How Michael Cohen Turned Against President Trump

The moment Donald Trump's term expires in January, 2021, direct legal action will begin against him on a number of fronts. He could be the first president to spend his retirement in prison.

Please continue to keep this information front and centre. The Mueller Report and all that he has uncovered during his meticulous and through investigation work should continue to be in the public eye, and not be buried by the lies of the "white house".

I watched Mr. Cohen's testimony, transfixed. It appears he did a lot of dirty work for Mr. Trump and now has nothing to show for it. The photo at the head of this article appear to show Mr. Cohen's son and wife. I feel sorry for them. A boss once told me (when I screwed up) that everyone deserves a second chance. I hope Mr. Cohen gets and takes full advantage of a second chance after he serves his prison term.

One of Mr. Cohen's many mistakes was trusting Mr. Costello, whom this article reveals to be an unscrupulous snake. With or without a formal retainer, if Mr. Costello was serving as a "legal adviser" to Mr. Cohen, legal ethics bound him to duties which appears to have been breached wholesale. The New York Bar should investigate.

Trump knows how to play all these New York fools; it is an old game from the Mafia playbook. Republican gamesters have protected him at DC, so he can deliver on cherished goals of Supreme Court and other courts. Only the 2020 election can throw him out; impeachment will do no harm to him.

These guys, all of them, have shredded the once strong moral sense of our nation to the point that all remaining is in tatters. Cynicism is about all that is left in the minds of most people who have bothered to follow the distortions of this Administration. It is apparent the very dam holding our nation's reservoir of trust has been eroded to the point only a weak stream remains; yet there beats a heart which has been under attack since the hypocrisy of President Reagan's addled mind took over our nation's deluded electorate. If Mr Trump was the only problem we as a people have to face, the solution would be surmountable with the 2020 election, but there is a phalanx of both mindfully wealthy who know, and mindlessly poor who remain blindly convinced, this tenure will end well for them. There is a similar reason behind all the shenanagins which is the desire of something for nothing. The wealthy on both sides of our political aisle share the spoils in their box seats while those who actually work in order to live cheer on the lions and pay for the upkeep of our contemporary coliseum. Those of us who are older adults will in all likelihood not feel the effects of the greed which permeates our nation, but our grandkids and theirs will rue the stupidity and ignorance which controls not just our culture, but many throughout the world. Betsy Devos might seem an imperfect fit, but she is just the person to stand at the helm of our failing Department of Miseducation.

Wow, there are no heroes here. At BEST, Mr. Costello and his firm were seeking to serve only themselves by inserting themselves in a high profile case. But it is not a stretch to think Mr. Costello was a snake pretending to serve the interests of Mr. Cohen while actually snitching to the Trump team - and then when it doesn't go the right way: “We will not be involved in that journey and therefore Jeff Citron asked me to let you know that he will be sending you a bill,” the email said. Cold. LOL

It's ironic that arranging hush money for an affair with a porn star on behalf of the president became the lynchpin for bringing Michael Cohen down. Everyone at the time thought that this would be the tipping point for Trump's base, they couldn't possibly continue to support a proven liar, bully, amoral brat that is so blinded by his ego, so driven by his insecurity, that he would do anything, betray anyone not to be perceived as a "loser". Well, folks, dt continues to enjoy the broad support of his base. There's nothing too low that they won't overlook, no sin so great that they would abandon their standard bearer. Yet he'll abandon anyone of them in a second if it suited his aims. It's pathetic, and Michael Cohen didn't realize he never had a hand to play, the base is unshakable.

Many streets get named after men like Trump. One way

Here's the story I'd like to see - how do you explain the slavish devotion that Trump, a deeply unappealing human being, inspires in so many? From where I sit it would seem a simple and obvious choice to a) avoid any business dealings with him, and b) speak out & vote against his destructive policies and views. What is there to lose? Where's the embarrassment at being a publicly degraded toady, sometimes repeatedly a la Lucy & Charlie Brown? I'm baffled - is there a psychologist in the house?

I find it hard to believe that Costello and Citron happened to 'reach out' to Cohen coincidentally a few days before Giuliani was hired by Trump. Here's another scenario: Cohen is being pressured to breaking point. He is suicidal. At his lowest moment, an acquaintance 'reaches out' to recommend his own firm and Costello and he go to Cohen less than 24 hours later to 'represent' him. Only thing is that Costello is actually representing Trump, since he's paying his fees, and is coordinating with Giuliani to keep Cohen quiet and 'on side'. Cohen's cooperation is reinforced with Trump's tweets. Costello and Giuliani continue to play Cohen, telling him there will be meetings if he tows the line. Then Giuliani drops Cohen into it on Fox, saying he's the fixer and orchestrated the cash payments to women without Trump's knowledge. It's implied that these women made up these relationships, but that Cohen pays them off just to minimise damage to Trump. Poor Trump is a victim in this story and Cohen is doing the hush money payments so there's no campaign finance violations. Only when Cohen starts to stick up for himself does he find that Giuliani refuses any hope for a pardon and cuts off the requests for meetings with Costello. Giuliani and Costello are long-term friends and this didn't just happen by coincidence. Fortunately, Cohen didn't get pushed to commit suicide and didn't cover up for Trump. Otherwise, we'd never know what went on.

If Cohen obstructed justice (by lying to investigators), among other crimes, and did so at the bequest of Trump subordinates, or Trump himself, then how is it possible that Trump did not obstruct justice? Everyone says that had McGahn listened to Trump and fired Mueller, that it would be a clear case of obstruction. If Cohen actually listened to Trump, as the facts recounted in the article seem to support, then why isn't that obstruction? No one is "above the law" but it seems that when it comes to the President, there is at least a double standard.

“I told you my relationship with Rudy which could be very very useful for you” ... probably the last thing in the world Cohen needed was a friend of Mr. Giuliani "A lawyer for the Trump Organization said Mr. Cohen’s criminal problems were of his own making" “He should quit lying and take responsibility for his actions,” said the lawyer, Marc L. Mukasey. “The idea that the Trump Organization should have paid his legal fees and expenses is a total crock” ... Irony

It's an old, old story: power corrupts.

This should be a cautionary tale for the President's current lackeys. Of all the President's men none were more loyal or devoted than Michael Cohen, who was cast aside and excluded from the White House team. To see him unceremoniously kicked to the curb tells us all what we already knew - that his boss doesn't have a shred of loyalty. Rudy Giuliani and Bill Barr better take note...

Giuliani may have had a moment of glory on 9/11 while being hailed as America's Mayor....but, my god, how he has fallen. To see him snarlingly defending Trump is about as far down the heap as one can go. Disgusting.

Takeaways seem to be; always watch your back, a competent lawyer connected to the top will always outgun all others, morality and ethics in the annals of power have become a long cherished memory. Your usefulness is mostly determined by those you serve at any given time. Loyalty is merely transactional commodity. Corrupt people have a habit of finding each other.

He needed a better deal

Bunch of crooks, including the dictator wanna-be,

This sounds like a mafia story of a of a mid witted capo flipping because the god father no longer had a need for him. There are lots of signs in the article showing Cohen wasn't being savvy enough and was being manipulated by Trump and his lawyers. First despite being recommended by a "friend" Costello really wasn't working for the best interests of Cohen but had more alliance to Trump and Giuliani. Cohen at the start should have picked up on this when Costello stressed working with the Trump team and protecting Trump like that was the only thing to do. Also Cohen should have picked up on the fact that Trump and Giuliani were stalling on offering a pardon while they got to review the evidence obtained by the FBI from the Cohen search warrants. It was also silly to have his attorney, Stephen Ryan, help Trump help in performing the review. Note that once the review was completed in June Trump's legal team realized there was nothing to be gained by supporting/pardoning Cohen and so cut him off/stopped paying his legal fees. At this point it should have been totally clear to Cohen that Trump wrote him off.

Having finished this article, I now feel the overpowering need to bathe. How is it that the amoral garner so much power as so many of them also appear to be so inept?

Extraordinary, and the type of rigorous journo digging thru the muck that the Times is legendary for, deservedly so.

The actions of Cohen and others in the Trump Organzation orbit indicate that this is a RICO indictment waiting to happen. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of folks.

This article paints a sordid tale of corruption and cover-up. It openly shows that “a club of liars“ surrounds and tries to protect the president. And yet, there Trump sits in the oval office. Few in Congress have the courage to get him out: a liar, a cheat, a con man, a criminal. If Michael Cohen is guilty, the president is obviously guilty too. How could it be otherwise? Michael Cohen did everything that he did at the direction and consent and with the knowledge and payment from the president. It feels unbelievably oppressive to have a criminal mobster supposedly representing me as the president of this country.

Cohen was never top shelf legal talent and realized that Trump was the best ride that he could hope for, abuse and all. I may be beaten like a dog, but I'm trump's dog. You weren't. So much of this relationship reads like S&M, an abused partner, or an abused animal story. Better minds than his, or at least more wary, refused to preform clearly illegal actions. Then they let him twist slowly, slowly in the wind.

This is like reading a script about a more inept version of "The Sopranos"

The next day, Mr. Costello sent Mr. Cohen a link to Mr. Giuliani’s interview. And when Mr. Cohen asked, “Why send this to me?” Mr. Costello explained, “You are under the impression that Trump and Giuliani are trying to discredit you.” He continued, “I think you are wrong because you are believing the narrative promoted by the left-wing media.” Seems that the left-wing media account was pretty accurate judging by the bus tire tracks on Cohen's sport coat.

Michael Cohen was devastated because he realized Trump had used and abused him, like Cohen had helped Trump to use and abuse others.

Cohen is going to jail for crimes he committed that have nothing to do with Trump. Bye Bye Cohen. See you when you get out.

Reads like a script for The Godfathers, on both sides. A sordid presidency - for more descriptions Google the word "sordid" - all of the definitions fit this presidency and those who are enabling him.

Who cares, it has almost nothing to do with his service as president. In fact that they did not pander to his desires shows that the administration was not pandering to him. He is a very bad example of a lawyer.

I like the hotel commercial that says" who glows?" , in the same spirit who hires an attorney that uses a movie line from Cool Hand Luke, "What we have here is a failure to communicate"? I am surprised that this movie buff was not able to made an offer that they couldn't refuse. A good attorney would had suggested Mr. Cohen to strike a deal from day one, and it would never had submitted to enter a defense agreement with the other alleged offenders. Mr. Cohen's troubles derived from his weaknesses in legal competence and weakness of judgement. In another movie line, Mr Cohen could've been a contender.