Friendship and loyalty can be fickle.
To thine own self be true.
The rest is merely transactional.
He goes to prison for a crime he was directed to do by the president. Cohen is just not wealthy enough to be above the law like so many others.
5
I must have missed Cohen’s Congressional swearing in when he agreed to provide evidence of the truth, the WHOLE truth and nothing but the truth. Are We the People being sandbagged?
A dangerous precedent has been set. No matter your thoughts and feelings on any of these actors, or their acts.
The attorney-client privilege has been broken.
He's the fall guy. The main actor has still escaped prosecution.
5
I don’t have an attorney who is a fixer, because I live my life and conduct myself properly. That says it all to me.
4
" I look forward to the day that I can share the truth."
So, I guess he hasn't been doing this so far.
4
I would like to furnish Mr. Cohen a laptop, so he can get cracking on his memoir. A publication date of, say, October 10, 2020, seems perfect.
4
Was it an elastic economy that allowed Mr. Trump to Tweet about China tariffs over the weekend? Or was it a subtle threat, indirectly aimed at Mr. Mnuchin, his credibility and reputation on the line? When your boss undermines you, so blatantly, what is there to do? Hold the tax returns along with that redacted Mueller Report nothing burger, and thank the BARR tender on your way to prison. This is the world Michael Cohen lost his soul to. Where Attorney Generals and Treasury Secretary's can be compromised. Where even a former hero like Bob Mueller falls in line. Of course Michael Cohen is going to jail.
1
Michael Cohen's trajectory shows that justice has, finally, caught up with him. What about the one who gave the orders for the malfeasance (DJT), is he next?
3
Whats he saying in the video that he is waiting to tell the truth. Is he admitting that he has not told the truth so far?
5
It should not go without notice that as a result of 2008 financial melt down-no one individual directly involved in creating that melt down went to jail. But, some lowly clerk did. Now we have Cohen, a bit player in the Trump Org. goes to jail but the ring leader does not. Do we call that justice. Cohen told the truth and he goes to jail-Trump lies and he is the President of the USA. Great country America.
10
James Comey made the observation that Trump "eats your soul" but why would anyone sell their soul for this poor excuse for a human being? While Michael Cohen has attempted to correct some of his misdeeds his employment as Trump's attorney makes you wonder what kind of hold does he have on those that he asks to commit sins for him? Good luck to Mr. Cohen on getting his life together. I hope that for his sake that he means what he says for the sake of his family.
31
@Sean Agreed. I wish Mr. Cohen all the peace his heart desires. If he is at peace, then he will no longer be susceptible to men like Donald T. That is why wishing everyone all the peace their heart desires is the only sane response to this kind of thing.
That said, Mr. T reminds me of Mr. Mayhem in the auto insurance adds. Everything he touches turns to chaos and mayhem. He emerges with a few bandaids but shrugs it all off.
3
Cohen was sent to prison primarily for his own tax evasion issues. Don't think that the campaign finance charges he admitted to added much to his time.
Said differently, Cohen is in jail because of his own actions and stupidity, not what he did (or did not do) for Trump
14
He should be offered a deal to reduce his sentence (which he richly deserves) in an effort to have him spill even more beans.
If he talks more, I think the results of such are going to be tumultuous.
21
What a contrast between white house counsel who told Trump to not fire Mueller and gave sound legal advice and Michael Cohen was happy being a fixer and giving poor legal advice. Hope everyone realizes that Cohen is not heading to prison for being the fixer but for what he did personally that was criminal. Time will fly and before we know it Cohen will be out. Will he be out to a hero's welcome from the Democrat, we don't know. But he certainly gave the Democrats someone to pin their hopes on for a few months now.
2
In lockup, Michael can become the prison fixer, working deals for inmates and guards in return for privileges, drugs, and extra cigarettes--the man's a natural!
5
He’s an absolute loser and a snitch. He thought he’d get away with no prison time but he didn’t get his way. Nobody likes a groveling snitch which will haunt Mr Cohen the rest of his life.
3
@Mike L
If he can bring down a sitting POTUS, who is almost certainly a criminal, it will not haunt him at all!
I only hope he does talk more.
7
He’s going to jail for lying to defend his boss’ crimes. Like anyone close to trump, selling your soul doesn’t protect you.
4
I can't help but chortle as Michael Cohen heads to prison how different life would have been if on Day one of stable genius presidency, Trump's Roy Cohn had been chosen Attorney General.
Trump's bigotry let him choose Sessions because to Trump, Sessions sounded stupid enough. Trump had his Roy Cohn and let his gut instinct trouble his presidency.
I can't help but think the only check and balance on an incompetent presidency is an incompetent president.
Michael Cohen would have easily been confirmed as Attorney General but Trump's gut saved us from what might have been.
1
Minimum security prison near his home: great opportunity for long stretches of reading, lifting weights, maybe losing some weight and getting in shape. Studying the Torah and Talmud with a minyan.
Affluent New Yorkers pay thousands for something Cohen will get for free: an all expense-paid relaxing vacation and time to think, meditate, catch up on sleep and reading.
Not sure that Cohen has the wherewithal to make use of this vacation, though. Seems too superficial and stupid - but prison changes people.
4
Mr. Cohen is settling up on a Faustian Bargain...same with Bridget Kelly.
4
"History will be kind to Michael," according to that great sage, Donny Deutsch. No, Donny, history will forget Michael. He will be, at best, a minor asterisk in the scheme of things.
7
@AnneSN
I can't help but hope that Cohen emerges from prison the person we want in the Oval Office.
Prison is better for rehabilitation than punishment. I hope the humiliation and loss of identity is more than fair punishment for Mr Cohen. The chance to read, think and reflect is no punishment in a culture that sees us running ever faster as the finish line moves further and further away.
1
Donald Trump is toxic. Michael Cohen is part of Trump’s inner circle who were infected by Trump. He was however a mature and seasoned lawyer who fell under the spell of Trump.He knew what he was doing and now he suffers the consequences. Sadly POTUS seems immune from due process. At least while he occupies the tragically diminished White House.
38
@Milton Lewis
"Under Justice Department rules, a sitting president cannot be charged with a crime." How sure are we that once Trump leaves the White House (if he ever does), he can be arrested as soon the new President is sworn in? Is it possible that after the swearing in a helicopter takes him not to one of his estates but to a prison under an arrest warrant to face charges? If Cohen can go to jail for buying silence and violating campaign finance laws, why not Trump who gave him the money and asked him to violate campaign finance laws? Legal opinions on this matter are welcome; I do not want to harbor any false hopes.
4
@Milton Lewis. You know he’s in prison for tax evasion, right?
3
It should not and cannot be overlooked that one of the crimes Mr. Cohen is going to jail for was done in coordination with and at the behest of the POTUS.
14
@Basic
Cohen admitted to those charges under pressure of his wife being included in the tax evasion charges.
Imagine how hysterical Republicans would be if any Democratic president had paid of a couple of mistresses, celebrated Russian hacking, etc etc etc etc etc, ad nauseam. Republicans have truly lost sight of what makes America great -- being a country of laws, not men. Every Republican in Congress turning a blind eye to Trump's criminality and worse (as his lawyer goes to jail for three years) is a traitor to that principle.
29
Now that the government has the little fish, can it bag the big fat fish.
10
I too "believe history will be kind to Michael." I'm grateful to him for testifying to Mueller and Congress and telling the truth about the grifter and crook in the White House. Hopefully when Mr. Cohen is released from prison, 'Individual- 1' will be facing justice for the first time in his life and we will all be witnessing less 'xenophobia, injustice, and lies' accordingly.
27
@Stephen. What truth are you talking about?
2
@Jackson
That Trump paid off a porn star and a Playboy model to shut them before an election, for starters. It's a crime, especially the way they laundered the money to do so.
7
This story basically has the same moral as Woody Allen’s movie Crimes and Misdemeanors - the small guy falls, the big crook gets away. That tells the public: if you have enough power your above the law (which some of Trump’s core voters perhaps is OK with: ‘I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody’ and ‘not lose any voters’).
6
He spent a decade doing trump's bad bidding. Like so many, he only saw the light on the way to jail. Don't feel sorry for anyone that suffers the consequences of sucking up to evil.
4
History will not be kind to Cohen. He is a convicted criminal and appears to be a whiner.
6
Donnie Deutsch, what a guy. He used to have a real job, then became a TV pundit. His best buds are Steve Madden and Michael Cohen. Both now know the inside of a prison. If people are judged by the friends they keep, MSNBC and Deutsch are as rotten as they seem.
3
As I sit up here in Quebec I wonder why sophists and political operatives can spin your constitution into all manor of perversion I look into the dictionary Samuel Johnson published in 1755.
High crimes and misdemeanors leaves no doubt as to what constitutes grounds for impeachment. In 2019 a misdemeanor as in 1776 may be something as lawful but inappropriate as failing to lift or lower the toilet seat so as to cause someone else's discomfort.
Mr Cohen is an American lawyer not a Rabbinical scholar or a legal philosopher. He is or was as described by Hannah Arendt as banal as they come lawyering where banality is rewarded at the expense of truth and justice.
It was just last week I watched Mark Meadows being interviewed by the Post's Robert Costa. The chairman of the Orwellian named Freedom Caucus is not a criminal , he is a miscreant whose banality calls not for criminal prosecution but for impeachment the remedy for behaviour that endangers the well being of society but doesn't rise to the level of criminal behaviour. It is the voters of North Carolina who inflicted on your society this accursed politician who in a perfect world it would join lawyer Cohen in humiliation not prison. It is to the credit of your founders that social misdemeanors have only the punishment of loss of authority.
Lawyers are trained to lie, cheat and steal for their clients, I don't know if it is Cohen or his country that should be punished. Mr Cohen was a GOP hero when he just did his job.
4
shame when the flunky goes to jail and the perpatraitor remains President
15
Pity the Don of this crime syndicate remains untouched - he is the new Teflon Don
3
When does Rick Gates go to prison?
2
His wife’s extended clan is proof positive that obviates the need to carefully vet Russian emigres, who bring with themselves a suite of antisocial criminalistics, hooliganism, extortion, and other economic malfeasance. Holocaust survivor defense:fire Lanny Davis.
@Howard Slobodin Are you referencing Melania's family?
1
@Howard Slobodin. Who are you even talking about?
2
Cohen was able to request a particular prison? Are drug dealers, "common" thieves, rapists, and other convicted criminals allowed to do that? Or is that a privilege reserved for white collar criminals? I'm not being sarcastic. I really want to know.
9
Cohen is a sad sack who was manipulated by Trump who always toed the line without crossing it! Just like many of the sleazy politicians in D.C.!
3
This is good news for our democracy. The criminal justice system is far from perfect, but it works.
Wrongdoers are punished, money can’t buy your way out of everything, and the president is not a king.
We should celebrate this small victory, not our of schadenfreude, but out of love for the ideals our country was founded upon.
11
@RD What? "Wrongdoers are punished." Some maybe, but not all and certainly not trump. If it weren't for trump, Cohen would be spending the next three years enjoying his family instead of being jailed. And WHY is it that a "sitting president" can't be jailed? That needs to be changed. Is Trump the only person in America who is free to commit crimes? What kind of country is this?
10
You’re missing the point by about a mile. A low level soldier is caught lying for his boss who committed the crime.
4
@RD
I am still waiting "impatiently" for Trump to pay his dues. With all of the approximately 16 investigations taking place just on Trump, justice will hopefully prevail when our "liar in chief" is finally exposed. Too bad Trump's energy has been so misdirected and damaging for America.
Unfortunately, there's no justice for Americans right now having to endure this Presidency. And there is no justice when Republicans fight this battle along with Trump not wanting to find the truth.
Our ideals for our country are being challenged like no other time in the history of the US and it is time that Congress reviews this present challenge and work towards preventing having this happen again. America does not need another maniac as a President. And we thought Nixon was bad.
2
I'd bet the over/under on these two con artists and criminals becoming cell mates in the not too distant future.
3
How is it that the 'help' is clearly guilty and convicted of many crimes, and the 'boss' goes scot free, after clearly encouraging the criminal behavior for years? Why can't the system treat the head crook with the same justice it treats the employee crooks? This gross unfairness is disgusting and certainly weakens the average Joe's and average Sue's confidence in their system of government. Trump should pay for the criminality he encourages!
17
@Paul
The main reason that Cohen was convicted and sentenced was that he committed numerous crimes that had no connection with Pres. Trump, i.e, tax evasion, lying,etc The only act connected to Mr. Trump is the payment of money to the two prostitutes and that was a stretch to call it a campaign violation...the traditional rule was that a prostitute demanding money from a John to stay quiet was called extortion. It seems to me that a campaign contribution violation would be using strawmen to funnel money into a campaign in excess of limits, or something of that nature-----not paying money to avoid embarrassment.
4
Nonsense. Everyone knows that he collaborated in numerous Trumpian felonies for a dozen years. You would do well to wait for the SDNY before your premature exoneration.
@Chuck Burton
"Everyone knows"? Mueller apparently didn't after 2 years and an exhaustive investigation. You would do well to wait for the SDNY before your premature conviction.
"The mills of the gods" grind slowly but exceedingly fine.
It is exhausting to listen to trump lie over 10,000 times and not be "held responsible." It is discouraging to hear William Barr perform like a circus elephant defending trump instead of acting like the Attorney General of the United States. When will trump's house of cards tumble down in shame? Soon, I hope
21
Touch fire, get burned. Never truer than with Trump.
4
Barr is the New Trump Family Consigliere in DC. Good luck big guy!
8
Article should make clear that Cohen is going to prison for failing to pay millions in taxes, not for having pled guilty to a campaign finance "crime" which experts disagree on whether it even was a crime. So spare us the sanctimony, Michael.
9
@R.P. Michael Cohen’s efforts to reduce or delay his three-year prison sentence ended Monday, when President Trump’s former lawyer reported to Otisville federal prison for crimes including arranging a hush-money scheme at the president’s direction. This is the first sentence from an article in today's Wall Street Journal, not exactly a bastion of liberal thought. And yes, one of the five crimes Cohen pled guilty to was illegal campaign contributions. Please, spare us your biased rhetoric. The "high and mighty" and twisting the facts in order to have the narrative read the way conservatives want it to act has become tiresome over these past long, very long, two years.
9
Cohen knew very well the risks he took by being Trump's fixer. Taking a bullet for the boss is just part of the job. Trouble is that Cohen's life won't get any easier when he gets out. By that time so many other issues will have come and gone that Cohen will be nothing more than a forgotten name in the dust bin of history.
4
This is the consequences of feuding with the Most powerful man in the country.
Welcome to the new Era of Democracy.
2
I am gobsmacked by the length of Cohen's prison sentence. Others have done far worse and fared much better. Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, for example, got 5 years in prison when he testified against Mob Boss John Gotti. During Gotti's trial Gravano revealed he had murdered 19 people at Gotti's request.
As Trump's lawyer, Cohen was no angel. He was an integral part of the Trump Organization and followed his bosses orders ( legal or not) to the letter. But, he has provided a wealth of information that the Mueller investigation. the Southern District of NY, and the Attorney General for the state of NY can work from in their pursuit of Trump for his alleged crimes...before and after being elected POTUS.
And his offer of ongoing cooperation should not be discounted or taken lightly. Cohen has "seen the light". A sentence reduction to one year seems fair under the circumstances. On balance, he has been adequately held to account with fines, loss of reputation and loss of his profession.
6
Michael Cohen was hired by Trump to get his affairs taken care of............literally.
Moral - don't handle Trump's affairs, literal or figurative.
4
The bewilderment and pain of a dumb beast caught in a steel trap or hunted relentlessly to its death may inspire our pity. The shame and regret of a second-rate lawyer who once proudly wallowed in his client's viciousness and deceit should not.
5
This shark lawyer will have plenty of time to write his memoirs in gentlemen's prison ,then follows the movie on Netflix /Hulu/ Amazon/Apple played by an ex punk middle age actor.
1
It's becoming increasingly difficult to define what constitutes fairness in justice these days, but it's crystal clear that Trump is getting away with bad acts only because he is president and Republicans are shielding him behind the office completely. I keep saying to myself, if I did a fraction of the things Trump has done openly and publicly, my life and career would have been in ruins long ago.
Sigh. I guess I can still hold out hope that if I ever have to "go upstate" that I too will be chauffeured to a minimum security facility in a Cadillac Escalade.
14
It is encouraging to experience that Michael Cohen, once a sometimes boisterous cover-up for Trump, has reached a level of humility and honesty that is admirable. I do not pity him. I admire his courage to change. Yes, there are consequences for his behavior, but I feel encouraged that someone in Trump's band of un-merry men, has become at least mostly honest. I feel sadness that his children will suffer. Incarceration is not always the answer to every wrong, and that applies to everyone! Amending one's behavior is worth more than a prison sentence, and I do believe Cohen is worth more to this country outside the prison, than he is within it.
3
He still isn’t telling the whole truth? I was shocked when I listened to his words this morning, and I thought I must have misheard them, but here they are in print, too. “There still remains much to be told, and I look forward to the day that I can share the truth.”
4
Because relevant cases are pending?
1
@Dale Robinson ~ Dale, Cohen is very likely going to be a witness in several other cases and will likely provide testimony that a this point would compromise prosecutions. He appears to be telling the truths that he can and has shared to this point, but with his lawyers advise and perhaps SDNY prosecutors as well, not letting the cat out of the bag to the defense in advance on 'what he knows that remains to be told'.
2
@Dale Robinson He will write a book and make millions.
3
Now Cohen is asserting he lied about his lying which brings into question what elements Cohen is telling the truth about. It is amusing that when President Trump is reelected Cohen will still be jail.
1
Now he might write a genuine tell all book and sell it for $25 million, to restore his familys net worth.
1
We have a family friend who did 13 months in the same facility where Cohen will serve his 3 years. Our friend dutifully researched his options and requested that the judge send him to Otisville.
According to our friend's wife, the place resembles a dilapidated 1960's era summer camp. Limited periodic visitation is allowed, as long as the visitor is on a list submitted by the inmate when his incarceration begins. There are outdoor recreational sports facilities and Kosher meals upon request. Orthodox Jewish inmates may observe Shabbat together.
Cohen will be fine. It's just too bad he won't have a cellmate named Donald J. Trump.
32
He says.... “There’s still much to be told, and I look forward to the day that I can share the truth,”
I don't understand. He's already told plenty.
Can anyone explain:
What is the 'much to be told'?
What blocked Cohen from telling the truth he looks forward to telling?
Will the day he can share the truth be in 3 years when he gets out of prison? Why?
6
@Meredith. Re why? That’s easy; that’s when he’ll have his book deal.
3
What kind of government do we have when an attorney commits crimes ordered by the President of the United States, goes to prison for those crimes while the President continues to violate the laws of the land from his "throne" in the White House?
29
Lawyers as individuals are not highly regarded. Too bad but as evidenced here and other great examples an appellation in a lot of situations well earned. I hope his new found honesty helps him on those long lonely nights in beautiful upstate New York. Maybe he should get a Teddy Bear for comfort. What a nasty piece of work.
1
Cohen should have run for the presidency - avoiding jail. He should have seen the real reason for Trump bothering with such an annoying task. The irony is that Trump found a way to make it pay as well.
2
Michael Cohen is to be pitied and shamed - pitied for ever meeting and becoming involved with a man named Trump, and shamed for believing that it was okay to be an officer of the court while simultaneously bending the law every which way the boss wanted him to. He did so in pursuit of money, of living in the Trump limelight (whatever scary place that is), and for his boss's approval. How'd that work out?
Isn't it a pity that having a nice family, a law degree, and food on your table every day just isn't enough for some people?
51
This is Cohen’s one final act as Trump’s surrogate and fixer, going to prison in his stead because our so-called leaders and Justice Department (and apparently even the Democrats) believe that at least one man is above the law: Donald Trump.
14
@avrds
If Trump was only half as smart as George W. he would have made Michael Cohen his Attorney General on day one. Hell hath no fury like a faithful servant scorned and humiliated.
3
Looking at the headlines of the day it's extraordinarily difficult to believe our democracy is safe.
18
Unlike Trump's current attorney, Bill Barr, Cohen seems repentant. I wonder if Barr's tune will change if and when he is sentenced.
15
@Justin lock Barr up also
4
Mr. Cohen entering prison is the physical evidence that our President himself committed a crime worthy of a jail sentence.
There should be posters plastered all over this country of Mr. Cohen, with the caption: In jail for committing a crime with our President. When is it's Executive #1's turn?
Justice will not be served until Trump has at least an equal time behind bars---and he deserves much more.
23
For whatever reason or reasons Michael Cohen decided to spill the beans, we owe him a collective debt of gratitude for laying out the facts about Donald Trump, whose presidency has gone beyond the pale in compromising the efficacy and respectability of that office.
One can only wonder what it will take for Americans to realize just how much our free and democratic society is being threatened by the one who has sworn to preserve, protect and defend it.
21
"Cohen asked to serve his sentence at the federal prison in Otisville, N.Y., which has dozens of other Jewish inmates, as well as religious classes and Shabbat services."
The photo of the landscaped entrance to Mr. Cohen's new federally-administered home and the descriptions of its amenities were in stark contrast to the barbed wire entrances to state prisons where the ex felons with whom I work have served time for many more than three years for non violent crimes like the trafficking and distribution of narcotics.
It is not for me to judge whether my clients' or Mr. Cohen's crimes against society and democracy are more egregious. That said, however, the facilities in which they serve their sentences and the years spent in incarceration undeniably favor white collar criminals like Mr. Cohen.
What a nice benefit he "earned" to be able to choose his federally-run new "home" and be welcomed by a sign surrounded by spring-time flowers! Maybe he and Paul Manafort will be able to have dinner together over the years to commiserate about how the Don used them both for his self preservation at their expense and how he will clearly never come to visit. They can only dream and hold out hope for his pardons.
7
@HMP Actually, punishment and deprivation often don't rehabilitate people. Norway's prison system, sends prisoners out to a remote area, where they have many amenities, and a beautiful place. Their attitude is that people who do wrong need a break from society to think things over and to make a needed shift. In this country we are not so interested in rehabilitation, as we are punishment, unfortunately.
4
I suppose that Cohen deserves some prison time for his actions that were crimes. But when you consider he was working at the direction of candidate Trump at the time and President Trump enjoys his freedom, has no remorse and continues to lie about these things. It just doesn’t seem like justice.
11
What kind of government do we have when an attorney commits crimes ordered by the President of the United States, goes to prison for those crimes while the President continues to violate the laws of the land from his "throne" in the White House?
308
@Bruce Savin
According to Mikey, 'there still remains much to be told', and he'll have time -- with a new audience. When he 'rejoins his family' The Donald will be into his 2nd Term --
in a renewal of law and order. That, is the kind of America Mikey should look forward to rejoining.
@Bruce Savin
One that respects the founding principles of our democracy, i.e., that people are presumed innocent, and not put in jail or removed from office unless (a) convicted by a jury of their peers after a fair trial, or (b) impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate, neither of which has yet occurred. Ask your grandkids for more info about how this works.
8
@Bruce Savin What kind of government do we have now? An autocracy, my friend - run by an illiterate, prevaricating criminal. Where are the checks and balances? Should the Democrats prevail in 2020, Congress better get its act together on passing laws to assure these checks and balances work in the future - and that we never have a president akin to Donald Trump again.
64
Unfortunately, Michael Cohen made a series of really disgraceful and foolish misjudgements, at the root of all of which was money, in large amounts. He knew who and what he was working for, and he traded his willingness to go out and put the screws to people for money from Donald Trump. Three years in a minimum security federal lockup doesn't seem like an inordinate sentence for what he did. He was stupid and greedy. The question is what sentence is appropriate for the 62,980,160 people who voted for Trump. They stuck the rest of us with this mess even though you had to be deaf, dumb and blind not to see before the 2016 election that Trump was a lying crook.... yet according to most pundits, we can't even call them stupid for fear of re-electing him. Isn't it time for a little reality? Time to pull half the nation's heads out of the dark hole they were stuck in last time around? Time for a cleansing dose of voter education, and that goes for the people reelecting idiots like McConnell and his cronies. Those voters have been very stupid and it does us no good to indulge them in their delusion. At least Cohen has smartened up.
123
@TimG
Perhaps you should direct some of your ire at the DNC who pushed Clinton as the Democratic nominee and the primary voters who chose her.
I held my nose as I voted for Trump just like a multitude of people held their nose as they vote for Trump.
4
@TimG
Perhaps you should direct some of your ire at the DNC who pushed Clinton as the Democratic nominee and the primary voters who chose her.
I held my nose as I voted for Hillary just like a multitude of people held their nose as they vote for Trump.
1
I agree...but what sentence is appropriate for the languid young folks, leftists, progressives, devotees of Jill Stein, and followers of St. Bernie who sat on their hands, at home, and refused to vote at all?
7
Cohen taking the hit for dealing with Individual One,Our Country will be taking the Hit for years after this Presidency.
Thank You,
J Fitz
77
It's wonderful to hear Michael Cohen exorting the wonders of family and freedom shortly before heading up the river for a three year stay. Did this stuff ever cross the narrow confines of his mind while he acted as a bully and enforcer for another reprehensible character. His lawyer skills were ignored by his old buddy who skipped on appointing him to a White House title. Time for payback. Sammy da Bull has more character.
16
@Francis, Many of us have made bad judgments in our lives, but it is what we do afterwards that may better define us.
10
Cohen was, to quote Rumfeld of the Bailey, was a bit parsimonious with the truth. He lied, is still lying, and telling the truth on some things. The question is how one determines whether he's lying or telling the truth. The trap is basing one's belief on any one of his statements on whether or not its what one wants to hear.
6
He lied earlier when he foolishly believed that he wouldn't be caught. He knows better now. From the time he returned to Congress to testify he was aware that any lies would almost certainly be revealed and that he would pay a severe penalty for doing so. There is an enormous difference in the two situations. We do not need to rely on Cohen's very questionable integrity but only his common sense to know that he is now telling the truth.
3
@Tim (Rumpole is the name of the attorney and husband of "She Who Must Be Obeyed.) Cheers!
2
@Tim, you mean Rumpole.
Cohen’s criminal conviction is the indisputable proof that Trump is also guilty of at least the same. It’s profound that this isn’t front and center and bringing Trump down in the courts of public opinion and with a GOP majority.
55
@JP Look at the parallel between Bridget Kelly and Gov. Christ Christie.
1
We can hope that Cohen will be work-out buddies with Roger Stone. Except Cohen won't get a back tat of "Mistuh Trump".
4
rats fetid rats and sinking ships. I am tired o f the soap opera and light sentences for white collar criminals. I'd like leader who leads, not fixers who cajoles and works for another. Please?
4
Cohen and Manafort, only two out of many.
My name is Trump! The law doesn't apply to me.
18
The SDNY is waiting for the Trump Family; it is up to the voters to throw him out of office in 2020, that's it, just vote him out.
72
@coastal Too bad the SDNY didn't do their job before we were stuck with Trump as president. They overlooked the crimes being committed for years by Trump and family.
101
@Drew ~
Wholeheartedly agree with your comment. Why did SDNY look the other way for so long?
They could have at least started their investigation in 2015/16 and maybe we would have been spared this scourge on our environment and the rule of law.
24
@coastal it's more the NYAG that get's me all excited. Nothing this grifter family can do about Ms. James' investigations.
2
The election law crimes that Cohen committed in concert with Trump are not discussed in the Mueller report because they were outside the scope of his investigation. But the indictment against Cohen in the SDNY clearly accuses the President as a co-conspirator. Jail to the chief.
71
@David
Not clear same legal analysis applies to Trump as did to Cohen Cohen pleaded to election law claims, they were not proven in court.
The Michael Cohen trajectory: Fixer-Lawyer to Witness to Inmate.
The Bill Barr trajectory: Emulating Michael Cohen?
Clowns in a swamp, and the damage they inflict.
26
Michael Cohen going to prison and saying just before stepping in his transport there “there’s still more to be told.”
Yes, we believe that. Will we find out the truth, the whole truth, before we continue to spin down in the dark, dark abyss of Donald Trump and those who support him?
What will it be like in three years when Cohen is released? We seniors wonder - for the sake of our children, grandchildren, and everyone in future generations - what will it be like?
73
Or it will be the basis for an advance for his "tell-all" book. If there's not much left the sales won't do well so he has to inflate anything he can - failed fixer lawyers gotta eat.
Time to change the rules and let justice prevail by allowing the prosecution of a sitting president for crimes committed while in office.
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@bea durand There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents it. It's only a DOJ policy.
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In the alternate deranged reality of Trump in which the "best horse did not win the Kentuky (sic) Derby, our sober reality is the biggest criminal did not go to jail (yet).
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Mr. Cohen is a tiny chip off the trump block. His crimes are typical of that circle which includes Manafort and others who up to now believed themselves part of an elite class, entirely above the law.
Cohen's crimes are directly related to, in the service of, and tiny in scale next to, the grifter in chief. At least Cohen, alone among the three, has had a change of heart and has expressed remorse.
The Con's tax cheating dwarfs anything "the Situation" could possibly have done. Time to hear more from the trump organization CFO.
Even with a $400+ million inheritance, IQ45 has lost many times that of other people's money; he's been a parasite with a fake gold plated lifestyle for decades, failure after failure, financed and bailed out by taxpayer largesse. We know that in 1995 alone, he claimed a $916 million loss in tax reporting. $916 million individual loss. In a single year.
I will not see lady justice as being satisfied, or those scales as balanced, until the liar in chief is sitting in a cell, thinking about his own "situation".
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Trump has had long term financial ties to the Russian money laundering through the Bank of Cyprus, where Wilbur Ross was a director, with direct links to Deutsche Bank. Trump worked directly with known Russian-op Paul Manafort and then surrounded himself with other Russia-linked operatives and cabinet members including Rick Gates, George Papadopoulos, Wilbur Ross, Felix Sater, Roy Tillerson, Mike Flynn, Carter Page, Roger Stone etc., etc. Even Trump's family had close ties to Russian operatives.
Mueller's probe resulted in 37 indictments or guilty pleas, including Trump’s former campaign chairman Manafort, his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, and other top campaign officials. Mueller's trusted former associate, William Barr, has the nerve to say that Trump knew nothing about any of any the subversive actions that his own people were engaged in. Barr wants us to believe that Trump merely profited by chance from the carefully orchestrated Russian intervention in the 2016 election.
Mueller must come forward and make a crystal clear public statement of his key findings. This will be the only way to end the endless distortion and lies being propagated by the Republican Party and Trump's inner circle of henchmen including William Barr. It is a matter of national security.
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@Jefflz: "... William Barr, has the nerve to say that Trump knew nothing about any of any the subversive actions that his own people were engaged in."
I recall a time when the President of the United States had a sign on his desk that read "THE BUCK STOPS HERE."
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When I become President, my very first act as President will be pardoning Michael Cohen.
Next will come my legal onslaught against Trump and his family, exempting only those in the family under the age of 18.
And, of course, I will pursue Barr to the ends of the earth.
Infrastructure, the environment and health care will have to patiently-wait-in-line until all of these things have been accomplished.
I will honor my pledge to the American people to desist from all ordinary business until justice has been served and all of us have had some fun.
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... our fun.
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You have my vote.
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@Alan
Much appreciated!
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Remember Watergate? The piranhas like John Dean went to jail. The shark Richard Nixon was pardon and remained a free men.
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@Wilbray Thiffault
Fortunately there will be no pardon for Trump from the State of New York.
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So, Mr Cohen is going to jail for crimes he admitted to, some of which apparently included collusion in the commission of these crimes by Mr Trump. Do we not have equal justice under the law in America? Why is Cohen going to jail and Trump, as "un-indicted co-conspirator" still sitting in the White House Tweeting, while Cohen will be spending 3 yrs in prison for crimes of which he never would have been accused, if he had never met Donald Trump? The same is true of the others already accused of crimes including Manafort, Papadapolus and most likely Stone.
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It is the crowning irony of this tale that the Felon in Chief remains free to wreak yet more damage and divisiveness across our nation and around the world. Congressional Democrats need to act now--consistent with the courage of their espoused convictions--to file articles of impeachment. That will trigger the authority to issue subpoenas to gather documents and testimony under oath and subject to perjury, contempt, and imprisonment for people like Barr, et al., who thumb their noses at the laws and Constitution they have sworn to uphold and protect. Enough of this cowardly, self-interested stalling, already. Enough.
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He reminds me of a law and order show. Weak and spineless in the face of adversity.
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History will be "kind" to michael? For what reason? He's a crook and covered up crimes by donald and his operatives.
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@Mike Ransmil ~
Re: "History will be "kind" to michael?"
I think Mr. Deutsch means history will be kinder to Michael than to donald.
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