Obama wasn’t born in the US?
6
Either this massive, multi-front money laundering, fraud, conspiracy and treason case is serious or it isn't. If it is, it is unquestionably the case that the 2016 election is invalid, Trump must be removed and all the Republicans in his admin must be removed and also investigated as co-conspirators.
If not, the whole thing is a show. Period.
17
@VoiceofAmerica, I have been saying this all along. What you and I are postulating is unprecedented, but so is the level of abject corruption in both the election process of 2016 and its once-unimaginable result. Not all of the evil can be undone, of course, but we would be less than patriotic citizens if we didn't try to cancel out as much of it as possible.
1
In the photo he is carrying a heavy suitcase using both hands ... did he also lie about the shoulder surgery ?
5
Some information remains redacted or sealed so the subjects of the investigation will still be secret.
Everybody’s impatient with the time it has taken thus far.
I can’t imagine that the result will be exoneration.
It’s like the cockroach theory, which suggests that seeing one cockroach is usually evidence that there are many more.
The president and his associates are beyond corrupt. And it is likely that everything the investigators have seen has led to more criminals.
I hope they all end up in the big roach motel in Leavenworth
27
@Steve Ell...or Un-Leavenworth, depending.
1
maybe this is why DJT was so grumpy on Sun, issuing unstable tweets.
18
It's a wish hunt.
7
I think that Mr. Mueller has put together such a compelling case, ultimately charging Trump with conspiracy, money laundering, fraud, tax evasion and a litany of other felonies that the Special Counsel is now faced with a profound conundrum: how to present this damning panoply of indictable charges without creating civil war between Trump's deranged acolytes and those who actually value democratic principles. It should be an interesting period ahead. Can't wait to see Trump squirm. So much for the "Witch hunt, folks."
25
@H. Clark Mueller is a career Republican. His role is to exonerate Trump of all wrongdoing while making it appear that every stone has been turned over. It's almost certainly a sham.
1
Believe it or not, there are some republicans that have maintained their dignity and integrity through this; I believe Mr. Mueller is one of them.
13
@VoiceofAmerica you speak more like the "voiceoftrump".
3
To be fair my hat’s off to both sides: The Russians and how intricately they pulled it off and Muller’s Lawyers after the fact showing us how they did it. But I doubt if they’re stupid enough to pull the same trick twice, the thought of which is more than enough to keep us up at nights, leaving us only a tattered old Treddy Bear named Impeach Donald to cling to to reassure us to sleep. No telling what the dawn will bring though.
2
Very informative article. This seems to me a clue that Mueller is completing his investigation or at least that portion related to Cohen otherwise they would continue to be withheld to protect an ongoing investigation.
By the way if anyone wants to read the actual documents that this article discusses they can be found here:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/19/politics/read-michael-cohen-documents/index.html
2
An impressive rule by Judge Pauley. Let's hope that the full findings of the Mueller team will be available to the public.
All concerned Americans should be more active in our quest for judicial independence and transparency.
Crimes don't take vacation from any group of age, race, or social status.
92
@Chinh Dao I disagree and I think Judge Pauley releasing this info is stupid. Public does NOT have experience and it opens another can of worms that the public can not handle. After releasing to public most will say: Why Mueller came to this solution.. Most will question Mueller...
@Abenaki I disagree and believe that you underestimate the majority of the public. Those who already have formed their views are not going to change them, but for the majority this info lays out more of the timeline and approach. The report will tell us more. If you ever thought all would be resolved with the issuance of the Mueller report, you were naive in your thinking.
10
How can citizens be "more active" when the majority of Republican representatives and senators in my state and I assume many others are pro Trump and his "witch hunt" theory, and are not listening to us? Are we not the '"American people" they always claim to be their constituents? More and more I feel my vote really doesn't count in their calculus and decisions. I feel pessimistic about ever seeing a clearly definitive version of the Mueller report or even just a very heavily redacted one which would enlighten the public as to what really transpired in the 2016 election. So much for "We the People." Hope I'm wrong in my despair over this whole investigation.
7
Trump claims that in a new poll 50% of the people agree with him that the Mueller investigation is a witch hunt. Here's the USA Today/ Suffolk University poll question:
"President Trump has called the Special Counsel´s investigation a 'witch hunt' and said he´s been subjected to more investigations than previous presidents because of politics. Do you agree?"
Okay, for starters, wouldn't everyone, if they've been paying attention for the last two years, agree that President Trump characterizes the Special Counsel investigation as a witch hunt? That all he does 24/7. The question isn't whether they believe it's actually a witch hunt.
Secondly, there should be fairly high agreement on Trump's claim that he's one of the most investigated presidents because of politics. It true, there are a load of investigations happening. Furthermore, isn't everything at this level at least in part about politics? That doesn't mean that the people would also agree that the investigations are unwarranted.
Worst poll question I've seen in a while.
173
So many crimes/criminals. So little prison time. NY has all of Mueller's materials. Trump will go to NY State Prison. Ray Sipe
15
I hope the Mueller investigation report will be made public so the American people can come to their own conclusion before heading to the polls next November.
13
3 years sounds like a pretty light sentence
1
@Duffman
Contrast Manafort, millions in unpaid taxes, money laundering and mortgage fraud and jury verdict of guilty on 8 federal felonies, with nearly 20 years reommended prison time by sentencing guidelines -- sentenced to 47 months. According to the judge, he was otherwise an "exemplary" citizen.
2
@James. according to the second judge, he was a lifelong criminal who had not yet been caught. And now he is. My opinion coincides with hers.
Sounds very much like a non-witch hunt.
10
Surely no one believes Cohen admitted to lying because Mueller gave him a stern look. Mueller had proof of his lies. The same proof that Cohen presented to Congress on his most recent testimony. And I’m sure there is much more.
14
The only bad thing about this is the fact that Mueller will be able to point to emails by Cohen that do connect the Trump team to Russia and I say it's a bad thing because the White House has requested the special consul's report before releasing it to congress, at which time Trump will claim executive privilege and not release it to congress and have a giant press conference to say it was all a witch hunt.
At least Nixon had the decency to step down.
10
This information can only help Trump’s defense. We could have waited NYT.
4
This entire Trump disaster we're living through is so horrifying I can't even express my anger. I've emailed my Idaho Senators and Representatives (of course all Republican) to let them know
but I feel pretty helpless otherwise.
Vote!
23
America, thank your whatever for the NYT (WaPo, too).
9
Gotta hand it to Trump -he can certainly fool some of the people all the time. Darn!
14
Trump will go down in history as the President who fooled everyone by making him think he was too dumb to win an election but smart enough to promise the deplorable what they wanted all while literally robbing the people. This guy is smart like a fox and we invited him and his gang into the chicken coop to rid the coop of foxes.
15
Cohen the con man.
1
Mueller “convinced” a judge that he has has enough evidence that Cohen “could be” a foreign agent, got to raid his house and found lying to banks and paying off a porn actresses as a campaign contribution of sorts crimes.
Where is the evidence or charges of the foreign agent activity that started the investigation?
Am I the only one here (without all things Trump clouding my judgement) who finds this scary?
Will the dossier with its claim of Cohen in Prague pop up as well?
Do progressives really believe that once Trump is gone they can insist on return to normalcy and checks on prosecutorial and investigative powers? Or do they take Trump at his word that the Right does not know how to play hardball?
5
@Just Saying I doubt that any progressives would be interested in having a criminal as president. Don't you think Trump's nest of Russian connections calls for investigation?
How about possible obstruction of justice?
Patriots of all descriptions are concerned about Trump's destruction of normalcy and his fascist aspirations; his hate and his desire to pit one American against another.
20
@Just Saying you evidently didn't read the article closely enough. It states "Prosecutors, for instance, unearthed bank payments from a New York investment firm tied to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin who met with Mr. Cohen in his Trump Tower office just days before the inauguration, the documents show." So evidence of potential foreign agent activity. Also by the way it states "One newly released search warrant said that the F.B.I. and Manhattan federal prosecutors were investigating Mr. Cohen for a range of crimes, including defrauding several banks dating back to 2016 and a scheme “to make an illegal campaign contribution in October 2016 to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.”" So they got a search warrant on the basis of evidence of potential bank fraud and illegal campaign contributions which Cohn was convicted of.
Finally you neglect to realize that in the letter initiating the Mueller investigation the scope was defined as Russian election interference and any other potential crimes uncovered in performing the investigation which makes sense. What you are suggesting is that Mueller and the FBI should look the other way when evidence of a potential crime is before them. So when a policeman stops a car for speeding he shouldn't investigate if he sees a crack pipe in the ash tray?
10
@Just Saying The warrant was not based on the dossier. That is a fox news/trump talking point. They must have learned from other, cooperating witnesses or other sources that something was worthy of criminal investigation. And guess what? They were correct. Cohen is a crook.
8
Just look how the media tries to fool the public: Supreme Court says government can detain immigrants with past criminal records even years after their release from custody. Do you all know what is wrong with the statement? I do: When someone is a immigrant and they do a crime in America. They automatically get deported back to the origin country after they have completed the sentence. If they come back to America they are arrested and sentenced again (yes this is another crime) and after they complete that sentence they get deported... I know this because I have seen this to be true. Just sit in a court hearing when this is the issue and you will see, I did...
1
@Abenaki "Just look how the media tries to fool the public:" I read and re-read your post, and could not see any proof of your "headline" in the body of what you wrote.
6
@Abenaki I think you are commenting on the wrong article. Where is immigration law mentioned at all in this article regarding Michael Cohen. Yes, I think everyone agrees that when a person immigrates to the US without authorization, a visa, they are breaking the law; it is a federal crime. That's why they are called illegal immigrants. So every time they do it they are breaking the law. So what's your point here?!
6
It appears that the FBI thought Cohen was making "contributions" to Trump's campaign by paying off Stormy & Karen. The actual search revealed that Trump & his bussiness were reimbursing Cohen. Nothing illegal here........except it is. The earlier email, recording & document searches will reveal the extent of Trump's Russian development project and.............
12
Individual 1's days are numbered.
It's not a matter of if, but of when, the criminal con man in the White House has to face the law.
Our president has committed felonies. He's not above the law and must be held accountable if we're to remain a democracy.
42
@L
I certainly hope so. But Trump is coated in Teflon. It's possible that he'll be found guilty of lots of crimes. Nearly all will be financial; in which case the courts, the Republican Party and all the Trumpsters will just shrug their shoulders.
The rest will be obstruction-related and again, shrugged off.
It is truly amazing how Trump glides through life, grifting and conning with impunity.
22
Susan,
I agree that Trump supporters will deny that he's done anything wrong, but when the courts make a decision the Republicans will have to abide by it.
9
@L
Can you please provide us a list of the felonies you allege Trump has committed and the statutes that apply to them.
3
This witch hunt has trapped many witches.
32
At least Michael Cohen's emails were easier to get than Hillary Clinton's. We can thank the Russians for disclosing that Clinton deleted many emails that were relevant to her work as SOS.
4
@J. Waddell Oh yes, those emails!
2
@J. Waddell
Why are you bringing up Hillary Clinton?
11
@J. Waddell
Commentors who bring up Hillary are often Russian trolls. They continue to want to sow seeds of discontent and divisiveness here in the US. They also claim that Mueller is untrustworthy even though his credentials are impeccable. Listen to Barr's praise Mueller, for example.
10
We know enough already that Trump violates with impunity our constitution and debases the office of the president. What is really scary is that a base of Americans still support Trump. What is it in our psyche that allows decent Americans to overlook the abuses that could undermine our democracy? What is it that is more important than truth? For a person out of touch with reality we have therapy. What do we do for a nation out of touch?
42
@Maury
We have an election.
5
As one of DJT's closest advisors said months ago: "Mueller has _everything_."
These latest revelations of what was obtained on the raid on Cohen's treasure trove of documents confirms that assertion. And remember, much of what is still redacted in these documents is well-known to Mueller's team, the FBI, and the DOJ.
Pop the popcorn and have a seat - the show is just beginning.
20
So we all dance around the one big case that's still outstanding. If it's not Donald Trump and his family working with the Russians to steal the presidency (and later, obstruct justice and any/all revelations of that collusion) THAT would be the only shocker. Which again begs the question, what are the Spineless Republicans in congress going to do about it? The trail of clues around Bob Mueller's reports, indictments, actions, redactions and even silence, spin a web of corruption heretofore unknown in US politics, even accounting for Nixon. Barr, Graham, McConnell will all have decisions to make: corruption vs. consequences.
45
@Andy There are 34 Senate seats up for re-election in 2020 of which 22 are currently held by the GOP, including McConnell's. I'm hoping that voters choose to switch out him and the other dead beats milking our nation.
29
@Andy How many investigations do you need?
1
History will not be kind to republicans who capitulated and enabled this criminal Trump presidency
The only way to save the Republican Party is to overwhelmingly vote in favor of laws that support financial audits and security clearances for all candidates for congress and the presidency.
And if they don’t democrats- run on that
Run against corruption.
78
@Deirdre
Know who else History won't be kind to? Democrats who channeled Joseph McCarthy in Red Baiting their Fellow Americans that's who.
2
@GregP
Running against corruption is red baiting?
Running against people that refuse to do their job is red baiting?
Running against a president who spends more time managing his businesses than running the country is red baiting?
How do you get there?
11
The witch-hunt is paying off in dividends. The American people will get a piece of the broom. GOP will get the stick.
35
This is not big news. Mueller and the FBI had to have had a lot of information about Cohen's misdeeds to get the warrant for the April 2018 raid.
16
Don't journalists ever feel a pang of guilt about manipulating events through information requests? The investigation clearly did not want to make these documents public at this time. By taking the matter to court, the investigation could be irreparably damaged or compromised. The newspapers don't know. They weren't supposed to know. That's why the documents were kept private.
This is the classic ethical dilemma in journalism. If you see a building on fire, do you stop to take a picture or do try to save a life? Journalism says the picture is more important. Saving a life is routinely denigrated as participant journalism. The insult is roughly equivalent to accusing an anthropologist of "going native." How dare you alter the circumstances of the event you're "objectively" recording?
The revelation says a lot more about the ambiguity of ethics in journalism than anything else. You just needed to sell that paper, didn't you?
7
@Andy The judge made the call as to what could be released without damaging the investigation. The journalists knew this is how it would be handled so the fact that they didn't know whether any material would or wouldn't hamper the investigation doesn't mean a thing.
As for your claim that "Journalism says the picture is more important", do you any evidence to back that up?
The jounalistic function is different from the police or fire or medical function. And we do need it. So generally journalists leave the helping to those whose normal function it is.
But the claim that journalists routinely fail to help those in need when there's no one else there to help is a very strong claim and needs to be supported by facts.
Do you have any?
30
@Andy: It's no more manipulating events to ask questions than it is to manipulate them by withholding information. The job of the press is to seek information and report it to the public, that it may be better informed about public affairs. One function of the court is to find the balance between the public's right to know and the potential for damage or the greater good to be achieved by keeping certain information secret. And that's just what Judge Pauley did. Whether he was right or wrong in this case is a separate discussion.
To illustrate irresponsible journalism at work, consider the role of William Randolph Hearst in instigating the Spanish-American War. Or, more recently and in a different form, the role of David Pecker and the National Enquirer in suppressing information that may well have had a strong bearing on the 2016 election. Or the aggressive role Rupert Murdoch has played in promulgating disinformation and fear-mongering propaganda thinly disguised as "journalism," to the great detriment of public discourse and comity.
18
The judge could have said "no" to the Times and the other news organizations. You're also assuming the investigation will be altered, but no one can know at this point. (It would be much easier to report news if reporters could predict outcomes.) As far as selling papers is concerned, the Times no doubt printed the same number of newspapers the day the story appeared as it did the day before and the day after.
14
Judge Pauley does believe in transparency, unlike some others.
So far, if Mueller was looking for evidence of Trump wrongdoing, the timeframe of these emails might prove useful, but it sort of sounds like the released materials pertain to Cohen's own tax evasion and financial fraud.
Who knows? I think we're all so desperate for a smoking gun that we cling on every article the NYT produces on this topic.
5
This was a Muler fishing expedition from the start!
2
Lannie Davis always worked hand-in-glove for the Clintons. Why Cohen would hire him is mind-boggling. So here he is going after Trump and yet still going to jail.
@Alan Klein Because attorneys don't put their biases before their client and Davis helped the Clintons to escape liability?
10
Poor Donald. He can't settle this one out of court. He can't pay his accusers ten cents on the dollar and walk away. He can't file bankruptcy on this one either. When he learned that FBI agents had "raided Cohen's home and office, he declared it was a very sad day for America.
No. I think history will show instead that it was a very sad day for Donald.
129
None of this happened in a bubble. Trump has people to do his dirty work - expendable people, as those who have only recently entered his orbit have yet to learn.
Cohen was smart to get out when he did. Before Trump was president his corrupt financial practices mainly affected those who made the bad choice of working with him. With the power of the presidency, the unbridled greed and narcissism coupled with his admiration of people like MBS, Kim and Putin, mean that the people who do his dirty work now are ranging close to enabling crimes against humanity.
61
Republican Jeff Flake, Paul Ryan, Trey Gowdy, Bob Corker, Orin Hatch and others resigned from Congress. Aren’t they glad?
They knew Trump was nothing but a dirty crook.
Now what about his loyalists that remain? It really puts them in the crook category, too, doesn’t it?
Michael Cohen’s investigation is just the tip of the iceberg meltdown. Hoping this takes down more than Trump.
It’s difficult for us seniors to live this. We go to DC, look for the names of our friends on the Vietnam Wall. We honor our parents and aunts and uncles at the WWII Memorial. We pay our respects in Arlington for all of our forefathers that fought for us, and stand at allegiance for the changing of the guard.
But we view the White House, not even wanting to get close, at a distance, in disgust for the disgrace Donald Trump has caused. Gone are the days we took our kids on those White House tours, proud of our presidents, proud of our heritage. Trump has poisoned the ground and I would never ever want to take my grandkids there.....it’s toxic.
176
Cohen is and was all about Cohen. This new information just highlights that Cohen was looking out for himself and not Trump.
1
@Bob - Interesting. So Cohen was supposed to blindly obey Trump and do things that were illegal? Why exactly does he owe Trump or anyone else this kind of loyalty?
13
This is GREAT news! "Judge Pauley, in a 30-page opinion on Feb. 7 made clear why he thought some materials could be released while others had to remain sealed for now. “At this stage,” the judge wrote, “wholesale disclosure of the materials would reveal the scope and direction of the government’s ongoing investigation,”
Mr. Cohen was wise to speak out. Otherwise he would probably be dead by now.
37
Today, I awoke to the news, once again, that the Special Prosecutor's report is imminent. I shall not hold my breath.
Mueller's team has shown itself to be the gold standard in how to maintain integrity/secrecy required to conduct an investigations such as this. However, it seems there are things available in the public record, that ought to be addressed which do not compromise the integrity of his undertaking, and, are in fact, a part of his reason for being.
Two examples. The Trump Tower "Russian orphans" meeting and the response when it was aired, which we know was stage-managed by Trump from Air Force One. And. Kushner seeking a communications back channel to the Russians, America's most formidable adversary.
Don, Jr. seems to think that he's exposed and stated that he expected to be indicted. As well he should. No chance that Kushner is not culpable, but I'd wager that he's mostly unconcerned because his father in law wields the "pardon" pen. Of course, Jr. takes comfort in that, also.
In any event, my point is that, these are issues I think could be addressed prior to the formal report being issued. Further, it's hard for me to conceive that Robert Mueller does not fully recognize the danger that Donald Trump is to America's democracy and that there is more than sufficient information to form a legal, constitutionally-based conclusion that Trump has behaved in a manner that is antithetical to the U.S. Constitution, its norms, traditions and laws.
77
@CVP
Still another revelation about Trump's criminal enterprise. When (and if) the entire sleazy operations of the Trump family and their minions are detailed,they will give mobsters a very bad name.Consider this difference: Crime syndicates' enforcers are truthful when they say-"pay up or we will knee-cap you." Trump's gang says: "we're here to help you." But then they knife you.
30
The materials made public today provide no surprises (other than when the investigation began). What will be really interesting is the eventual publication of the redacted portions. Will we see evidence of how Trump attempted to repay his Russian sponsors?
25
@Paul
When the investigation began is no surprise -- Mueller was appointed on May 17, 2017. Of course he was looking for evidence that July and Cohen who was known to have contact with the Russians on behalf of the Trump Organization is an obvious place to look.
8
Special Counsel Mueller and his impeccable team knew early on that Trump's consigliere Cohen held many of the keys to the Don's corrupt and criminal kingdom, and executed perfectly on that knowledge along with the highly skilled, aggressive New York federal prosecutors. Although much of the Fake President's culpability is yet to be revealed, hopefully the public will learn a lot more after after the May 15th update provided by prosecutors to the court. It would appear that much talk of the near ending of the Mueller probe is not accurate. Judge Pauley's careful, systematic, prudent handling of the release of the huge trove of Cohen materials should be highly commended.
48
Thank goodness for the New York Times and their colleagues in the media.
The only way we are going to get any transparency out of this administration and find out what is really happening to this country behind their gilded doors is if the press continues to press and press and press.
203
@avrds
I am in agreement: so many of us are so very, very thankful for The New York Times. I am also relieved that whenever Trump lies (when does he not lie?), the paper says so, not necessarily calling it a lie but with language such as "it isn't true." I guess that's a gentler way of saying "it's a lie." Bravo, New York Times.
78
just need to get away that's what I need to do every time these mini seizures happen
6
Every time you read story like this you think that President Trump always told us that he hired the best people. Now can you imagine what would had happen if he would had hire the worst people?
57
A total absolute witch hunt by the deep state to impeach Trump because they could not control him. There was no collusion and didn't James Clapper Obama's CIA chief stated that early on and they know everything. The deep state doesn't want the Syrian or Yemen or Afghan wars to end as you see they have forced the President to back off any such crazy anti-business wishes. They went after the President's lawyer right away that should tell all what a nasty wish hunt this is. Mueller is so insane that he indicted sme Russian soldiers for hacking the DNC and if they did they probably used our stolen NSA tools.
4
You are correct. This is a "wish" hunt.
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@Larry If you can only make sense of the world through conspiracy theories that you cook up absent any supporting facts, you should probably take a step back and consider - if only for a moment - the alternative: a world in which corroborating reports tell the truth, and not play service to an impossibly large conspiracy involving "deep states". We need to be better than this.
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'Sunlight is the best disinfectant."
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Should prove fascinating, particularly because these are way before Cohen began cooperating.
Wouldn't it be great if they turned up some smoking gun that clearly proves "collusion", aka conspiracy to rig the 2016 election?
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@Jack
Well stated, Jack.
1
What's at issue here is Trump's judgement.
He is either deliberately crooked (to use one of his favorite words) and surrounds himself with birds of a feather, or he's incredibly stupid and has no idea how to vet the people who work with him.
We've seen this pattern throughout the investigations, and also on the world stage where he thinks he can either hang out with the real tough guys or actually believes he can make friends with them with some outdated deal-making skills.
He may be both crooked and stupid, too. He wants to work with bad guys, but may have bitten off way more than he can chew.
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To Democrats and some Republicans, Mueller is either Superman (our hero to rescue us) or Batman as the Dark Knight (a hero we deserve, but don't need). To Trump faithful, they hate Mueller -- not because they think he is incompetent or because they don't secretly respect him, but because he holds power over them and they know he will follow through. They hate him like a grounded teenager hates his dad.
Maybe wishful thinking, but hopefully they will grow up and discover Dad was right.
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Thank goodness the "failing" NYT is accurate in it's characterization of the "FBI searches". The NYT editors should teach a class in news to all three "news" channels, who persistently and and inaccurately refer to the warrant authorized search as the "raid on Michael Cohen's office". It's disgraceful how the TV "news" channels adopt and disseminate and perpetuate the Trumpian language and characterizations. Talking bobble heads, every single one of them. Coiffed, dressed up and made up to appear to be news people when in fact they are really nothing more than daytime soap opera actors who happen to be on 24/7 news channels.
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@WPB The use of the word raid is in reference to a surprise attack. It isn't Trump talk, and originated with the military. As in air raids. When the FBI shows up by surprise to search your premises, it's by definition a raid, and that's a correct term to use.
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@WPB
Even those who profess to be seeking the truth dwell on gotchu and divisive questions that are framed to cause divisiveness and anger. I won't name names, but one with a swelled head about how astute he/she thinks his/her questions are is more dangerous than those that are so obvious on the extreme news channels.
6
Perhaps continued FOI requests from the REAL media (has Faux Noise made ANY FOI requests about the WH, Trump or the Russia investigation investigation since Trump took office?) will make Lindsay Graham's blocking the Senate vote on the "official" public release of Mueller's report moot! BTW, what DOES Trump have on Graham that we all haven't shrugged our shoulder about for years. We don't really care -- but apparently Graham is concerned that Trump's baseline bigots might? Hmmmm....
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Once James Coney was fired, Trump became suspect and enemy number one. But we have hints, here and there, that he was already suspect in August 2016.
Mueller knows so much more than we can imagine! That is the only conclusion one can reach.
---
Things Trump Did While You Weren’t Looking [2019]
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@Rima Regas. I think you are right and hope the report isn't anti climactic and/or hidden from us (or redacted). Or, tied up on courts. I hope that trump’s fanaticism in criticizing it is indicative of his guilt. In any case, i think that we thinking citizens will go nuts (and i mean protesting, marching, etc.) if barr tries to bury it....maybe even some bikers...
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