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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDonald Trump has never been in more trouble than right now
Donald Trump has never been in more trouble than right now
Paul Waldman
snip//
McQuade also stressed that Mueller didn't raid Cohen's office. Instead, the Southern District of New York did. "They would have drafted the warrant, supervised the agent affidavit, presented it to the judge, and supervised the execution of it," McQuade said. "So the idea that Mueller raided Cohen is wrong."
The raid on Cohen's office and home could produce all kinds of evidence, some related to his relationship with his client, and some not. They've got files, computers, cell phones, everything. Anyone who knows Cohen knows that there is bound to be a whole lot of interesting stuff to be found.
The privileged information will then go to what's sometimes referred to as a "taint team," a group of Justice Department officials who will review it and decide whether it shows enough evidence of a crime that it falls outside attorney-client privilege. They will then pass that information on to a judge, who could then permit it to be used by Mueller, by the U.S. Attorney's office, by the New York state attorney general, or by the Manhattan district attorney. In other words, Cohen and by extension, Trump now has to worry about more than just Mueller.
Now let's take a step back. One remarkable thing about the 2016 election is the way Trump's business career was given such a superficial examination by the media as a whole. Again and again, some crazy story or unusual aspect of his financial life would be the topic of one or two investigative stories, but those stories wouldn't get pick up by other outlets.
Making this more problematic, Trump isn't someone who played close to the line a time or two, or once did a shady deal. He may well be the single most corrupt major business figure in the United States of America. He ran scams like Trump University to con struggling people out of their money. He lent his name to pyramid schemes. He bankrupted casinos and still somehow made millions while others were left holding the bag. He refused to pay vendors. He exploited foreign workers. He used illegal labor. He discriminated against African-American renters. He violated antitrust laws. He did business with the mob and with Eastern European kleptocrats. His properties became the go-to vehicle for Russian oligarchs and mobsters to launder their money.
So it was no accident that when he ran for president, the people who joined him in his quest were also a collection of grifters, liars, and crooks people like Paul Manafort. Those were the kind of operators Trump has attracted all his life. Honest, upright people with a deep respect for the law don't go to work for Donald Trump.
more...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-donald-trump-michael-cohen-trouble-20180410-story.html
pbmus
(12,422 posts)BobTheSubgenius
(11,563 posts)"A PLAGUE UPON YOUR IGNORANCE & THE GRAY DESPAIR OF YOUR UGLY LIFE"
- Frank Zappa
Seems to fit, except "the gray despair" is what he instills into other lives...
wiggs
(7,813 posts)ready for firings, pardons, petty distractions, serious distractions, lies, blackmail, lawsuits and filings galore, foreign bots, media blitzes 24/7, huge flow of money from domestic and foreign oligarchs, rigged congressional findings, cooperating witnesses becoming squishy....and just enough gop statements to make it seem that congress is tough on Trump, but the votes won't be there.
in other words...a democratic, constitutional, GLOBAL and financial CRISIS...a battle for the soul of our country and beyond. A fork in the road.
Great ratings for media....terrible, frightening times for public discourse and justice. Results could last a while.
Stuart G
(38,427 posts)Trump is up against an incredible expert in getting people who cause such trouble...Mueller..In addition,
Mueller's team, is unmatched in getting to the root of trouble makers like Trump. His team has specialists in money laundering, international fraud..etc.etc. Mueller and his team will get Trump in ways he doesn't know. Trump and his family and lawyers are up against the very best. It ain't no "witch hunt It is a battle of good against evil, and Trump as we all know is "evil"
malaise
(269,003 posts)Rec
colsohlibgal
(5,275 posts)He has skated on so many things that would have spelled doom for any previous President. The Emollient Statutes front and center among those.
People who voted for him who were not alt right or filthy rich should be ashamed. It still astonishes me that anyone saw him and thought there is a potential chief executive.
Nixon was a sleazy crook but he at least was competent.
Different Drummer
(7,615 posts)What bothers me most about people having voted for Spanky is that he was, and still is, totally incompetent. They knew that and voted for him anyway. I don't get it...never will.
Eyeball_Kid
(7,432 posts)Some people a lot of people, had FUN by following Trumpy. They could ignore his incompetence and ignorance because they did not consider that a president had to be knowledgeable and competent. TV is a vehicle for entertainment. Trumpy made the campaign FUN. Thats how he captured so many Fanboys. And thats a big reason that were now in the middle of this shit show.
Whiskeytide
(4,461 posts)... be a much darker time if he were astute at politics.
ThoughtCriminal
(14,047 posts)It is very likely more corrupt than all the previous combined. Even after Nixon/Reagan/Bush/Bush.
Will the Republicans ever manage to top this? Given their history, they will certainly try.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)ThoughtCriminal
(14,047 posts)Thursday.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Given that he is the President of the United States - can fire people, pardon people, etc. and has the Republicans in control of Congress, the Supreme Court, and a 24-7 spin team on Fox and Friends.
He'd be in a lot more trouble if he was a private citizen, wouldn't he?
Gore1FL
(21,132 posts)If nothing else. one can hope the stuff will legally haunt him from the minute he leaves office and becomes a private citizen.
EffieBlack
(14,249 posts)LiberalFighter
(50,928 posts)Especially by the likes of Andrea Mitchell and Chris Matthews with them focusing on the attacks on Clinton. Instead of bringing to light the above which they had to know was true if they are as in the know as they want everyone to believe.
And then there was the media including MSNBC giving all of that air time to DT during the campaign. They would be showing the crowd before DT showed up and he wouldn't show for awhile. There was no reason it had to live or to show the whole rally.
slumcamper
(1,606 posts)spanone
(135,833 posts)CrispyQ
(36,464 posts)I hope president shithole lives to regret ever thinking about running for president.
Orsino
(37,428 posts)Every passing day means real life catching up with all the fakery.
liberalla
(9,247 posts)K&R