Michael Cohen office raided by FBI

[Faun]

President Trump had attorney-client privilege on his mind early Tuesday, tweeting out his frustrations a day after the F.B.I. raided the office and hotel room of his personal attorney. “Attorney–client privilege is dead!” Mr. Trump wrote, in what appeared to be a reference to federal agents seizing records belonging to Michael D. Cohen, the president’s personal attorney.

“A TOTAL WITCH HUNT!” the president wrote in a separate tweet, repeating a favorite phrase Mr. Trump has used to describe the government’s ongoing investigation into Russia’s 2016 election interference and possible coordination with some of his associates.

Trump Denounces F.B.I. Raid on His Lawyer’s Office as ‘Attack on Our Country’

WASHINGTON — President Trump angrily unloaded on his top law enforcement officials on Monday night, complaining that the F.B.I. “broke into” the office of Michael D. Cohen, his personal lawyer, and assailing two early-morning raids as a “disgraceful situation” and an “attack on our country in a true sense.”

The president repeatedly said that the raids were part of a “witch hunt” against him that has been conducted since he took office, and he mused about the possibility that he might soon fire Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel in the Russia inquiry.

“We’ll see what may happen,” Mr. Trump said as he began a meeting with senior military officials to discuss responses to a chemical attack in Syria. “Many people have said, ‘You should fire him.’”

The president railed against Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, for recusing himself in the Russia investigation, and he blasted the F.B.I. for failing to investigate Hillary Clinton, “where there are crimes.” He also lashed out at Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, who is overseeing the Russia investigation.

Mr. Trump delivered the emotional tirade hours after federal officials raided Mr. Cohen’s office and hotel room, seizing business records, emails and documents, including information related to a payment that Mr. Cohen made to a pornographic film actress.

The raids were in part the result of a referral to federal officials by Mr. Mueller. Mr. Trump called Mr. Mueller’s team “the most biased group of people” and said that it contained mostly Democrats and some Republicans who worked for President Barack Obama.

“That is really now in a whole new level of unfairness,” Mr. Trump said of the raids involving Mr. Cohen. Officials said the White House learned about the raids from Mr. Cohen’s lawyer after they were carried out but before they became public knowledge.


trumptard fake news talking points are in ^

When the attorney is involved in criminal activity--the attorney/client privilege goes out the window.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. special counsel in the Russia probe has evidence that President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen traveled to Prague in 2016, refuting Cohen’s claim that he never visited the Czech capital and bolstering an intelligence dossier that first described the trip, McClatchy reported on Friday.

Special counsel has evidence Michael Cohen traveled to Prague:...

Raiding Michael Cohen's office/hotel/residence is the equivalent of J. Edgar Hoover snatching Al Capone's accountant. Michael Cohen is no innocent bystander.

A great book for everyone to read right now.

Top seller on Amazon. Well written, easy to follow, & very hard to put down.
reads like a nonfiction spy novel.

The authors know where the bodies are buried.

Yes they do.

Stormy said that Trump told her that she reminded him of Ivanka.

and bill Clinton said that a fat goat reminded him of hillary

Bill never actually said that, you did. Whereas Trump did say he was having sex with women who reminded him of his daughter. Which one do you think he likes best? Ivanka or Brittany?

 

[Faun]

funny, coming from the idiot that believed the left wing media when they promised you that Hillary could not lose.

That was before Comey released information about her emails, just before the election.

Oh, so comey caused her to lose? not the American voters, not her record of corruption, not her arrogant obnoxious personality? but comey did it.

Hillary won the popular vote .. Trump can't get over that.

the entire PV delta was in California, Hillary won California, Trump won the USA.

It’s not the U.S.A. without California.

 

[Valerie]

more points to ponder




I began to feel a familiar clarity about what will unfold next in the Trump Presidency. There are lots of details and surprises to come, but the endgame of this Presidency seems as clear now as those of Iraq and the financial crisis did months before they unfolded.

Last week, federal investigators raided the offices of Michael Cohen, the man who has been closer than anybody to Trump’s most problematic business and personal relationships.

This week, we learned that Cohen has been under criminal investigation for months—his e-mails have been read, presumably his phones have been tapped, and his meetings have been monitored.

Trump has long declared a red line: Robert Mueller must not investigate his businesses, and must only look at any possible collusion with Russia. That red line is now crossed and, for Trump, in the most troubling of ways.

Even if he were to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and then had Mueller and his investigation put on ice, and even if—as is disturbingly possible—Congress did nothing, the Cohen prosecution would continue.

Even if Trump pardons Cohen, the information the Feds have on him can become the basis for charges against others in the Trump Organization.

Michael Cohen and the End Stage of the Trump Presidency

 

[Valerie]

In the Cohen case, it appears that he’s currently under investigation for violations of federal law — specifically, bank fraud, wire fraud, and campaign finance violations. But bank fraud is also a state crime, meaning that Cohen could be prosecuted on that charge by a New York district attorney, though it’s not currently clear what the theory behind the bank fraud allegations is.


(While the Constitution prohibits double jeopardy, or prosecuting someone twice for the same crime, there is nothing stopping state and federal agencies from bringing similar criminal charges against someone based on the same criminal act — the “separate sovereigns” doctrine.)

Trump could pardon Michael Cohen — but it might not save him



Why Robert Mueller Handed Off the Michael Cohen Raid

 

[Valerie]

"I am unaware of anybody who has taken a serious look at Trump’s business who doesn’t believe that there is a high likelihood of rampant criminality.

In Azerbaijan, he did business with a likely money launderer for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. In the Republic of Georgia, he partnered with a group that was being investigated for a possible role in the largest known bank-fraud and money-laundering case in history. In Indonesia, his development partner is “knee-deep in dirty politics”; there are criminal investigations of his deals in Brazil; the F.B.I. is reportedly looking into his daughter Ivanka’s role in the Trump hotel in Vancouver, for which she worked with a Malaysian family that has admitted to financial fraud. Back home, Donald, Jr., and Ivanka were investigated for financial crimes associated with the Trump hotel in SoHo—an investigation that was halted suspiciously. His Taj Mahal casino received what was then the largest fine in history for money-laundering violations.Listing all the financial misconduct can be overwhelming and tedious. I have limited myself to some of the deals over the past decade, thus ignoring Trump’s long history of links to New York Mafia figures and other financial irregularities."

 

[Valerie]

Donald Trump Has Good Reason to Be Rattled About the Michael Cohen Raid | The New Yorker


"At this point, dismissing Mueller wouldn’t end the investigations encircling the President anyway. Monday’s raid wasn’t carried out by the special counsel but, rather, by agents working for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

With all the focus on Mueller, and whether Trump will try to fire him, this fact hasn’t received sufficient stress.

Even if Trump were to succeed in getting rid of Mueller—which would be sure to provoke an enormous political backlash, and maybe even impeachment proceedings in Congress—the New York investigation, which is centered on Cohen, would continue. And that means Trump has more than Mueller and Russia to worry about."

 

[Valerie]

thug, fixer, and lawyer with a lower case L

Michael Cohen’s Attorney May Be an Even Worse Lawyer Than He Is

 

[Valerie]

"judges don’t lightly grant prosecutors the authority to raid the office of an attorney. When the object of the application for a search warrant is an attorney who has worked for the President, it is fair to presume that the prosecutors presented the court with strong evidence of probable wrongdoing, or maybe even something stronger."

 

[Valerie]

“There is no way—no sliver of a chance of a way—that the SDNY”—the Southern District of New York—“went to a magistrate for a search warrant *against the lawyer for the President of the United States* without much more than probable cause,” Benjamin Wittes, the editor of the Lawfare blog, wrote on Twitter.

He went on, “You can thus assume there was A LOT of evidence in that warrant application. You can also assume the magistrate in question reviewed it carefully.”

 

[Valerie]

"while attorney-client privilege shields many forms of communication between a lawyer and his or her client, it doesn’t shield everything. One communication that isn’t privileged is anything related to possible collusion between the lawyer and the client to break the law."

 

[Valerie]

" More and more, this is looking like a mobster roll-up of the type that some of Mueller’s team of ace prosecutors previously specialized in. In the beginning, the Feds target one or two low-level insiders with legal vulnerabilities, obtain court orders to monitor their activities, and, hopefully, get them to cooperate with the government. Gradually, the investigators work their way up the chain of command to the crew captains—the capos—and, eventually, to the boss of bosses, the capo dei capi.

In this case, George Papadopoulos, a foreign-policy adviser to the Trump campaign who met with people with links to the Kremlin, provided the low-level entry points. The capos included Mike Flynn, Trump’s former national-security adviser; Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager; and Rick Gates, Manafort’s former partner, who served as the campaign’s deputy chairman. Of these four Trump associates, three—Papadopoulos, Flynn, and Gates—are already cooperating with Mueller, having pleaded guilty to felonies. And Manafort, facing serious financial charges in two courts, is under strong pressure to flip.

Now the Feds are also putting the squeeze on Cohen, the trusted consigliere.

While the investigators of Cohen’s case don’t work for Mueller, the two cases are clearly linked, and there would be nothing to prevent Cohen, in the interests of self-preservation, from eventually agreeing to cooperate with both the Southern District of New York and Mueller. No wonder Trump seems rattled. "

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

the entire PV delta was in California, Hillary won California, Trump won the USA.

This is a fallacy called "cherry picking", and it is not valid. People using this fallacy either know better and are being deceptive, or they don't know any better and think it is valid reasoning.

I wonder which one you are?

 

[postman]

"while attorney-client privilege shields many forms of communication between a lawyer and his or her client, it doesn’t shield everything. One communication that isn’t privileged is anything related to possible collusion between the lawyer and the client to break the law."

Bingo. And that would include conspiracy to cover up or hide the crime (obstruction of justice). Once a lawyer becomes involved in telling a criminal how to get away with breaking the law, he has broken the law.

My only question is to what degree that opens up all the other conversations. Meaning if there were 1,000 privileged conversations, and 1 that broke the law, can they use the other 1,000?

 

[Redfish]

funny, coming from the idiot that believed the left wing media when they promised you that Hillary could not lose.

That was before Comey released information about her emails, just before the election.

Oh, so comey caused her to lose? not the American voters, not her record of corruption, not her arrogant obnoxious personality? but comey did it.

Hillary won the popular vote .. Trump can't get over that.

the entire PV delta was in California, Hillary won California, Trump won the USA.

It’s not the U.S.A. without California.

true, so stop the lies about "Hillary really won" she didn't. We have the EC so that Cal, Ny, TX, and FL are not the only states involved in selecting a president.

the movement to split Cal into three states is probably a good idea.

 

[Redfish]

the entire PV delta was in California, Hillary won California, Trump won the USA.

This is a fallacy called "cherry picking", and it is not valid. People using this fallacy either know better and are being deceptive, or they don't know any better and think it is valid reasoning.

I wonder which one you are?

it is 100% valid. The PV delta in Cal was equal to the PV delta for the entire country. Hillary won cal, but lost the EC. quite simple if you are not a partisan zealot.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

the entire PV delta was in California, Hillary won California, Trump won the USA.

This is a fallacy called "cherry picking", and it is not valid. People using this fallacy either know better and are being deceptive, or they don't know any better and think it is valid reasoning.

I wonder which one you are?

it is 100% valid. The PV delta in Cal was equal to the PV delta for the entire country. Hillary won cal, but lost the EC. quite simple if you are not a partisan zealot.

It is not valid at all. And I think you just answered my question : you think it is valid, because you are ignorant of your own error.

I can use the same fallacy to show that three of the least educated and poorest counties in the country gave the presidency to Donald Trump. Of course, while this would have an emotional appeal to the less educated and less honest among us, I won't make this specious argument, as I have intellectual integrity.

 

[Political Junky]

funny, coming from the idiot that believed the left wing media when they promised you that Hillary could not lose.

That was before Comey released information about her emails, just before the election.

Oh, so comey caused her to lose? not the American voters, not her record of corruption, not her arrogant obnoxious personality? but comey did it.

Hillary won the popular vote .. Trump can't get over that.

the entire PV delta was in California, Hillary won California, Trump won the USA.

It’s not the U.S.A. without California.

The US isn't stupid enough to lose the 6th largest economy in the world .. only dumbass people.

 

[Faun]

That was before Comey released information about her emails, just before the election.

Oh, so comey caused her to lose? not the American voters, not her record of corruption, not her arrogant obnoxious personality? but comey did it.

Hillary won the popular vote .. Trump can't get over that.

the entire PV delta was in California, Hillary won California, Trump won the USA.

It’s not the U.S.A. without California.

true, so stop the lies about "Hillary really won" she didn't. We have the EC so that Cal, Ny, TX, and FL are not the only states involved in selecting a president.

the movement to split Cal into three states is probably a good idea.

Who said she won the election?

And by movement to split CA, you mean a bunch of whiney conservatives bitching again.

 

[Witchit]

more points to ponder




I began to feel a familiar clarity about what will unfold next in the Trump Presidency. There are lots of details and surprises to come, but the endgame of this Presidency seems as clear now as those of Iraq and the financial crisis did months before they unfolded.

Last week, federal investigators raided the offices of Michael Cohen, the man who has been closer than anybody to Trump’s most problematic business and personal relationships.

This week, we learned that Cohen has been under criminal investigation for months—his e-mails have been read, presumably his phones have been tapped, and his meetings have been monitored.

Trump has long declared a red line: Robert Mueller must not investigate his businesses, and must only look at any possible collusion with Russia. That red line is now crossed and, for Trump, in the most troubling of ways.

Even if he were to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and then had Mueller and his investigation put on ice, and even if—as is disturbingly possible—Congress did nothing, the Cohen prosecution would continue.

Even if Trump pardons Cohen, the information the Feds have on him can become the basis for charges against others in the Trump Organization.

Michael Cohen and the End Stage of the Trump Presidency

This is a very good read, independent of the author's current perceptions.

The narrative that will become widely understood is that Donald Trump did not sit atop a global empire. He was not an intuitive genius and tough guy who created billions of dollars of wealth through fearlessness. He had a small, sad operation, mostly run by his two oldest children and Michael Cohen, a lousy lawyer who barely keeps up the pretenses of lawyering and who now faces an avalanche of charges, from taxicab-backed bank fraud to money laundering and campaign-finance violations.

Cohen, Donald, Jr., and Ivanka monetized their willingness to sign contracts with people rejected by all sensible partners. Even in this, the Trump Organization left money on the table, taking a million dollars here, five million there, even though the service they provided—giving branding legitimacy to blatantly sketchy projects—was worth far more. It was not a company that built value over decades, accumulating assets and leveraging wealth. It burned through whatever good will and brand value it established as quickly as possible, then moved on to the next scheme.

There are important legal questions that remain. How much did Donald Trump and his children know about the criminality of their partners? How explicit where they in agreeing to put a shiny gold brand on top of corrupt deals? The answers to these questions will play a role in determining whether they go to jail and, if so, for how long.

 

[Hutch Starskey]

How the fuck do you know what he has or doesn't have?

Buuut...you are the one who has spent a year claiming you know what he has or doesn't have.

bullshit, I have no idea what he has. But if he had anything he would have already brought it instead of looking into hookers and lawyers.

If you don't know what he has, how can you possibly know his intentions?

You should take your own advice.

do you have personal access to Mueller's files? How the fuck do you know what he has or doesn't have?