General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's Tabloid Ally Flips, Further Endangering the President
Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday morning. At the center of the charges against the presidents former lawyer-fixer were two payments made in the months leading up to the 2016 election. One was a $130,000 payment Cohen made to Stormy Daniels, with whom Trump allegedly had an affair. The other was a $150,000 payment Cohen arranged for American Media, Inc. to make to Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal so that the story of her alleged affair with Trump wouldnt go public.
It may seem obvious that these payments which came in August and October of 2016, respectively transpired to ensure Trumps alleged affairs would not affect his presidential prospects. Outside of common sense, theres plenty of evidence to suggest this is the case. Cohen said explicitly that Trump directed him to make the payments, and the Southern District of New York agreed, noting in Cohens sentencing memo that the payments were made to deceive the voting public by hiding alleged facts that he believed would have had a substantial effect on the election. Trump has of course denied having anything to do with any of this.
The presidents defenders have argued either that Cohen wasnt affiliated with the campaign in an official capacity, and thus couldnt be acting on its behalf; or that the payments were made not to influence the election but to prevent Trumps wife, Melania, from finding out that her husband was unfaithful; or that it flat-out doesnt matter. On Wednesday morning, the window of plausible deniability through which these theories found their way into the mouths of conservatives slammed shut. In a press release announcing Cohens sentencing, the SDNY disclosed that AMI paid McDougal $150,000 for the rights to her story in concert with a candidates presidential campaign, and in order to ensure that the woman did not publicize damaging allegations about the candidate before the 2016 presidential election.
Link to tweet
AMI, the parent company of the National Enquirer, admitted to the nature of the payment as part of an agreement ensuring they would not be prosecuted in connection with the campaign finance violation. In other words, AMI turned on Trump, who during the campaign argued that they should have received the Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the O.J. Simpson scandal and former presidential candidate John Edwards affair with one of his campaign workers. At the time, Trump was attempting to discredit Ted Cruz by noting that the National Enquirer published a photo of Cruzs father having breakfast with Crazy Lee Harvey Oswald, the implication being that Cruzs father had something to do with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. There was a picture on the front page of the National Enquirer, which does have credibility, the president said of the publication, which has a history of buying up unflattering stories about Trump because of his relationship with AMI head David Pecker.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/national-enquirer-trump-payments-768242/
winetourdriver01
(1,154 posts)It's going to be a good Christmas. If this creaky old Republic survives this mess, this creaky old man will die happy.
Vinnie From Indy
(10,820 posts)Dems will be forced to impeach!