The FBI agents who raided Michael Cohen’s office were looking for records about payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, and information related to the publisher of The National Enquirer’s role in silencing one of the women, NYT reports.
The thing that gives me glee in all of this is that Trump IS actually suffering the consequences of many of his actions - even simply running for president.
He demanded and got blind loyalty before. He can't do that anymore. SOME of these people - even if they supported him in his run and voted for him - SOME of them can't be bought, no matter what. And others, maybe previously could be bought, but now realize that working for Trump and doing his bidding without question may land them in jail.
This is where his continuing stupidity hurts him. He really can't see that his world is no longer where he reports to no one and everyone has to do what he says. Doesn't work like that and *** all this *** is the consequence of that.
The thing that gives me glee in all of this is that Trump IS actually suffering the consequences of many of his actions - even simply running for president.
His life would've been so, so much better had he not felt the need to stick it to President Obama. Hope it was worth it, asshole.
Pres says he and Emir of Qatar working well together. Says making sure funding of terror groups is stopped. Emir says Qatar does not and will not tolerate people who fund terrorism around the region.
Joy Reid response: Qatar was blockaded not long after refusing to bail Jared Kushner out at 666 Fifth Avenue.Jared just magically got the $1.2 billion he needs and no one knows from where. And suddenly Qatar is off the baddies list. AlsoJared is super chummy with the de facto Saudi ruler. Whats up?
Post by WanderingWinoZ on Apr 10, 2018 12:02:36 GMT -5
Cohen made his money on taxis & this is ESSENTIALLY about money...opening up fake bank accounts- either to launder money or pay people like Stormy or pay people who go out and threaten anybody opposed to Trump....
I'm still seeing conflicting news about how this may be related to Mueller, if he did this to protect the integrity of other parts of his investigation or to take some of the "pressure" of personally raiding COhen's office of himself and put it on an AUSA or if this was off topic for his mandate to investigate or if he just needed somebody in NYC to execute it.
Explain to a non-city kid what taxi medallions are?
very expensive license to operate a taxi in NYC....I got the impression that it was almost like the mafia up there & these things wre worth millions (before ride sharing came along).
Cohen says he sold his share of the business to Garber in the early 2000s, though Cohen continues to own substantial taxi medallion holdings. Cohen’s medallions are now managed by Evgeny Friedman, an Russian emigre from St Petersburg who owns more taxi medallions than any other person in New York City (more than 800 out 13,605).
Explain to a non-city kid what taxi medallions are?
very expensive license to operate a taxi in NYC....I got the impression that it was almost like the mafia up there & these things wre worth millions (before ride sharing came along).
Cohen says he sold his share of the business to Garber in the early 2000s, though Cohen continues to own substantial taxi medallion holdings. Cohen’s medallions are now managed by Evgeny Friedman, an Russian emigre from St Petersburg who owns more taxi medallions than any other person in New York City (more than 800 out 13,605).
Literally. The previous owner of my apartment apparently owned 2 and her bank is suing her for non-payment of her loans. The loan terms are insane - I would think something worth $1.2 million (at the time) would warrant a mortgage-type loan with a 30 year payoff but it was tens of thousands of dollars a month to be paid back pretty quickly. It's not surprising she defaulted.
Pres says he and Emir of Qatar working well together. Says making sure funding of terror groups is stopped. Emir says Qatar does not and will not tolerate people who fund terrorism around the region.
Joy Reid response: Qatar was blockaded not long after refusing to bail Jared Kushner out at 666 Fifth Avenue.Jared just magically got the $1.2 billion he needs and no one knows from where. And suddenly Qatar is off the baddies list. AlsoJared is super chummy with the de facto Saudi ruler. Whats up?
The thing that gives me glee in all of this is that Trump IS actually suffering the consequences of many of his actions - even simply running for president.
His life would've been so, so much better had he not felt the need to stick it to President Obama. Hope it was worth it, asshole.
Seriously. He could have KOKO with his shady ass but no one would give a shit. And I could have been less ashamed to enjoy The Apprentice (not the celebrity versions, I think they sucked).
I know we abandoned any semblance of balance a while ago, but isn't Political Orphans far left? I'm even uncomfortable by the amount of TPM that is posted.
I know we abandoned any semblance of balance a while ago, but isn't Political Orphans far left? I'm even uncomfortable by the amount of TPM that is posted.
Political orphan is formerly GOPlifer - a pretty conservative guy who left the GOP & now writes for Forbes as well as his own blog.
What's wrong with TPM? I usually just post analysis stuff (so if you want to read back story or somebody's interpretation of an event). I don't typically use it for primary stories...
Also Avenatti said he is holding off on releasing sketch at this time. Interesting. Makes me wonder if he is working with Mueller.
Meh, I would like this to be true, but I feel like Avenatti is as much of a media seeker as DJT, and this may just be his way of waiting for a time when he can maximize the attention he gets. I like his provocation of DT, but sometimes I want to say #basta to him, too. Call me when you’re ready to show your hand.
Cohen made his money on taxis & this is ESSENTIALLY about money...opening up fake bank accounts- either to launder money or pay people like Stormy or pay people who go out and threaten anybody opposed to Trump....
I'm still seeing conflicting news about how this may be related to Mueller, if he did this to protect the integrity of other parts of his investigation or to take some of the "pressure" of personally raiding COhen's office of himself and put it on an AUSA or if this was off topic for his mandate to investigate or if he just needed somebody in NYC to execute it.
This thing is taken time because following the money takes a lot of time. A lot of time. It appears Mueller found something with Cohen that goes beyond Russia. He tipped off the local team who then followed up with court-orders and warrants.
Listen, to get a court-orders and warrant for confidential attorney-client information is huge and difficult. Knowing the significance and importance of this case they will make sure their i's are dotted and t's crossed. I can't WAIT to see this.
Cohen will flip easily.He is probably looking at life. Mueller is a fucking genius.
I know we abandoned any semblance of balance a while ago, but isn't Political Orphans far left? I'm even uncomfortable by the amount of TPM that is posted.
Political orphan is formerly GOPlifer - a pretty conservative guy who left the GOP & now writes for Forbes as well as his own blog.
What's wrong with TPM? I usually just post analysis stuff (so if you want to read back story or somebody's interpretation of an event). I don't typically use it for primary stories...
I certainly would never refer to GOPlifer as a "pretty conservative guy."
Political orphan is formerly GOPlifer - a pretty conservative guy who left the GOP & now writes for Forbes as well as his own blog.
What's wrong with TPM? I usually just post analysis stuff (so if you want to read back story or somebody's interpretation of an event). I don't typically use it for primary stories...
I certainly would never refer to GOPlifer as a "pretty conservative guy."
Lol...i guess that depends on your definition of conservative... He clearly isn't aligned with the GOP, but the GOP isn't exactly aligned with traditionally conservative values. I think Ladd is at least, in theory, opposed to most liberal/Democratic positions on fiscal issues. Maybe he's gone into the more of the libertarian camp on policiy issues???
This is what TC said. "You know the official story about pandas — they’re cute, they’re adorably helpless, which is why they’re almost extinct,” he started off. “But like a lot of what we hear, that’s a lie. The real panda is a secret stud with a taste for flesh and a fearsome bite.”
It's literally propoganda against fake news. Starring pandas. I'm done.
I know we abandoned any semblance of balance a while ago, but isn't Political Orphans far left? I'm even uncomfortable by the amount of TPM that is posted.
Political orphan is formerly GOPlifer - a pretty conservative guy who left the GOP & now writes for Forbes as well as his own blog.
What's wrong with TPM? I usually just post analysis stuff (so if you want to read back story or somebody's interpretation of an event). I don't typically use it for primary stories...
Yeah I would not categorize Political Orphans as far left. He's probably politically closest to David Frum, except he's very vocal and very perceptive on issues relating to race and the evangelicals.
These days I don't know if left/right are really good descriptors of news and opinion. I'm struggling to think of anything I'd call "conservative" or "right wing" that I wouldn't also call "bigoted cesspool of conspiracy theories." It's more like "lives in reality" and "doesn't live in reality." For some of us, "conservativism" has long been a coded ideology, but now that the movement has abandoned dog whistles and just gone balls to the wall deplorable, there are now all these people like Ladd and Frum, who over the past few years have been seeing it for what it has always been and calling it out. That doesn't mean they agree with liberals on anything but the fundamental workings of our democracy and basic human decency. Does that make a person far left now? That kind of makes me sad if that's the case.
Cohen made his money on taxis & this is ESSENTIALLY about money...opening up fake bank accounts- either to launder money or pay people like Stormy or pay people who go out and threaten anybody opposed to Trump....
I'm still seeing conflicting news about how this may be related to Mueller, if he did this to protect the integrity of other parts of his investigation or to take some of the "pressure" of personally raiding COhen's office of himself and put it on an AUSA or if this was off topic for his mandate to investigate or if he just needed somebody in NYC to execute it.
This thing is taken time because following the money takes a lot of time. A lot of time. It appears Mueller found something with Cohen that goes beyond Russia. He tipped off the local team who then followed up with court-orders and warrants.
Listen, to get a court-orders and warrant for confidential attorney-client information is huge and difficult. Knowing the significance and importance of this case they will make sure their i's are dotted and t's crossed. I can't WAIT to see this.
Cohen will flip easily.He is probably looking at life. Mueller is a fucking genius.
As a not-attorney, may I ask the attorneys here to go a little more in-depth on this? I've been googling because it seems like breaking privilege is just well-nigh impossible in most cases. And to do this for the attorney of a sitting president, no less. Am I right to assume that in order for a judge to sign the warrant: A) there is already *significant* evidence of extremely high-level crime and B) the evidence sought is merely confirmatory, not speculative?
Is the actual process to get a judge to sign off on a warrant for attorney-client documentation different from a standard warrant? What additional steps are involved?
I know we abandoned any semblance of balance a while ago, but isn't Political Orphans far left? I'm even uncomfortable by the amount of TPM that is posted.
Nah, PO is not at all far left. He’s a Reagan Republican who realized that Republican policy is deliberately racist. He’s not a Dem, either. However, I generally hate his writing style. Wordy af.
This thing is taken time because following the money takes a lot of time. A lot of time. It appears Mueller found something with Cohen that goes beyond Russia. He tipped off the local team who then followed up with court-orders and warrants.
Listen, to get a court-orders and warrant for confidential attorney-client information is huge and difficult. Knowing the significance and importance of this case they will make sure their i's are dotted and t's crossed. I can't WAIT to see this.
Cohen will flip easily.He is probably looking at life. Mueller is a fucking genius.
As a not-attorney, may I ask the attorneys here to go a little more in-depth on this? I've been googling because it seems like breaking privilege is just well-nigh impossible in most cases. And to do this for the attorney of a sitting president, no less. Am I right to assume that in order for a judge to sign the warrant: A) there is already *significant* evidence of extremely high-level crime and B) the evidence sought is merely confirmatory, not speculative?
Is the actual process to get a judge to sign off on a warrant for attorney-client documentation different from a standard warrant? What additional steps are involved?
This isn't my area of expertise, but from what I understand, to get a normal warrant, you only need to show probable cause, ie. that it's probably likely that the person has evidence pertaining to a crime. To search attorney-client communications, you need a lot more than "probably" and it probably helps to show that the info in the attorney's possession is not available anywhere else and is likely to be destroyed if it's not obtained ASAP.
So they probably had enough evidence to put him away for something. It would not surprise me if they also had evidence that his criminal conduct was ongoing.
Political orphan is formerly GOPlifer - a pretty conservative guy who left the GOP & now writes for Forbes as well as his own blog.
What's wrong with TPM? I usually just post analysis stuff (so if you want to read back story or somebody's interpretation of an event). I don't typically use it for primary stories...
Yeah I would not categorize Political Orphans as far left. He's probably politically closest to David Frum, except he's very vocal and very perceptive on issues relating to race and the evangelicals.
These days I don't know if left/right are really good descriptors of news and opinion. I'm struggling to think of anything I'd call "conservative" or "right wing" that I wouldn't also call "bigoted cesspool of conspiracy theories." It's more like "lives in reality" and "doesn't live in reality." For some of us, "conservativism" has long been a coded ideology, but now that the movement has abandoned dog whistles and just gone balls to the wall deplorable, there are now all these people like Ladd and Frum, who over the past few years have been seeing it for what it has always been and calling it out. That doesn't mean they agree with liberals on anything but the fundamental workings of our democracy and basic human decency. Does that make a person far left now? That kind of makes me sad if that's the case.
Maybe political leanings isn't what I was looking for - but opinions/commentary? It seems like a lot of what is posted, at least on TPM, isn't really analysis, but are opinions and commentary. Much like Maddow, who doesn't really report on the news, but analyzes and speculates.
As a not-attorney, may I ask the attorneys here to go a little more in-depth on this? I've been googling because it seems like breaking privilege is just well-nigh impossible in most cases. And to do this for the attorney of a sitting president, no less. Am I right to assume that in order for a judge to sign the warrant: A) there is already *significant* evidence of extremely high-level crime and B) the evidence sought is merely confirmatory, not speculative?
Is the actual process to get a judge to sign off on a warrant for attorney-client documentation different from a standard warrant? What additional steps are involved?
This isn't my area of expertise, but from what I understand, to get a normal warrant, you only need to show probable cause, ie. that it's probably likely that the person has evidence pertaining to a crime. To search attorney-client communications, you need a lot more than "probably" and it probably helps to show that the info in the attorney's possession is not available anywhere else and is likely to be destroyed if it's not obtained ASAP.
So they probably had enough evidence to put him away for something. It would not surprise me if they also had evidence that his criminal conduct was ongoing.
yes - there are so many "very high bars" that need to be jumped for this whole thing to have gone down....
There's more info about a clean team & a dirty team on actually gathering the evidence so that nothing that is protected actually gets taken & none of hte agents doing the grabbing/sorting/searching see anything that could possibly taint or influence them.
Justice Department procedures call for a filter or “taint” team to screen all the seized documents in such cases, separating out material protected by attorney-client privilege so that it would not be shared with investigators.
Material that is not protected by the privilege but is relevant to the documents being sought in the search is turned over to the investigative team.
In law enforcement circles, agents sometimes refer to this as a “dirty” team and a “clean” team. If the “taint” team finds documents that indicate a lawyer participated or even unwittingly facilitated some type of fraud, then the attorney-client privilege would no longer apply and that information would also be turned over to investigators.