Michael Cohen House Testimony Viewing Thread: Part III

Even though it's basically over. If someone still has the old thread opened, please link this new thread there.

Is there a summary of the testimony?

Do you really need anymore proof of who the real snowflakes are? It takes so little to trigger conservatives

Matt Gaetz Under Investigation By Florida State Bar Over Michael Cohen Threat

Why is the Golden Tie Trump fanboy allowed to have the final say?

As I watch the Republicans on this committee, and I realize that these monsters these ignorant evil pieces of shit were in charge, and that Democrats like Elijah Cummings, and Nancy Pelosi had to live with it and put up with them, OMG, I would have been insane. I would have literally gone ballistic.

God, they're so desperate to deflect.

Gym Jordan is such an asshole

Gross Matt Gaetz looks like a morlock.

Where is all their concern for Drumpfs countless lies and deception? When have they ever gone down a bullet list of facts that dispute all of Dump's 6000 lies everyday?

R6, yet Cummings is friends with Meadows. Can’t wrap my head around that.

R615, of course we didn't. Because, very likely, there aren't any.

Cummings was letting Meadows save face to shut down white tears nonsense. He knows what he's doing.

RBG was friends with Scalia.

HUnny, they're "friends" it's what one does when you have to work with people to get things done. But they're not FRIENDS.

Uh oh, Cohen appears to be welling up. 🤧

RBG is friends with Alito, too.

Cummings should have prepared a closing statement.

I don't understand the Cummings-Meadows friendship at all, if it's only superficial. However it's defined, Meadows really imposed on that friendship in the opening minutes of the hearing.

BUT ELIJAH IS MY BEST FRIEND!

I want to know how many pounds of french fries Trump is rage eating tonight.

Dare I say, I feel bad for Cohen.

Always keep in the front of your mind that the Kochs, Mercers, Adelsons, Mormons, et al are funding local politicians to take overstate legislatures so they can vote to get a constitutional convention. What’s a consutitionsl convention? It’s when you write a new constitution and throw out the old one.

[quote]Damn that COngresswoman! This is about Trump not her feelings.

Sadly she gave ammunition to the Rethugs and Fox to claim victimhood, even though she was right. She should've thought of a more cunning way to phrase it.

Cummings is good, but he's not a looker like Trey Gowdy.

r22. I know how you feel, but this guy is really scurrilous. He's only worthy of sympathy now because he got caught.

" RAT! "

R23 thank you for your comment. They want a theocracy. We can't give it to them, they will kill us

R24, she could have quoted Andrew Gillum: " I'm not saying he's a racist, I'm simply saying the racists believe he's a racist.”

Gowdy looks like he's short a few chromosomes.

I could only watch bits and pieces during the day, but it is my impression that Cohen came off looking pretty good. Is that the general consensus?

Jesus, Elijah is making me cry.

Cummings' closing isn't great.

Elijah Cummings is BRINGING it! He comes from Baltimore and he KNOWS HIS RATS!!

Who is the blonde behind Cohen who keeps nodding her beautiful feathered hair?

R31, yes I think so because he mostly stayed calm when the Repubs tried to bait him, he threw back Trump's lies and their own complicity in their face, and most importantly HE BROUGHT RECEIPTS.

Boom, mic drop!

Lindsay and Al Franken were apparently close too.

Al told Graham:. I would vote for you for president

LG:. That's my problem

[QUOTE]Cummings' closing isn't great.

Like you could do any better.

[quote] yet Cummings is friends with Meadows. Can’t wrap my head around that.

That's why you can't fully trust any politician. What they say and what they do are many times vastly different things.

"My loyalty to Drumpf has cost me everything..."

Let's hope the same holds true for the rest of the fucking Rethugs.

Michael Cohen did a good job. I believed him.

Where will Cohen now go? Right into jail?

I can apparently do better than you, R39.

Oh good, the ever capable Chuck Todd is taking over on MSNBC now to tell us how the Democrats played it for theater, too.

No, he doesn't start his sentence until May.

I agree with r33.

R43, his jailing has been delayed two months because he’s helping with other probes.

That was for R43.

It took Cummings a while to get going but ultimately his closing statement (shaming the Repugs without literally saying it) was very powerful.

LOL, r47

r35 Dr. Dena Grayson, I think.

R46, thx!

He's not going to jail until May.

A couple of days ago Chuck Todd did a piece on people with bad haircuts, yes that Chuck Todd. No he did not include himself.

What Cummings said about hearings was great, because these fucking asshole Republicans kept pulling the bullshit about "we should be concentrating on more impt things," so he's reminding them and telling everyone else "Guess what? This isn't our first or only 'thing' that we did, so fuck off Reps."

And like the Congresswoman said "Dems can walk and chew gum"

Cummings was magnificent. I loved when he said to Michael Cohen that this is his destiny. And he meant it in a "heroic" way.

Liar, r55!!!

Chuck Todd absolutely did include himself at the end of the bad haircut segment. Did you watch it all?

Cummings closing was just fine and he's a great Chairman.

To whomever keeps asking about "gold tie's last word" as I posted in the prior thread, Gym Jordan is ranking member. On all committees the highest ranking (usually most senior member but not always) of the minority party is 'ranking member' and is considered second to the Chair (usually highest ranking member of the majority).

Look at the Senate Intelligence committee, Mark Warner is second only to the Chair, Burr. Here Chairman Cummings had the last word.

I hope I live to see the day where people like Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, and Donald Trump are preparing to serve their prison terms.

R60, that was me wondering about Gold Tie's significance.

[quote]Chuck Todd absolutely did include himself at the end of the bad haircut segment. Did you watch it all?

- Chuck Todd

Right wing is obsessing over the Steele dossier because Cohen said he’d never been in Czech Republic.

agree with r58

Love when he said that

Gotcha, r62, did I actually clear it up or just make it worse?

Gym Jordan=gold tie

R64, They're screaming he's a liar but they believe that one thing he said because that one thing would be the one and only thing demonstrated as untrue in the dossier. Deplorable "logic."

❤️Chairman Elijah Cummings❤️

R66, got it, don't worry.

Considering the instantaneous racism coming from the right towards Tlaib, yeah, she was really proven wrong about them, eh? She hasn't actually committed acts of terrorism and yet they call her a terrorist because simply being an Arab and Muslim, means you get to be called a terrorist by the very people simply outraged by pointing out PROPS the Republicans use.

That repub Roy bloke is probably already on his way home to Texas to make sure his wife really did not watch the testimony.

Cohen's admission that the Trump Tower negotiations continued into the Trump Presidency is also very damning.

Love Elijah Cummings. He handled everything so calmly. His closing speech was so heartfelt.

R61, the first time I ever saw Gaetz I didn't know his name just his weird thuggishness. I started referring to him as Hitler Youth and it hasn't changed upon closer inspection.

Hope Cummings stays healthy for the next 2 years. He seems hale and hearty from the waist up, but he does rely on walkers and wheelchairs to get around now.

Elijah Cummings is getting tired of politics. I don’t see him doing this much longer.

That Gaetz moron is an incel, isn't he?

The last 5 Dems and Plaskett really impressed me.

I didn’t like Cummings kissing up to that racist white man.

Well, when all is said and done, Cohen's testimony hasn't changed anyone's mind. Democrats always knew Trump is a worthless piece of shit. Republicans and flyovers will only dig in their heels deeper and stand by their man.

Who was the gay republican in the blue plaid suit with the red tie? Very stylish. Straight guys don't have that style gene. He was going on and on about truth and I wanted to scream "Gurl, what do you know about truth?" I know most politicians but hadn't seen him before. Must keep it on the low down.

Cummings makes statement after hearing: We've had no oversight over the last two years. NONE. No subpoenas, etc. We are doing the job we were elected to do--serve as a check on the Executive. We need to reclaim civility. We need to get info from the Executive branch, which usually goes to YOU (media).

He practiced law and for many years; believes Cohen told the truth.

I'm digging Cummings after today's hearing.

[quote]Cohen's admission that the Trump Tower negotiations continued into the Trump Presidency is also very damning.

Yawn. We've heard that the sky is falling for tRump everyday since he was elected and absolutely not one fucking thing has been done to nor about him. Nobody in a position of power has the balls. Sad state for this country.

“Don’t get it twisted.” Lol love Elijah Cummings.

Elijah Cummings just told reporters that the Oversight Committee "probably will" talk with Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg.

Cummings must be exhausted but he is eloquent. It was sad to see him making nice with Meadows, but he showing us what civility really is.

R82, the fact that this hearing even happened is a direct consequence of the midterms, but go on with your thinly veiled "both sides" garbage.

It's funny to read the "oh, nothing to see here!" posts.

Children, we're just getting started. There was plenty to see here today and lots of threads pulled to follow.

R82 wants to deflate viewers who feel reassured by today’s hearing.

R82, piss off.

If you were watching TV now, you would know Cummings strongly hinted that impeachment is coming. He said he believes Trump committed crimes in office.

I want Elijah Cummings to be my Dad and president <3

If NOTHING ELSE, the one takeaway from today that everyone should have is that the House is going to subpoena lots more documents and witnesses--at the very least they're getting Trump's tax returns.

R89 Me too.

I think Alan Weiselberg better be booking his ticket to DC or Ecuador.

Also, Trump knows this is damaging his "brand." So he's over in Viet Nam ready to give the Korean dotard whatever he wants so Trump can reburnish his "brand" and get himself a Nobel Peace prize in the process. The Deplorables eat this shit up with a giant spoon and Trump knows it.

I will personally make Rep. Cummings a friggin quinoa bowl every day to keep him healthy and kicking.

Oh, Donald's *not* going to get a Nobel. He and the Deplorables can think that, but no way.

Deplorables can't get that dumb orange cunt a Nobel. He's never going to get one, it doesn't matter what he does.

He isn't burnishing his brand in Vietnam, he's burnishing Kim Jong Un's brand, Putin's brand and Xi's brand. Trump's drowning in his own mountain of garbage and he'll give Rocketman the store to get a headline.

Is it bad I'm attracted to Michael Cohen??? I'd totally suck him off. I'd even swallow multiple times.

R92, Weisselberg has been cooperating, with immunity I believe, for months.

R98, he may enjoy your company by the time he'll be in jail.

Yeah, it's real bad. Politics aside, totally unattractive man.

Is Gowdy trans?

R31 I think Cohen was very well prepared. I like the way he answered why he worked so long for Trump:

[quote] “Cohen then offers a remarkable warning to the Republicans on the committee as to what happens to those who stand by Trump. “I did the same thing that you’re doing now for ten years. I protected Mr. Trump for ten years,” Cohen says “Look what’s happened to me.”

When Trump built his hotel/casinos in Atlantic City, someone — I cant remember who — said that as soon as the cold winds blow in off the ocean, the crowds would disappear. Like so many places on the east coasts, nor’easters & snowstorms plague the area in winter. It’s insane, the man said, to think you can fill up all these hotel rooms and casino floors from November-early June. He was right. People headed for Vegas in winter time.

Now Trump is blathering about the beaches in North Korea & how great it would be to put hotels on them.

What

The

Everloving

Fuck?

North Korea’s summers are wet, thanks to monsoon season. In winter, the weather is dry, but freezing.

And this moron is raving about how fantastic it would be to put hotels on these beaches. Fucking asshole.

Yes, R102, he’s transitioned from human to alien.

More from comedian Brent Terhune. Priceless

Keep in mind, r104, that this is the guy who thinks global warming can't be real if it's still cold outside. He doesn't know from Monsoons.

Gowdy is a white walker.

R104 Trump is one of those people who are so toxic anyone or anything he nears fails.

I loved Meadows pulling out the "I have 'colored' nieces and nephews!" What, did someone in his family marry an Eye-talian?

Absolutely R61. The thing that really bothers me is that Cohen told the truth and has now lost his bar license and is going to prison. And may not be safe plus his family. Meanwhile Trump may never see a day in jail. He may ultimately be forced to resign but every day he gets closer to the 2020 election it is less likely he will be out before the election, even if he steps back from running again. And crooks like Mitch the bitch and Paul Ryan and other Republicans, by continuing to lie, will get away with criminal activity until it isn't convenient and then they'll walk away scott free. Anyone who aided and abetted Trump should be charged and go to prison if convicted.

[quote]That Gaetz moron is an incel, isn't he?

What is his story besides being a spoiled brat enabled by his father? He doesn't strike me as incel, but rather a man who can "charm" in the very short term and quickly turns selfish, demanding, and loutish. He can take a girl home from the bar with the help of a few drinks or more and maybe get a few dates in before he wears thin. He strikes me more as an MRA misogynist. Women pick up on creeps like this which is one of the reasons cunts like Richard Spencer prefer submissive foreign-born women or women who aren't too bright. It's unusual for a politician nearing his 40s, particularly a southern pol, to still be unmarried . If he's not closeted, my guess is this is the issue, plus possibly an alcohol problem like Kavanaugh (who despite being politically ambitious Catholic didn't marry until he was 40. Alcohol gets in the way of relationships.

R6, such an array of ignorant, hypocritical yokels. They really are some kind of divergent branch of human evolution. I haven't looked at Pogo by Walt Kelly in a long time, but I think he satirized politicians like that. Or maybe Al Capp.

Gaetz does look...touched

R114, it's bedtime in Europe ... thanks for giving me nightmares.

OK. Before Chairman Cummings gave his spellbinding closing statement, Michael Cohen gave a closing statement. And are my ears deceiving me, or did he say Trump would not go quietly if he was not re-elected? Did he SAY that? Because I thought I heard him say that if Trump was defeated in 2020 he would refuse to leave office. Please tell me I'm imagining that.

I’ve been on the fence about AOC but was very impressed by her today.

GOP is going to pull out all the stops in 2020. They need a GOP president to sew up the SCOTUS even tighter than it is. And SDNY is a federal court. They don’t want any of those cases going up - money laundering, tax fraud, bank fraud, etc. They're going to want someone to give out pardons before those cases even get off the ground. Even if they drop Trump, which I doubt they’ll do, it’s imperative to get someone in there to pardon everyone. (There’s always someone who thinks SDNY isn’t federal & presidential pardons won’t count. It is, and they will. And yes, you can give out pardons before any charges are brought. Ford did it to Nixon).

Cohen didn't talk about any NYSAG cases.

He has whatshisname eyes, Chambers who killed that girl in the park.

(R116) He did say that. He said it and it made me sick. A really cold chill

R116 That's exactly the way I heard it. And Trump's crazy survivalist supporters won't be peaceful either. 2020 is going to be a mess if Trump isn't taken out in cuffs before then.

I'm so sorry, R115. Here, go in peace:

Civil war! Riots in the streets! Omgoooooooooooood!

By the time we get there the landscape will have changed. The Secret Service will remove any POTUS unwilling to leave the office. The white supremacists making trouble won't get very far.

As a NYer, I say this to our local govt. FOX News needs to be kicked out of the fucking city. They serve a certain part of this country and it isn't us. They need to go broadcast out of Kansas or Wyoming, not here. They have no business spreading their hateful, race/bigoted-based rhetoric and then go eat at some Ethiopian/Ecuadorian restaurant in the city.

AOC was pretty darn good, kept getting him to name Wiselberg et al and the tax returns, justifying subpoenaing everything.

Pressley was good.

Tlaib was intense but it got confusing.

R98 The fact that he’s dumb as a box of rocks is a big turnoff.

No, Fox needs to be totally destroyed.

FOX News could change its name to FOX Pabulum and it wouldn't lose any viewers.

People are freaking out on cable news. They're saying this is the "beginning" of something big. WTF... aren't we already in the middle of it? What are they hinting at?

What was the gist of Pressley's questioning and Tlaib's?

Cummings says that this is historical - that it'll be in history books in 200 years. Hm.

[quote]Oh, Donald's *not* going to get a Nobel.

The Scandinavians are very unpredictable!

It was interesting when Cohen was asked about trump's threat against his father in-law. trump said about Cohen testifying. trump threatened, "He should give information maybe on his father-in-law, because that's the one that people want to look at."

Cohen's response was something about how his FIL was ejected from the Ukriane for being Jewish and was a hard-working family man now retired.

That threat alone shows that trump has a lot to hide and is afraid about it coming out. I can't wait until it's all out in the open and he's off to prison.

Why couldn’t Cohen answer about Trump’s greatest fear?

“Indeed, given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power, and this is why I agreed to appear before you today.”

R134, maybe because it's being caught for money laundering and that's under investigation by the SDNY and Cohen can't speak about it because he's giving testimony.

Gaetz looks like a Gerald Scarfe caricature of himself.

I totally fear that there won't be a peaceful transfer of power if he loses. It's scary.

We are better than Trump. We must prevail.

Allen Weisselberg is next. They're going to subpoena him.

Cohen wasn't upfront at all about his father-in-law, who is very well known to Trump.

When is Wendy scheduled to return?

Oops, wrong thread.

Michael Cohen isn't an unattractive man but he looks like he wears Aramis and likes mens' jewelry.

His "no peaceful transition" comment was chilling indeed. It was one of the moments in the testimony that made say "WOW!" out loud. The other was in the opening statement when directly into the cameras speaking to Trump:

[quute]"He finished the conversation with the following comment. "You think I'm stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam." "I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now."

I wonder if he was evoking Trump's comment to Howard Stern that his STD challenges in the '70s were his "personal Vietnam."

R114 Is he a long lost Osmond Brother?

Cohen is a decent looking man. The nose job certainly helped him out.

Will Matt be indicted? He should.

[quote]That's why you can't fully trust any politician. What they say and what they do are many times vastly different things.

Both sides throw out red meat in public for their respective bases, but individual Dems and Reps are often quite friendly behind the scenes. Except no one likes Jim Jordan or Ted Cruz.

BTW, here's non-racist Mark Meadows in 2012 saying it's time to send Obama "home to Kenya or wherever it is."

[quote]FOX News could change its name to FOX Pabulum and it wouldn't lose any viewers.

Because they have no fucking idea what that even means.

Good grief! It looks like his fingers are a foot long.

Democrats are descent human beings, Republicans are not.

R149!!!! I have COLOREDS IN MA FAMILY! Tell 'em, Eli! Tell 'em I done showed you the coloreds in ma own family!

Did he actually use the word "coloreds"? Please tell me he did.

HA, R154. No, he didn't, but I'm sure he only learned not to in like the early 2000s

Reposting this Chris Christie nugget from early in the day because it's worth it:

"There hasn't been one Republican yet who's tried to defend the president on the substance. I think that's something that should be concerning to the White House."

Correction: Not publicly, anyway.

I love this from R149's link:

‏ @MSFC_Chick But, but, but... his nieces and nephews are people of color!

‏ @Aaronosco1 And he's never forgiven his brother/sister for creating them....

I bet Meadows's nonwhite relatives are like Asian or something — not African-American or Latino.

Like what's-his-racist .... Sessions.

Or just from New Jersey, R159. His sibling married a Yankee!

You know, there may be a few riots like that Charlottesville bullshit. But if they believe they will have this huge uprising, they're delusional. The MAGAs are cowards. They are great bullies. They love to heckle and harass outside the building at Democratic events, but by and large, Trump and his supporters are delusional if they believe his supporters will "rise up." LOLOL! They can't get their fat asses off the couch fast enough. Have no fear my little snowflakes. If there are some civil disorders they will be put down. The main thing we have to be aware of is that they would love to provoke us into violent confrontations. We must not take the bait.

Here's a thing to think about. I read somewhere that one of these dictators, maybe Maduro, maybe someone else has begun to assemble his own private army. I thought of Erik Prince. That's what he does.

Meadows cried some crocodile tears when he was accused of racism for his little stunt of bringing the one black person that works for Trump Org to the hearing.

R117, I agree with you. The real group you should be on the fence about is the media. They have annointed her head of the democratic party and given her every comment prime coverage. Most probably couldn't identify another newly elected MOC to save their lives, but that's not her fault. I think she should be doing her job and, today, she did. This is really the first time most people have seen her on the job and she did well today. There are new witnesses identified to Congress because of her questioning.

[quote] Democrats are descent human beings, Republicans are not.

I am a yellow dog democrat and have never and will never vote for a republican. But sadly there have been democratic members of congress who were far less than decent human beings. I just think overall the democratic party is far less of a danger to the well being of the citizens of this country than republicans are.

Now we sit and wait for Cheeto and his stubby little fingers....

Do you think he even hears whats being said to him or is he just tossing and turning waiting to get to his phone?

I can't say the republican strategy was very complex. Call Cohen and liar and accuse him of trying to profit from this mess by writing a book. Book Tour, Book Tour, Book Tour started to sound like Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi. I also liked when they tried to go after Lanny Davis because he was Clinton's lawyer. I was surprised Hillary's emails didn't come up.

You wanna make a racist squeal like a wounded pig? Call them a racist to their face.

I like Congresswoman Tlaib. Big old balls of steel.

Yeah this was a big day. First time Congress has been publicly handed hard evidence proving that the president committed felonies while President. And the million-dollar question now is: now what? Do we respect the rule of law in the country or not?

If Trump is anything he's a good con man. He's not stupid enough to say or do racist things in front of any person of color. Con men have one trait in common. They pick and choose what they're going to reveal of themselves and to whom they're willing to reveal it.

This idiot Patton woman is a consummate enabler. Her attitude is "he's good to me so that makes him okay". People like that don't care about anyone else as long as they're getting what they want from some asshole.

I would buy and read a book about Trump written by Cohen.

What's hilarious is that this hick asshole who told the former president -whose family has been here LONGER than Trump's- to go back to Kenya , thinks that his *SIBLING* marrying outside of the "race," gives HIM bonus points. Like we're supposed to believe someone with his politically-leanings celebrated the union of "swirl." He's a Freedom Caucus asshole. Birtherism was their oxygen.

I'm not certain Cohen was telling everything he knew. Could have been a strategy to put five things out there and focus on those. I have to think there were more women that were covered up. He played off some of the things we know like Russians buying Real Estate.

Tlaib is deplorable in her own right, but she was right to call out Meadows.

What's the musical accompaniment for noose tightening? The Law & Order "Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun?"

The D.C. attorney general has subpoenaed Trump’s inaugural committee for documents related to any payments to the Trump Organization and related to Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric Trump.

The painting auction story wasn't very exciting. We know Trump is a huge narcissist. I wonder if it was to plant the seed for the committee to look to the Trump Foundation? I thought people were already looking there as it was shut down by the state. Seemed an odd thing to bring up.

How is she a deplorable in her own right, R174? I happen to be part Palestinian Christian. She's a "deplorable" to people like Bari Weiss and Bill Maher and Roseanne and Ben Shapiro and people like you who think she and I are supposed to deny our heritage and that those who get to lie about our heritage get to engage in revisionist history in regards to our heritage. So tell me what specifically is deplorable about her because I'd be more than happy to tell you what my family went through just going to visit my little old grandfather in Jerusalem while people like Roseanne get to just go in with no problem.

[quote]also liked when they tried to go after Lanny Davis because he was Clinton's lawyer. I

Didn't anyone on the committee remind him that Trump's current lawyer is a Clinton lawyer too?

I don't understand the headlines that say Cohen searched for tape that showed Trump hitting Melania. If Trump had not hit Melania, why would Trump be worried such a tape was out there? I haven't been able to follow this story closely today, so thanks for any help with this one.

BTW, R174, she was called a "terrorist" countless times on Twitter for holding Meadows accountable for his stunt. I'm sure you'd agree because racism and bigotry is cool when the target suits you, right? Tell me, when did she set off a bomb aside from Meadows almost bursting into tears? You see, you think it's OK to literally demonize my people simply for what we are and I'll be damned if I ever allow anyone to deny my heritage and what was taken for us.

from* us

Now the Dems need to do what their Repub counterparts did throughout Obama's presidency: KEEP IT UP! This was a great first step. But you’ve got miles still to go. Be tireless, be relentless.

Agreed, R182. I think winning the house showed them that Dems were sick of being doormats.

R112 Gaetz has a crush on AOC. Sounds grotesque, but then I have a crush on Gaetz.

I DEMAND to see those SAT scores!!!

Jesus. we need to get you laid, R184.

"I sat next to the man for 10 years and I washed his back" ...I was floored by that statement and was surprised there was no follow up.

I have MANY follow up questions!

R179, I thought I heard Wallace talking about some tape of Trump hitting Melania and when I googled it I didn’t find anything. What’s the backstory here? Did Cohen have the tape?

R187, it was "I watched his back". That's why there was no follow-up. No need.

Jesus Christ, the AOC sycophants on this thread must be trolls or people who didnt watch the entire hearing. Both the accountant and his inflating/deflating assets were mentioned by Cohen multiple times. Shit, the asset thing deflation was even in his opening statement.

r117. I agree. I haven't liked all her antics since she took office, but she knows when it's time to settle down and get serious. She was the picture of professionalism today and I was rather impressed.

R191, you clearly missed the point: She was reiterating everything for the record so that there is access to ALL of the paperwork. ALL of his fraudulent dealings over the years. It's crucial that people be reminded of what he has done to get to where he is. He needs to be drilled into people's heads.

It* needs

It was on record the moment it came out of Cohen's mouth, r193. He even brought paperwork to back up the point. Seriously. Did you listen to the whole thing or are you just a fangurl or troll?

R191, didn’t you post the same thing on the part 2 thread? You really want to make the “AOC sycophants” a thing, don’t you?

Yes, that was me, but I picked it up from others on DL.

I'm not a troll or a fangurl and I know he said it at the beginning, but it needed to be repeated, R195. You seem not to have minded the Republicans constantly repeating shit to Cohen over and over again, eh, or was that of no concern to you? Repeated personal attacks are fine, but repeating Trump's financial shadiness is tiresome to you.

Get your priorities in check. Would I have liked her to ask other things, of course, but a reminded of his business practices is fine by me.

reminder*

So she repeated something Cohen himself said. She wasn't the end all and be all you're making it and her out to be. She read something off a card and didn't fuck it up as she usually does. Huzzah!

Wow, the hate for AOC is real.

The hearing is a legal proceeding, and everything becomes part of the committee (as well as public) record, so the details need to be stated and entered explicitly and in detail to lay the ground for the next steps. AOC knew exactly what she was doing.

Seriously, r201. The fuckup and back tracking on the Green New Deal isn't enough of an example. The only "no" on an important vote because, purity, doesn't tell you anything?

You see, R200, this is the problem. You've set the bar so high for Dems, that you don't even care how low it is for Reps and you get angrier at Dems for EVERYTHING as you witness the bullshit -actual BULL. SHIT- from the GOP. They literally brought a black woman to sit there. She wasn't a witness. She was not privy to the business dealings. She was there merely as a fucking PROP to just sit there and be BLACK and to show that whoop-dee-fucking-doo, Trump hired a black woman for HUD. WOW. Kudos! Give the MFer a Sandra Lee Kwanzaa Cake!

I don't set the bar high for Democrats, r204. Shit. Holding a protest in Pelosi's office on climate change when Republicans are climate change deniers is setting the bar in a weird direction, no?

R205, listen, I have issues with some of AOC's stances, but I disagree with you that her questioning was as awful as you make it out to be. We can disagree with her, but I will never criticize her to the point that I think she is more of a threat or disaster than the GOP. She will never be anywhere near the threat they are.

Hmm. Thread derailment attempt ongoing. The Republicans really lost today.

Is there a gif or video of Meadows sniveling like the bitch he is after Ms Tlaib spanked him?

I need this in my life.

One of the things that seemed to really help Cohen's credibility is that he had numerous chances to speculate on lurid side topics, and he refused to engage in any of them. The rumors of the elevator tape, the abortions, etc. - simply responded that he had no knowledge of such things. He stuck to facts and the things that he knew. That's it.

I don't have video, but here's his "petulant toddler just got yelled at" face:

R296, I do think she's a problem. She's not a threat to the right. She's a gift. She's the rolling pin that will be used in the election to beat the candidates with and she's not smart enough to realize that's she's a their tool. And people like you that think she's a hero for not fucking up reading off a card are part of the problem.

I agree r209

Cohen is still a scumbag but his performance today made him infinitely more interesting.

I never heard of that Rhona lady who works for Trump. Why have I never heard her mentioned before in the news before like other Trump people?

R211, you ain’t that smart yourself if I may say so.

I think people assume she's "not smart" because she's attractive, young, and female. She's annoying but I don't get the sense that she's stupid.

In another 10 years AOC will be a major national force in whatever position she's holding and all those old white repugs will be dead or in jail.

R214 Rona is legendary! She knows where the bodies are buried. I think there is a vanity fair article from 2016/2017 too

R211 is not nearly as bright as she thinks she is.

He's been a stuck record for several weeks, peddling the same horseshit.

She did fine today. No grandstanding, no drama, managed to get potential Trump insurance fraud in the congressional record.

Neither are you, r215. The focus should be on what Cohen said not what AOC asked and if you don't get it then you are a moron. But, sure, you sycophants continue to make it about her.

R211, never said she was a hero, but again, you've proven my point about the bar being set high. You see, I refer to people like you as enabling liberals. You listen to Republicans say the most vile things, push the most vile policies and go to the far-right and you think this woman who has been "anointed" the new target for the right (and enabling left) is an excuse to use that tiresome line "This is why Trump won."

If the tax cuts that the Kochs just got and the trade war fucking up the red states and threats of yet another neocon war aren't enough for idiots to stop Trump and they still insist on hysterical accusations about AOC, then by all means, continue to have the country go to shit because you've turned this woman into something more than she is. Some caricature giving her more power than she actually has. Meanwhile, Gaetz and every other fucked up Trump psycho can threaten witnesses and there's no shrieks of "This is why Trump will lose." Meh, what's a few threats from Republicans?

Most of the Ocasio-Cortez hate has been largely fabricated or exaggerated.

How funny is it that Hillary sat through how many hours of her being accused of practically pulling the trigger in Libya and Meadows was practically crying within seconds for his stunt being called out?

Matthew Calamari

Mon Calamari

The early reviews are in and it's so far, not so good for the Republican line of questioning in Michael Cohen's testimony on Wednesday. It hasn't been much better for Democrats by most accounts, either.

CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin did not mince words in his critique of the hearing, saying he was struck by "the breathtaking incompetence of the questioning" that did not lead to any valuable information from Cohen.

New York Times reporter Nicholas Fandos asserted that the Republicans "actually have a clearer sense" of what they are hoping to achieve — "muddy the waters around Cohen" — than the Democrats, who "continue to overreach a bit" and "seem to be having a much harder time choosing which targets are worth their time."

For example, editor Jonathan Weisman said that Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) — who asked Cohen if Trump arranged for "health care procedures" outside of the family — "seemed to have gone fishing and his hook came up the bait still on it."

CNN Newsroom ✔ @CNNnewsroom

"I am struck by the breathtaking incompetence of the questioning," @JeffreyToobin says about Michael Cohen's public testimony, adding that the line of questioning was "endless bloviating and not actually getting information out of the witness"

AOC is doing very, very well. She doesn't put up with their shit and she corrects herself when she's wrong. Can she run for the nomination? Fuck no but there's no reason to knock her for every nit picky thing these freaks can dream up. Who cares what they say? She's ours, she's a superstar and more fucking power to her.

We hit conspiracy today, boys and girls. It's here, that time in the future when we were going to get there is today. Deep breaths and now it's time to get serious about removing these people from the White House.

He's still protecting Jared for some reason. When Kushner came up in a question, he stumbled, pivoted and answered a question that hadn't been asked. I'm betting that he's actually eyebrow deep in hog shit and hoping people only notice that he's in it up to his waist, and ignore the rest.

Agree with Toobin. Wish Al Franken had sent some questions to the dems to ask Cohen.

[R98] I also find Cohen very sexy in a thuggish, slimeball sort of way. And I love his accent.

I thought he a speech impediment r230

That’s an accent?

Cohen's "fuhgeddaboutit" accent mixed with the Deliverance hillbilly accents of most of the Repugs was quite an interesting juxtaposition.

He said "people of color". Adoptions or a mixed marriage.

Since Trump was voted in, I hate republicans and racist, more and more.

Funny that Cohen sat there for 7 hours and repeatedly had his character thrown in his face and he handled it better than, and without the sobbing or outrage, that Kav did.

r235 I expect Cohen is not an alcoholic.

AOC must be doing something right if she got under the skin of so many of these "I'm a liberal, but..." trolls. They can't stop trying to turn this into a thread about her, what she's done, what she's said, what she bought in a cornerstone bodega three years ago, etc.

corner^^ , not cornerstone.

You know what, regardless of what CNN or the Times think, I'd say today went well. Regardless of what you think of Cohen and the questioning, there was still PLENTY of dirt on Trump that was either revealed or at least presented an easily accepted line of thought. I believe today was another nail in the coffin.

In the rarefied world that in which Jeff Toobin exists, yes, he probably heard deficiencies in the questioning.

But as I am wont to do, I check in on mass media by tuning in the ABC News with Jeff Muir for the first 10 mins and it didn't look good for Trump. I f there's a close-up of Stormy Daniels taking up your entire TV screen in all it's blonde glory and then, a few minutes later, almost as an aside, Trump is shown sitting with Kim Jon Un, that's a bad news day for Trump.

R228, Jared's probably on the Mueller do not discuss list.

Jared is his secret lover and he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to him.

R237, you forgot that time she danced in college.

Escandalo!

Mmm.... Last Word's looking like a good show tonight.

The shade....

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I hope Trump's translator knows how to say "I'm so jealous you get to kill anyone you want."

He never looks happier than when he is with a brutal dictator.

Can you imagine if a Democratic president had a second meeting with Kim Jon Un when it was clear he has been playing Trump since the first summit and not followed though with anything and prior to the second meeting dropping some of the previous demands making it easier for NK to continue their weapons program. The GOP freaked when Obama interacted with Cuba but are silent about Trump kissing the ass of the this psychopath.

People should start making Jim Jordan trend on twitter by retweeting his wrestling / sex abuse scandal.

Plaskett was great "thank God the Democratic majority can walk and chew gum at the same time" and that shade stroll for the camera - OMG!

Look at how tight his 'grin' is, it's almost a grimace. He is not a happy camper. In some of the video I saw of the handshake, greeting, sit down at a table for photos or whatever this is, trumpty dumpty looked very unhappy. Big frowny, pouty face, scowling at everybody. The grimace is sort of an improvement.

R60 Jordan was so vile. Whenever I heard him referred to as "ranking member" I thought "rank member."

Cohen's closing was very powerful.

r246 looks like some weird ventriloquism act where the gimmick is the dolls are bigger than the puppeteers.

You're the puppet, R252!

This is HILARIOUS.

Donald Jr retweeted this:

Tweeted by someone named Garret M Graff

“Incredible to see all the hubris drained from Cohen. I've been personally screamed at by Cohen on the phone before and know how much bravado he once had. This is a man with nothing left, with no reason to lie or obfuscate at all. Humbling”

Minutes before retweeting it, Cohen had testified that Trump had said Don Jr has the worst judgment in the world.

Don Jr retweeted that?

Ha! Fucking moron.

Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

The bigger idiots are the Deplorable sheep who then retweeted it further. MORONS.

Trump supporters are not having any of this. They want Roe v Wade gutted and they want the border wall. Trump is their only hope for making that dream a reality. They don't approve of or like some of Trumps' behaviors and actions, but since he is their only hope as far as the abortion issue and the border wall, they are not going to back down and dump Trump. Plus, they think this is all a setup in an act of revenge to take Trump down because we can't deal with the fact that Hillary is not our president. I've been lurking around their sites and his rabid base isn't budging.

America should just be split in two. So tired of these asshats.

R246 He does look like the village idiot in that photo.

He's always euphoric when he is meeting with those he idolizes. Trump admires Putin and Kim Jong Un, two evil psychopaths who have committed some of the most evil crimes. That is who our POTUS admires.

Well happy camping, R258. We’re quickly moving toward ‘don’t give a fuck’ what the cult wants or doesn’t want, hopes or fantasizes.

Feed them kool aid, watch them writhe and die then piss on their bodies before burning them in a grease fire.

If they can’t cope with women making their own medical decisions and brown people then they need to move. Adapt, move or die. We’re out of fucks.

Trump supporters' entire purpose in life is "owning the libtards" - what a stupid, stupid group of people.

Goddamn Trump whines and throws a fit everyday....because he acts like a douche everyday and a few people call him on it. Trump is a monster but he wants everyone to pat him on the head and treat him like the spoiled little jerk that he is.

I hope all of this leads to Trumps' impeachment. Not only because I want him taken down and out of the WH, but also so that his ignorant base doesn't get their fucking wall and women can continue making their own medical choices.

It's sort of tremendous, to see someone find that tiny little morsel of decency inside themself, and try to use it to redeem themself. We're so used to non-apologies and half-apologies, that a person just going on blast is shocking. Cohen indicated a while back that he wanted to be able to face his family. I don't know how he faced the stench to work for Trump in the first place, But it's coming out now, so I'm grateful to him. I hope his punishment isn't too harsh.

Tlaib wasted her five minutes. AOC highlighted avenues for new inquiries, most previously known but not by the wider public. Pressley got more info regarding the foundation.

Tlaib's borderline grandstanding doesn't make her look bad to her constituents or anything, but it's beneath her.

"Isn't what just happened an example of racism?"

"Yes.."

And?

What's useful about Cohen agreeing with that? No new avenues for inquiry, just argument over that "prop" thing. And if you're going to irritate the opposition, do it for something that makes sense as an investment — this was a dead end.

We get it, Tlaib: you're strong and edgy. We're excited that you were elected and look forward to awesome contributions from you.

But like ... let's focus on what matters. Every brain is needed in bringing the monster down.

Cohen looked as if he was going to cry when Cummings spoke. He looked gutted. Trump is the blunt instrument the kochs and mercers are using to destroy this country.

The Kochs are hostile to Trump. He is too rich to be owned by them.

[quote][R98] The fact that he’s dumb as a box of rocks is a big turnoff.

Am I the only one who thought Cohen came off as a fair deal smarter than one would’ve expected today?

Which Koch is supposedly near death?

The Kochs don't like trump. They will be putting their money into congressional and state level campaigns to do their damage and maintain the ignorance and lunacy.

Just got a chance to watch it.

Bye Bye repugs. They looked like complete Dick Tracy crooks live on TV for the world to see.

Even deplorables were cringing.

RICO is coming. Lawrence O'Donnell's show was explosive. They're going to tear down the whole criminal fucking operation.

No, R269, more than a few people posted that they were surprised at how he seemed smarter than they had thought he was.

And he sure didn't let Gym get anywhere. In fact he owned Gym.

Yes, Cohen seemed intelligent.

Why is Jim Jordan's first name being spelled "Gym"?

That idiot Republican from Louisiana is on Cuomo tonight, he said he never heard of Cohen until today. WTF?

Clay Higgins is his name

Say what you want about AOC - I'm a bit ambivalent about her personally but when she asks questions of witnesses, she asks direct questions in simple terms so that the average voter can grasp. She gets plain answers without a bunch of tangents.

People can see where her questions are going and since she gets coverage, more average voters get to hear some shit that they probably never realized was going on.

For example, when she questioned Walter schaub about ethics, she pretty much laid out that shit considered unethical bordering on illegal for you and me has no real hard stop for Congress people.

It's disgusting and the way she questioned schaub laid it bare in simple terms.

If ever there was a case for abortion, it's the GOP in that hearing.

I hope everything Trump owns gets repossessed.

EVERYTHING!!!

r256 The turd doesn't fall far from the asshole.

R268, he lies about his assets. He's not too rich to be owned by them it's just that Putin and Mercer got there first.

I don't find Cohen, a fraudster going to jail, particularly credible.

The thing that makes me the saddest about this hearing is that once it was over I can picture most of the older republicans and democrats on the panel meeting up somewhere for drinks, commiserating over their respective performances and glad handing each other. The young ones are a different breed. They haven't been around long enough to figure out how Washington works and that being in national politics is just one big piece of performance art. But if they're in office long enough they'll figure out if they want to accomplish most of what they want done they'll have to start playing the game, kissing ass, and sucking up to everybody, no matter how much they personally despise them.

R284, someone who obviously can not walk and chew chewing gum at the same time. Or see anything past the end of his nose.

All the Republicans yesterday showed what dumbfuck rubes they are, but Higgins was the Dumbfuckest and Rubest of them all.

[quote]I don't find Cohen, a fraudster going to jail, particularly credible.

If that was the litmus test for bringing down the big fish, we're completely fucked, since every single person in Trump's orbit is as corrupt and sleazy as him.

I was very interesting that the Repubs picked a pack of loudmouthed southern good ol' boys as their primary questioners for their panel. I have to wonder if the more intelligent repubs from other areas of the country said "oh hell no, I'm not going on TV with that deal". Those GOP rubes on the panel can't see that to most of the country they came off like uneducated dumbass goobers. They're far more willing to expose themselves to the country so everyone can see what bigoted fools they are. The only people they're interested in impressing are their 'constichents' who are actually impressed with that pack of Jethroes.

r284, and who do you find credible? TRUMP??? LOLOL!!!!!

[quote]Why is Jim Jordan's first name being spelled "Gym"?

He covered up a scandal involving sexual abuse of wrestlers in Ohio.

I wish Tlaib had been more articulate in her questions. She stumbled in her words so many times, they lost her power.

Guess you heard about Meadows' "Obama back to Kenya" comment about 8 years ago.*

R287 maybe, but Chip "Boo hoo" Roy sure gave Higgins a run for his money.

I can't be a RACIST! I have POC in my FAMILY!!!!! WAH WAH!!!!

STILL CHRISTLIKE OVER HERE, HOMOSEXUALS!

What a cunt she was r295.

Christian Hypocrite.

I see no evidence of Mark Meadows's minority relatives.

If they exist, I do think they're Asian. Not the um... ones they don't like.

I think it's funny that he can say just because he has minorities in his family (they're probably not even related to him by blood) it means he can't be a racist.

Really?

They're TOTALLY going to be Asian. He's like Jeff Sessions, who has biracial grandkids — Asian only. Probably because they want the higher SAT scores rather than any tolerance.

That said, the little baby's cute.

I just heard commentators on MSNBC wondering if the committee will now bring in Don Jr and Ivanka. Everyone is quaking in their boots about that, afraid to cross the "red line" trump imposed, afraid of what he'll do if they talk to his kids.

It makes me so angry, they're allowing themselves to be bullied by a mob boss. Fuck that, drag those criminal fuckers in and let trump stroke out. This has got to end.

MSM media focusing on the racism incident during the hearing, So easily distracted.

R301, I'd say Tlaib fell for it and engaged. But she felt morally compelled to call it out.

Tlaib should have repeated her statement then added " I addressed the behavior which is on video for the world to see. Anyone who wants to step in those shoes and claim responsibility is free to do so."

And then lowered her mic, shut up and let Cummings and Meadows hash it out.

It's a shame that Tlaib didn't have Meadows quote about sending Obama back to Kenya handy. That would have hushed him up real fast.

R234 Yeah, we noticed.

R284, pretty much every criminal case involving an organized crime figure has included testimony from convicted felons, and I don't imagine you, or Jordan, or Meadows would have an issue with that. Giuliani is, of course, well versed in using that tactic.

So if a convicted felon's word is good enough for criminal court, it's good enough here.

Besides, the lie that Cohen told Congress is the same one Trump has told publicly. But the GOP tries to ignore the obvious.

Who was the hot bearded Republican that was questioning Cohen?

Not content with looking like stooges yesterday, Meadows and Jordan have asked the DOJ to investigate Cohen for perjury.

The theatrics continue...

The one with the alt-right Hitler Youth haircut and beard?

Chris Christie is on Nicolle Wallace now claiming he doesn’t think Trump Jr informed Sr about the June 2016 TT meeting. It’s ridiculous. Nicolle is taking him to task.

Good luck with that, Jordan & Meadows. What pathetic losers.

Can’t ISIS just selectively target those two, Nunes, McConnell, Trump Jr, Tucker, and Hannity? That would make so happy. Just those guys. They don’t even have to target the president. Just eliminate those 7 criminal sociopaths and the country would be SO much better.

His hair was blondish, and he was really trying to get Cohen to say there was no proof. Cohen referred to the two checks he brought as evidence.

That evil guy was hot, whoever he was!

Yeah, I would definitely suck his dick and lick his hairy hole, don’t get me wrong, R312. He had BDF, too.

Greg Steube, Florida Man.

Who seems to be stying himself after Raging Stallion sex pigs.

Steube is hot because of the beard. Google early photos of him sans beard...

^ "styling"

Steube is just another fratboy/military douchebag.

Apparently Meadows and Tlaib hugged and spoke on the House floor today, so all is well between them. Doesn't change the fact that the HUD woman was brought there for the sole purpose of being a prop. As if we don't have eyes and ears and know exactly what Trump has always been because he has a token here and there.

Steube has to be gay. No straight man styles himself in a blue plaid suit WITH vest and red tie and matching pocket square. He was way too put together to be straight.

I saw Cummings and Tlaib sitting together at Cummings podium shortly after the testimony. I'm assuming he was giving her a lesson on how to effectively use the racism card.

I thought it was funny that Meadow's was so upset about being called a racist but no one really defended Trump when Cohen blatantly called the president a racist, a liar and a crook.

I so wanted one of the democrats to call out the republicans on the fact that Cohen was the Vice Chair of the Republican National Committee for almost a year. Cohen sort of tried to work that in at one point but it was lost.

Cohen fails to move ball against Trump

Michael Cohen painted a very ugly portrait of President Trump in his testimony Wednesday — exactly as you’d expect from a guy whose hopes for the future rest entirely on doing exactly that. Yet he didn’t move the ball an inch when it came to any criminal charges or even on the “collusion” front.

Bizarrely, Buzzfeed is claiming the testimony confirms its long-debunked report that Cohen says Trump instructed him to lie to Congress about when negotiations ended for a Trump Tower in Moscow. That would be a crime — but Cohen plainly testified only that he “understood” that the president wanted him to lie.

What of his claim to have heard Roger Stone tell Trump that WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange had informed him the site was about to release damning Democratic Party emails? Big deal: Even if Assange is lying when he denies ever talking to Stone, none of it is collusion with Russia — it’s just gossip.

Cohen also undermined the “Steele dossier” that launched the whole “collusion” investigation, by once again denying the dossier’s claim that he had “secret meetings with Kremlin officials in August 2016” in Prague. Indeed, Cohen confirmed that he’s never been to Prague.

Yes, as part of his plea deal, Cohen has embraced the legal theory that there’s a criminal campaign-finance violation in the way he and Trump paid Stormy Daniels to keep quiet. But that theory is completely untested in court — and the whole thing is far from what anyone but diehard Trump-haters would consider worth impeachment.

Cohen surely took great care not to risk any fresh perjury charges, but that left plenty of room for innuendo. And he now has every incentive to slam Trump, to maybe get out of prison sooner and perhaps to pen a best-seller.

With all that, his assaults on the president’s character add nothing to what the public heard during the 2016 campaign, and repeatedly ever since. Cohen’s testimony will surely infuriate Trump, but it didn’t actually hurt him.

The New York Post is owned by Rupert Murdock and is a pro-trump paper R323.

R323, you're too funny. I'd expect a more critical article from Don Jr than the NY fucking Post

Most of the article at R323 was written weeks ago before anyone knew what his testimony contained. They just waited to fill in a few details.

[quote]I saw Cummings and Tlaib sitting together at Cummings podium shortly after the testimony. I'm assuming he was giving her a lesson on how to effectively use the racism card.

Except the one who played the race card is Meadows who brought a woman to sit behind him solely for her race for the preposterous notion that Trump isn't racist. She had no other purpose. She friggin stood up to show everyone what she is. "Look at me, everyone! I'm black and I work for Trump, so all is good!" Had Tlaib brought the five black men who would be dead right now had Trump gotten his way, how do you think that would've been received?

I wish someone had been tipped off and brought Strom Thurmond's Black daughter or the Black descendant of Thomas Jefferson as guests to demonstrate what everyone who knows anything about America already knows--you can have Black children and still be a racist piece of shit.

Lots of slaveowners had Black children... and still enslaved them.

Steube has a wife, r319, and about a dozen images on google showing him in equally tacky outfits. He's from Florida, for gods sake--what can one expect?

What's funny in the case of Meadows is that he said he had nieces/nephews. Well, then how the fuck are we supposed to believe that you even accepted the union when it happened? You had nothing to do with your sibling marrying someone off-white. I doubt it's even a black person. It's probably a POC like Olivia Munn.

I have nieces and nephews who are Republicans. That doesn’t mean I’m accepting of them.

Slightly off topic, but thought I'd post this anyway. As a native NYer, and like everyone else here in NY old enough to remember NYC local news headlines back in the late 70s/80s, we heard all of the many sordid stories surrounding the Trumps; from fights over the family will, to his cheating, shady dealings, and then came Marla, but before that, when Don Jr was born.

Ivana wanted to name her firstborn son after Donald, as she had planned to named a future daughter Ivana, after her, (Ivanka's real name on her BC is Ivana, they just nicknamed her Ivanka "little Ivana" and it stuck). But anyway, Trump was not having it as far as his firstborn, a son, being named after him. No way. He said it was too risky. It was all over the tabloids; Trump, as usual, publicizing personal family issues and airing his dirty laundry, ranting about "What if the kid's a loser and then he bears MY name - I don't want a loser with the same name as ME."

He was frantic as I recall. Neither side would budge. He couldn't let us enjoy the Christmas holidays. No, he had to make his personal life a public event. Worried that his newborn son, who could possibly turn out to be a loser according to his father, and share the same name as him... what could be more tragic.

But level-headed Ivana assured him that no son of his would be a loser. Of course Trump with his "what ifs" was very reluctant but then after a nice, big ego-feeding, that no son of his could possibly be a loser, he calmed down and agreed Ivana was right. Being the winner he was, he couldn't possibly father a loser child. They agreed to name their firstborn son Donald J Trump, Jr. And so we have Don Jr the loser, like father like son.

Back to the original topic...

Next to testify before House Intelligence Committee: Allen Weisselberg and Felix Sater.

"Thank God the Democratic majority can walk and chew gum at the same time." --Rep. Stacey Plaskett

^ Forgot to add, Weisselberg already has immunity.

Good times.

I don't know how broad that immunity is, though, R334. I believe it applied only to the Cohen probe.

Weisselberg still works for Trump. If he were truly a "rat", I’d doubt Trump would keep him around. That said, he’s not stupid. I imagine we’re in for a whole lot of fifth amendment pleas. Either that or a sudden onset of dementia. He’s fucked any way he plays it.

I think it's a fair assumption that his immunity covers him corroborating what Cohen testified to, so he can confirm the hush money payments and that it was not a retainer for Cohen.

I just realized I made a typo in R333. I meant to say they are coming up soon before the House Oversight Committee. But Weisselberg is also due to testify before the House Intelligence Committee, presumably about Russian contacts, and it's not at all clear that he has any immunity related to that testimony.

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R338 they did have the info. It came up in the hearing.

Cohen shopping for a book deal was reported back around the time of the raid, when the GOP still loved him.

Remember the Louisiana Rep Clay Higgins who kept grilling Cohen about "where are these boxes" well surprise, surprise one of his aides in Louisiana was arrested early this month for connection to a bust at massage parlors and residences in Louisiana that might have involved human trafficking, according to local media reports.

R339, you're surprised a fool who links to the DM (no agenda there) didn't know that already?

In all seriousness, how dumb are you people who link to the NYP and DM? Now link to the Enquirer for the trifecta.

Can’t Trump just claim that his payments to Michael Cohen were for his work, not reimbursement for a Stormy payment?

R343, I'm sure if that lie crossed his mind, he would've already told it.

R343, as I understand it, Cohen was on salary. There was no reason to pay him extra for legal work.

What's going on is that there's a new group of Democrats who aren't afraid of clinging doggedly to the facts and fundamental questions and just letting the Republicans keep flinging their ad hominems until they look ridiculous, rather than trying to counter rhetoric with rhetoric like they used to.

I thought one interesting bit that came out of Cohen's testimony is that trump ran for president as a marketing and branding ploy. He was in it for the cash and fame and has never known or cared anything about making America great. It was all about him and damaging Clinton's reputation. It's why he claimed President Obama was not a US citizen, to draw attention to himself from all the racists and haters and stupid people so he could exploit them in his campaign. His idiocy, cruelty, greed, and narcissism is destroying this country as a result. He is criminal, plain and simple, and we've always known it. Falsified bank and legal documents and went bankrupt 6 times, unloading his debts on the banks, and not paying money to those he owed.

Lawrence O'Donnel had Lanny Davis, Cohen's attorney, on tonight. Davis said that closed door testimony today was even more revealing than yesterday's testimony and some bombshells came out that necessitated another day of closed door testimony from Cohen next week.

[quote]I thought one interesting bit that came out of Cohen's testimony is that trump ran for president as a marketing and branding ploy.

With all due respect, everyone who knows what an asshole he is, knew this the moment he announced it and we said so. We all knew why he was running. His idiots feedlot of supporters are the lowest of this country. Very dumb and angry.

idiot*

Watch Ivanka lie about her and Jared's security clearance in the clip in a RawStory article.

She denied trump had anything to go with their clearances (baldfaced lie) and claimed it took so long because their was a backlog of "millions" of security clearance to get through. Bullshit. White House "employees" would be first in line.

Why in the world is AOC under a microscope? You know if she were a man no one would pay so much attention to every little thing she says and does. I find it utterly bizarre. She's new. Let her find her footing and make mistakes and learn from them. Making her the center of every single thing that goes on is just fucking weird.

[quote] I thought one interesting bit that came out of Cohen's testimony is that trump ran for president as a marketing and branding ploy.

Which blows the conspiracy theories out of the water. He needed no assistance for marketing and branding.

Am I the only one who thinks this would all be more fun and slightly less terrifying if the Democrats all started wearing capes to work? Like not Dickensian England capes but bright, highly flammable synthetic fabric capes, possibly with glinting adornments, that billow just enough so that it looks like they're maybe low altitude hovering into the Capitol Building?

R352 - not to mention that she was one of the few great lines of questioning during the testimony. I thought she was amazing.

I don't even understand R353's point. He posted Trump from 1990? WTF are you even attempting to say?

You do know that 80s Trump was way more "popular" but 2000s Trump needs to work more to remain relevant. To sell his garbage clothing line, hotels, etc. Renegotiate with NBC for his show.

Why didn’t Cohen just say Trump told him to lie? Who’s gonna know? Saying Trump “talked in code” just threw the charge of suborning perjury out the window.

r357 Cohen has recordings of Trump. Cohen's testimony has to match what is in the recordings.

I swear I heard cohen say he had only one recording of Trump and it was about the Karen Mcdougal catch & kill story.

No, R319. He's a mole (or is it a stalking horse?), put in there to discredit gays by appearing to be gay (the styling, etc.) and by genuinely being a turd. The gay turd.

r359 Lanny Davis released that recording to CNN. Mueller has others.

That Gaetz guy gives me a Robert Chambers vibe. I wonder if he's killed anyone.

Probably. And I'm sure he had his rich daddy cover it up.

R353 no way. Russia's involvement in the 2016 is verified and Putin admitted publicly that he wanted Trump to win. What has not yet been proven beyond a doubt is Trump's direct involvement. But it's coming. Count on it. The fact that he was peddling some bullshit about his brand could also be true, but it doesn't negate the conspiracy.

We don't have a smoking gun, but Cohen puts Trump and Stone together with Wiki Leaks, and that is half way to a conspiracy. We have seen the private jet of the oligarch following Trump to North Carolina, and other campaign stops, and IMO Trump was well supplied with money, and none of that would have happened without Putin. He engaged in no fundraising at first. In the early days, he talked about being self financed. Trump didn't spend his own money, even if he wanted to, which he didn't, he wasn't liquid enough to finance a national Presidential campaign. And Mueller knows it.

Same with the Troll farms and the hacking. Trump knew. He cooperated with it. He may have even insisted on them guaranteeing him a win. I can see his oligarch buddies encouraging him to run, and him setting up the conditions under which he would run. #1. Money, financial backing, etc. and #2. Guarantee a win, because it would be bad for the brand for them to lose.

In fact, Russia would look bad if he lost. They started sending people here in 2014-2015 to the heartland to figure out how or election processes were structures. IT people. They were not fucking around. It is my firm belief Trump was seriously considering a run since at least 2007, and he would have run in 2012 but the Russian plan wasn't in place yet.

R364 I believe this too

I believe when the committees call Wiselberg, Ivanka, Don JR. et al who are still in the Trump circle, you're going to get a lot of them claiming executive privilege. It doesn't apply in a lot of cases but you'll see them try to claim it. Whittiker tried it with his line "I'm not going to discuss my conversations with the president line."

[quote]Same with the Troll farms and the hacking. Trump knew. He cooperated with it. He may have even insisted on them guaranteeing him a win.

Actually I wonder what was really going on behind the scenes. I don't think Trump wanted to actually win the election. I think he did it for prestige, and to begin to build a political movement so that he could personally profit from it. So, I've always wondered about this idea that he was so desperate to have the Russians guarantee him a win.

Don't get me wrong -- I ABSOLUTELY believe that Trump was involved in ALL of this. But to win, or just to discredit Hillary, and thus help his efforts, and weaken her presidency?

I think there may have been a perfect storm. The Russians were trying to influence but didn't think they would be as successful as they were. Also, remember Comey screwed Hillary by releasing a statement only days before the election that they had re-opened the email case because they "found" duplicates on Weiner's laptop. I don't for the life of me understand why it was so important to notify the public that Hillary was under investigation for improper email use but not to mention a word about Trump campaign being investigated for working with Russia. I don't understand how you make a case that email misuse is more important for the American people to know about over Russia Treason.

I don't think Trump really expected to win. He was in to generate interest in TrumpTV and get money and deals from Russian and elsewhere. The Russians, GOP and Assange wanted to kneecap Clinton so she could get nothing done as President. And they were hoping the voter suppression efforts would pay off in Congressional and state governor/legislators races even if Clinton pulled off a win.

Remember, the transition team was a disaster. If Trump were guaranteed a win, they'd have been better prepared for it. They were trying to get a lot of things done before Trump took office, because he had more leeway while still a private citizen, and they couldn't pull it off.

Well he got TrumpTV in the end anyway, it's what used to be called Fox News.

People, think about it! There was no percentage in Russia investing all the time and effort they invested, if they could not guarantee an outcome. And Trump knew that. He knew the Russians would not embarrass themselves by failing.

Trump didn't fully appreciate what it meant to actually govern. To do the work. He probably felt like he was winning a contest, and looked forward to enjoying all the perks of being President, enriching himself, and his family He never intended to govern, but he was pretty damned sure he'd win.

Maybe he didn't fully appreciate what the reality of it meant. But IMO Trump wanted to win. People who are close to Trump or who are close to people who are close to Trump have been peddling that narrative that he never expected to win since Election night.

Maybe they were projecting their own opinion, maybe THEY didn't really expect it to happen. Steve Bannon was telling that tale for weeks. But by spreading that around it weakens the involvement of Russia. "Oh, what a surprise!!! I never expected it!"

Of course there is a remote possibility Trump personally didn't expect it, but I 'm not buying that. Those Russian buddies of his would have been rubbing their hands with glee in the lead up to election day. Especially after Comey's October surprise.

The black woman that Mark Meadows paraded at the hearing has a taste for the spotlight, wanted to be a Real Housewife.

[quote] I thought one interesting bit that came out of Cohen's testimony is that trump ran for president as a marketing and branding ploy.

I hope all these illegalities induce people to shun him, and he’s financially ruined. I certainly wouldn’t patronize any of his businesses.

He certainly can’t lobby after his term in office. No one will talk to him.

[quote] R371: Maybe he didn't fully appreciate what the reality of it meant.

Nobody knew that governing could be so hard, R371!

Gotta get him out of office in 2020. Once he’s out, RICO starts. His assets will be frozen.

And that’s gonna be beautiful. Trump, with no money. He’ll have to barnstorm the country in shitty red states charging a lotta money for tickets. And maybe his private jet will be seized. He’ll be taking a Trump Bus Tour.

Orange anus has probably started to hide money offshore.

R376 - of course he has. Ditto.

Jared is probably stashing it in Saudi Arabia.

R206, I agree. The bottom line is that she was doing her job. That's what she was elected to do. I feel like she needs to pay her dues like any freshman, but the media turning her into an icon and the head of the "democratic left" is lazy journalism and not her fault.

[quote]Steube has a wife

Oh, well, that settles it. Miss Thang MUST be straight then!

R353, trump has had a lot of assistance with his odious marketing and branding. He's been glorified by right wing media due to his pandering to bigotry and ignorance. The mainstream media give him far more coverage than he deserves simply because he so outrageously demands attention with his disgusting lies. He's a freak, we're watching a freak show. Just as pinheads and bearded ladies are a shameful part of the human circus, trump will enter the roster of cruel leaders who sought to destroy to satisfy some sickness within. His name will soon be listed along with Hitler and slave-holders, for what else is separating children from their parents but a form of that heinous cruelty practiced by monsters.

Anyway, I posted the remark you quoted in your post. I have always been well aware that trump's thing is marketing himself, getting unending attention, and looting the treasures of others. What I like about that being put into words during Cohen's testimony perhaps many people, including the repubs present, hadn't looked at it that way. They've all been played, I thought Cohen was great when he said to them to stop with the blind loyalty because they'll probably lose everything like he has.

These two can play Cohen and Trump.

R382 I agree. They certainly have the acting chops, and the makeup department will take care of the rest.

Matt for trump, Ben for Cohen.

I too was impressed by Rep. Cummings.

But I thought he was in his 80s. Was so surprised to check out Wiki and find he was born in 1951.

Rep. John Sarbanes seems very intelligent.

Who was the idiot who called Chris Cuomo "Chris Como?"

And some other idiot had trouble pronouncing the name "Weisselberg."

The Clay Higgins guy looked like something was wrong with his shoulders. I wonder if he had an accident or something.

R385, likewise, I couldn't believe that Meadows from NC was born in 1959.

He seems like an old man!

I'm three years younger than Meadows??

Jeeeeezus.

That exchange between Meadows and Tlaib made me cringe.

The black woman being used as a prop is utterly opportunistic, but I am not certain it is racist per se.

And then Tlaib saying "As a woman of color, as a mom....."

And then Tlaib apologizing "Well, you're not a racist, but the action could be conceived as racist.."

Bump.

Can't wait to see SNL tonight.

[quote]The black woman being used as a prop is utterly opportunistic, but I am not certain it is racist per se.

You mean the negress being displayed on the block to the crowd by the white man who believes in birtherism?

Ha white men will never see the racism in the actions of their own.

It’s disgusting how the new Congress people of color are being treated by white people as well.

America is so fucking racist.

Meadows reacted with textbook racist deflection:

No, YOU'RE the racist!!

I'm not racist, look at all of my black friends!

In addition to the usual spluttering and huffing.

R 396, I know, but the next day Tlaib was on all of the talk shows complaining that she was offended because she is a mother.

That reminded me of Serena Williams being offended (at 2018 US Open) that she was accused of improprieties and GASP she's a mother.

Women need to STFU about being mothers.

[quote]You mean the negress being displayed on the block to the crowd by the white man who believes in birtherism?

Rashida Tlaib Faced Off With a Republican Over the Nature of Racism At Michael Cohen's Congressional Hearing

This Photo of AOC, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib Has No Right To Be This Good

Behold this photo of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib simmering, smoldering, glowering, and empowering as they awaited their turns to expertly question Michael Cohen (and in Pressley and Tlaib's cases, to also call out an offensive tactic used by a colleague with a history of similar actions). This photo, taken by Chip Somodevilla for Getty, has absolutely no right to be this good. Out here looking like Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Category is: Giving me Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. I did not need coffee this morning, I just stared at these three congresspeople, eyeing Michael Cohen, and I snap, crackle, popped right out of bed and into the day.

Give this photo the Pulitzer Prize and also paint it on a mural and also tattoo it on my ribs right now. Put this on the money; issue a new three dollar bill and instead of e pluribus unum write don't start none, there won't be none.

Ah! This photo!

what does birthing a child have to do with any of this, I wonder?

[quote]R 396, I know, but the next day Tlaib was on all of the talk shows complaining that she was offended because she is a mother.

In my opinion, it was because she was getting a lot of heat regarding her comments--although she wasn't wrong. But, just having come off a battle where she said something wrong (I believe it was about Israel) I guess she figured that she didn't need this headache. HOWEVER, her point was made and I believe that she has shut down a many of white Republicans who use racism stunts to push a point. They now know that they will be called out. Mark Meadows is STILL reeling from that stunt.

Also, that Black gal with the bad Cher wig was SLAPPED mercilessly over the internet--ESPECIALLY by Black twitter, and spent the next day, (and even now), trying to take the offense

With all due respect to Ms. Tlaib, if she's going to insist on being outspoken, she'd best learn to take the heat. You can't start bleating "But I'm a MOM" every time things heat up.

Agreed, R401.

Rep. E. Cummings, I believe, was trying to be both folksy and fatherly when he made a comment to the effect of he had warned Michael Cohen that if he lied to Congress at Thursday's hearing, Rep. Cummings would nail him to a cross.

Not a very Congressional way to talk, I must say.

Did anyone else notice that Rep. Carolyn Maloney, (D - NY) was the only Rep. who addressed Michael Cohen as "Michael" during her five minutes.

I take it she had met him before in a social context, you know, being the Rep. for NYC's UES and all?

R404, I used to get Carolyn Maloney confused with Carolyn McCarthy, the woman whose husband was killed by the LIRR crazy gunman in '93.

At least Michael Cohen knows how to pronounce "Cuomo!"

You are aware of who's President of the US, R403?

The building is on fire. House Democrats are the first people in two years to arrive with hydrants and fire hoses, while Republicans berate them endlessly for having the nerve to try to put out the fire.

I personally don't give a flying fuck how "Congressional" they sound. Save the fucking country.

"Not a very congressional way to talk"? Even assuming there were a "congressional" way to talk, I'd suggest you give a listen to any of these members of congress. Half of them sound illiterate and none of them speaks formally, which must be what you mean. You'd have to go back to the 50s and 60s to find many articulate public speakers in the House or the Senate.

Cummings, by the way, is very intelligent, a natural leader, and extremely effective in dealing with his colleagues.

Someone up stream asked who the blond woman was behind Cohen smiling and nodding during the testimony on Wednesday. It was Dr. Dena Grayson. She is one of the "leaders" of the resistance and has a well followed twitter feed. Her husband was a congressman and she ran this year but lost her race.

Pressley's expression in that photo is gold.

And her lipstick shade is beautiful. She is beautiful. And fierce.

R409 That's why it's enlightening to watch live debates in the UK Parliament. Most everyone speaks eloquently, even the ones with whom I vehemently disagree.

Our Congress is full of idiots. Even when they are reading prepared statements, most are awful.

R412, very interesting point!

Though when I heard a UK Parliament debate on the radio, I was very aware of Theresa May's posh accent, and then hearing the regional, less posh accents of the MPs.

Lynne Patton's sunglasses on top of her head was just too hilarious. Why didn't Cummings tell her to sit down? Has anyone else been allowed to stand during the hearing?

R412, I really was appalled at how many idiots are in our Congress. And yes, mostly with "R" next to their name.

Lynne Patton should be ashamed of herself, but, like all Trump people, all they feel is hate and entitlement. She is a disgrace.

R407, R408, R409, I am the one who objected to Rep. Cumming's use of the expression "nail to the cross."

No offense was meant on my part...

Yes, obviously he was a gentleman and was very effective in keeping the proceedings going, dissipating the conflict between Tlaib and Meadows, and preventing the hearing from turning into a shit show.

I had many criticisms of the Republican Reps, but most were already expressed in upthread.

But this is DL..."nail to the cross" is a weird choice of words...especially to make to a Jewish person.

There's one thing I can guarantee Lynne Patton. She would sing a different story if she knew what Trump says about her behind her back. She is a "black woman" only while she's in the room with him. Once she's gone he calls her something completely different.

She knows, r418, she just chooses to ignore it.

She's a typical ignoramus. She's perfectly happy living in ignorance. People like her live with the attitude "if I don't see it or hear it, it didn't happen". They don't want to know the truth because the truth scares them to death.

[quote]But this is DL..."nail to the cross" is a weird choice of words...especially to make to a Jewish person.

HA! I never even considered that! This just goes to show you that people can hear, see, and feel, different things. I'm sure Elijah meant nothing more to that expression other than to double underline the serious consequences that would happen if Cohen lied.

R413 This is one of my favorite moments in Parliament. Sec of Defence, Gavin Williamson, is speaking about ISIS in Syria when he is interrupted with some useful facts.

He later tweeted that his 13 yr. old daughter had now instructed him on how to operate his new phone.

I am watching the SNL skit from last night.

Was it really Rep Jim Jordan who said to Cohen, "I had never even heard of you until today?"

There were so many shockingly ignorant Reps on the R side that I know it was said, but couldn't remember who said it.

Lynne Patton knows the truth about herself. She's living a life and making money that even she knows that she wouldn't have unless it was given to her.

The following are excerpts from her wikipedia page (I know but it can be some sort of a resource) and you can sense that the girl is not really all that substantial. The Trumps were the best thing that could have happened to her:

Early life

Patton grew up in New Haven, Connecticut.[7] Her father is epidemiologist Curtis L. Patton, who was a professor (now emeritus) at Yale University;[8] her mother was a homemaker.

Patton graduated from the University of Miami with a B.A. in English literature.[9] She attended the Quinnipiac University School of Law; school officials have stated that she was a student for only two semesters, and did not graduate.[10][11] On her LinkedIn page, Patton also claims affiliation with Yale University, which she did not attend.[12][13][14]

Career

An Eric Trump Foundation staff biography of Patton states that she was involved in casting the 2012 and 2014 seasons of The Celebrity Apprentice.[9][15]

Patton was one of 16 unpaid directors at the Eric Trump Foundation, though her position did not appear in the Foundation's 2014 tax filings.[16] Her HUD financial disclosures stated that she had been a vice president and a board member at the Eric Trump Foundation from January 2009 to January 2017, and she speaks of being with the Trump family since 2009.[17][18][19]

In May 2016, during Donald Trump's 2016 Presidential campaign, Patton narrated a YouTube video called "The Trump Family I Know – A Black Female Trump Executive Speaks Out," in which she defended Trump against accusations that he was racist.[2] She spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention; the official convention program listed her position as "Vice President of The Eric Trump Foundation and Senior Assistant to Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Donald Trump, Jr."[20] In her convention speech, she acknowledged historical racism, but said that Donald Trump knows that black lives, LGBTQ lives, veterans' lives, and police lives matter.[21] Later in the campaign, Patton joined other campaign spokeswomen on the Trump-Pence Women's Empowerment Tour.[22]

She is a director of National Diversity Coalition for Trump.[23]

Personal life

Patton says she has struggled with substance abuse and addiction, and publicly praised the Trump family for standing by her through tough times.[38]

Now, here's what's missing; How did she reach such a level to become a party planner that would gain her access to the Trumps?

You would think that every hairstylist in America would be getting on her case about that ratty wig she wears.... ALL THE TIME!

She looks like one of the Real Housewives.

R424 Will Lynne Patton be indicted by the AG of Southern District of NY along with the Trumps and others who worked w/ the various shady Trump foundations?

I didn't realize that it was Lynne Patton who got stuck in the NYCHA elevator. lol.

R425 ... and her ever-present sunglasses that keep the wig from falling off.

Ben Stiller should get an Emmy for his Cohen performances on SNL.

I don't know, R427. But, I feel that there is much more to her story than anyone knows. Cohen said he was responsible for getting her a job with the Trump organization. Maybe they fucked at one time? Or, Cohen was a nice person who helped someone who was down and out? Maybe she was a drug connection for either Eric Trump and/or his wife?

It's as if she came out of no where and then became an integral part of the Trump family.

R423 Yes, I think it was Gyn Jordan who said that. Surprised me too. The Sheriff from Louisiana wasn't too much of an intellectual either. "I know people like you and they're all liars" or some such nonsense he kept saying. I liked it when the republicans choose to use their time to grandstand and not ask any questions. It usually made them out to be down right stupid.

R431, or how about when the Reps would ask questions and then wouldn't let Cohen answer? "I retake my time!"

The SNL sketch was okay, but the real thing on C-Span was actually more shocking and pathetic.

R431, that Rep from LA (the Sheriff) may have been the creepiest of the Congressman.

And dumb too!

Also, what was up with the cross eyed from NC, Virginia Foxx? She was none too bright.

Rep. Gym Jordan from Ohio literally doesn't listen to the radio at all or watch any news on the computer or on tv?

How else to explain that he hadn't heard of M. Cohen until Wednesday?

R423 i thiught it was the dumb cracker from louisiana in the ill fitting vest who said to michael cohen that he had never heard of him.

Shocking how inept these rethugs were. Show them on tv more so we all revel in their ignorance!

Maureen Dowd in the NYT sums ups Michael Cohen's purpose in the Trump organization-

[quote] Cohen was merely Renfield to Trump’s Dracula, gratefully eating insects and doing the fiend’s bidding.

No one has ever suggested that members of congress are bright, r434. They are largely stupid, which is why the intelligent ones stand out. Nobody in "social Washington" (whatever that happens to be at any particular time) pays them the slightest attention, as they are frequently former used car salesmen or exterminators.

R436, R431, yes, it was indeed Rep Clay Higgins, the dude in the ill-fitting vest, the sheriff from Louisiana, who said he had never even heard of Michael Cohen until Wednesday's hearing. He seems appallingly ignorant.

SNL, you got that one wrong. It was NOT Ranking Member Rep Jim Jordan.

R439, Or dentists!

R439 I originally thought it was Clay Higgins who said that but then remembered that Gym Jordan said it. Maybe they both said it. May have to go back to You Tube and rewatch to make certain. Either way both are stupid.

They stole “reclaiming my time” from me- and bastardized it!

Cohen is a Republican...it makes him a monster.

[quote] I originally thought it was Clay Higgins who said that but then remembered that Gym Jordan said it. Maybe they both said it.

Either way, it's a bit puzzling that none of them remember the man that the Justice Department "terrorized" with its search warrants, the claims of violating lawyer-client privilege, or Cheetolini's defense of Cohen as a fine, upstanding person. It was all over Orange's Twitter and Fox News. Giuliani too.

And then, when Cohen flipped, they must of missed the entire first season of the Discredit Cohen show.

The Trump family considers her nothing more than their "house n word". That's a fact. She's a useful tool for them. They use her to hopefully con black people into thinking they must be nice people. If having her around suddenly became disadvantageous to them tomorrow they'd kick her to the curb like a bag of garbage on trash day.

How about all that talk about Trump providing the dough so that his portrait would be the most expensive one at the auction?

Was that story just about proving he had a huge ego, or was there any illegality involved?

Again, it was remarkable that Cohen kept his composure throughout the proceedings. Got a bit choked up when mentioning his kids, but that's it.

I loved how many times Cohen had to tell various Reps that he didn't understand their question. You know the problem wasn't just their thick Southern and Mid-Western their accents: it was that they were altogether incoherent.

[quote]Got a bit choked up when mentioning his kids, but that's it.

It appeared as if he was about to cry too when Elijah spoke to him at the end. I think that he is genuinely and sincerely remorseful about what he has done and what has been unleashed upon the nation. He speaks with Al Sharpton quite a bit and (according to Al) he constantly asks for prayer. You know... possibly everything (the morals and values) that he was raised with are haunting him and he really wants to try to make things right.

R449, I think he is also grateful that he is getting three years (possibly less?) and not more prison time.

He is no fool.

I kept thinking of how much stress Cohen is under, r447. He was the focus of people around that day.

I bet he rues the day he met trump.

I think he's more remorseful about getting caught. If he hadn't, he'd still be working for Trump. I don't imagine him having a true come-to-Jesus moment on his own.

I always thought Mikey was nothing more than a dumb, foul-mouthed thug, but now he's shot up in my estimation.

Someone posted (way upthread) a copy of the letter Michael Cohen penned to the President of Fordham University. (Don't recall his name, but a Jesuit for sure!) saying he knew that media outlets were requesting Trump's Fordham transcript and reminding him that he would be prosecuted if he released the grades. (Also sited the statutes forbidding such a release.)

The P.S. of this letter said that Mr. Trump always remembered his years at Fordham with fondness.

Like, WTF?

Am I the only one who thought Elijah Cummings and John Lewis were the same person?

It's an easy mistake to make, r455.

[quote]Either way, it's a bit puzzling that none of them remember the man that the Justice Department "terrorized" with its search warrants, the claims of violating lawyer-client privilege, or Cheetolini's defense of Cohen as a fine, upstanding person.

Of course they knew who Cohen was. They're just lying liars who lie all the time, just like many of their fellow Republican congressmen.

I'm glad Cohen is having his come to Jesus moment but I don't think for a minute he is any better than the other repubs who haven't been caught or charged yet. If he hadn't been caught, he'd still be a New York thug with working hand-in-hand with Trump and managing his gangster taxi medallions. I'd hate to see his sentence reduced to any less than the current three years. He has done more than enough illegal crimes in his day to justify at least that. If the truth were known, he's probably done enough to spend the rest of his life in jail. Much like Trump, Trump JR, Ivanka, Jared, Flynn, Manafort and the whole lot of them.

The taxi medallion thing is kind of funny.

r446 Cheapskate Trump paid for his portraits with charitable trust money, which is very illegal. New York state shut down Trump's charitable trust because he was using it as a personal piggy bank.

It would be deceptively easy for many otherwise decent people to get caught up in dealings with someone like Trump when it means huge sums of easy money starts flowing your like crazy. As Cohen stated, he started small with Trump and as Trump began to trust him more and more he was given more and more responsibility. That's how lowlifes like Trump operate. They get a guy in, and little by little they hook him until they know he can't afford to run. Most people like that get themselves into financial obligations commensurate with the amount of money they're suddenly beginning to bring in. So even after they've become dismayed with what they're having to do and wonder "what have I gotten myself into?", they're scared to death to just walk away because they can't afford to. It could mean financial disaster for them and their family.

Cohen said he was a Democrat before he started working for trump. They way he phrased it sounded like likely changed parties to keep his job. He may once again become a Democrats.

Thanks,R460.

R407, I'd love to nail Michael Cohen, too.

^^ that should be R403. Pardon Moi!

r462, Cohen was a life long Democrat until he worked for the Republicans in 2015-16 when he switched to the Republican party to do so. There was a small mention in the news a few months ago saying that Cohen had recently re-registered as a Democrat again.

Although where he's going, I hardly think it matters.

Thanks, R466.

That's a nice narrative, r461, but I honestly don't think Cohen started out as a decent person who got corrupted slowly and insidiously. However, I do think he's legit remorseful now.

Yeah I think Cohen was at least raised Mob (Reformed) and concluded this was the best way out. Plus he gets to see other connivers and traitors get longer sentences.

R385, the Edmund Pettis bridge crossing where he was assaulted took place in 1965. He was working for SNCC so he would have been older than 14.

And I knew there was something wrong about that. John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettis bridge and was assaulted. He was born in 1940, the same year as Nancy Pelosi.

R470, you're referring to Congressman John Lewis. Lewis was a college student when he was assaulted on the Edmund Pettis Bridge.

I did for a while, too, r455. When you hear Cummings interviewed, though, you'll note his sense of humor. It was the difference in personalities that finally clued me in.

Who owns Ken Dilanian? Kompromat?

Ahv arraisted sever thousand men....an you remahnd me of them...an I ayusk you agin sir...an please don’t be incredulous, thissa serious question....wair are those boxes that contain documents worthy of evidence ..(blathers about why those boxes weren’t turned over to investigators) Wair are those boxes? Wair is this trezzure of evidence? Ah ayusk that these boxes be seized an revyood based upon warrants bah a sitting judge .....

R474 Sometimes real life is funnier than a parody. How would you parody that fool.

R474 Either that or he is somehow trying to make a name for himself as the only NBC report who doesn't believe there is an issue with Trump. He keeps wanting to play everything down. Wonder if he played down Nadler's List of 82 people. Seems like we're seeing quite a lot of smoke if there is no fire.

[quote]People, think about it! There was no percentage in Russia investing all the time and effort they invested, if they could not guarantee an outcome.

The primary thing they wanted to do was sew discord and division, to polarize western societies. Democracy works best when people can compromise, and the Russians know this. That's why they opened troll farms to push MUILTIPLE political viewpoints, all at the extremes.

Trump winning? They could not have dreamed that such a buffoonish lout would actually BE ELECTED. And they didn't necessarily want him to be either. Having someone as unpredictable and rash as he is in charge of their chief adversary could be as much a disaster as a benefit.

R475, agreed! They spent too much time with Bill Hader doing Jordan.

Lazy SNL writers!

The plot thickens!

Say it with a German accent:

The plot sickens!

Interesting story in the NYT that Cohen's lawyers went to Trump asking for a pardon. Don't know that it changes much other than pardons were being discussed.

It's "sow" discord, r478.

[quote]primary thing they wanted to do was sew discord

What a notion!

R478 I disagree. The facts demonstrate that there was no way Putin was going to fail. The Russians sent people here to middle America as early as 2014, that is a fact, and they were on recon, gathering information on how our electoral process worked. They actually hacked into the voter rolls in more than 21 states, and some experts are confirming the number as high as 37.

The biggest question we have not asked publicly, nor answered, is who here was helping them? They were directed to various processes and certain things were called to their attention by people with insider knowledge. Some of it may have been innocent, but there were people here who knew and understood how things worked and assisted them going back two years before 2016.

Troll farms screwing with Social media would have achieved the aim of stirring up division. But they went much farther. Putin's oligarchs have known and been working with Trump for years. They have been grooming him for this. Yes, they know what an asshole he is. THis is Putin's big "Fuck you!" to America. There was no way he wanted Hilary in the White House. He hates her.

I see what you did there, r283.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York regulators have sent a subpoena to the Trump Organization's longtime insurance broker, a request that comes days after President Donald Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, told Congress the president had misled insurers about the value of his assets.

The brokerage, Aon, told The Associated Press on Tuesday it intends to cooperate with the inquiry by New York's Department of Financial Services, the agency that regulates the insurance industry.

Donna Mirandola, a spokeswoman for the brokerage, declined to discuss the specifics of the request. "We do not comment on specific client matters," she wrote in an email. The Department of Financial Services declined to comment. The Trump Organization did not return messages seeking comment.

The document request comes amid a flurry of criminal, civil and congressional investigations into the president and his business dealings by multiple agencies, including two U.S. House committees controlled by Democrats.

A person familiar with the investigation said the Department of Financial Services had reached out to Cohen and he agreed to cooperate in the inquiry. The person wasn't authorized to talk publicly about the matter and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The New York Times, which first reported the subpoena, said the nine-page subpoena sought a wide range of records but did not allege any specific wrongdoing. The newspaper said the subpoena sought communications and records regarding Aon's business with Trump over the past 10 years and internal Aon contracts and records relating to Trump.

During testimony before the House Oversight Committee last week, Cohen presented three years of Trump's financial documents he said showed Trump inflated the value of his assets in part to lower his insurance premiums. He said Trump would provide the falsified statements to insurers "so that they would understand that the premium, which is based sometimes upon the individual's capabilities to pay, would be reduced."

The Trump Organization hasn't commented on the specifics of Cohen's allegations, but Trump, in several tweets, called his statements to congress "fraudulent and dishonest."

Experts said Trump would have an incentive to exaggerate his wealth for some types of insurance, including surety bonds. Local governments often require developers to get this kind of coverage so, if the developer goes bankrupt, there is backup money to go ahead with paving roads and other infrastructure projects promised by the developer.

Another possibility is what's known as a "retrospectively rated" insurance policy, which can act as a quasi-loan to the company buying the coverage. With these policies, if there were a fire at one of Trump's buildings or big worker's compensation claims and an insurer paid Trump for the losses, Trump would then be required to hand back to the insurer part of that payment years into the future.

It isn't clear if the Trump Organization has taken out such policies.

Asked in his testimony about who at the Trump Organization would know about the alleged insurance maneuvers, Cohen mentioned three executives, including Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, who began working for the Trump family four decades ago. The House Intelligence Committee said it plans to invite Weisselberg to testify.

The House Judiciary Committee announced its own wide-ranging inquiry Monday into "alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption and other abuses of power by President Trump, his associates and members of his administration," seeking documents from dozens of people in Trump's inner circle and business.

Trump has castigated those investigations, initiated after Democrats won control of the House, as meritless and politically motivated.

Cohen lied last week about seeking out a pardon.

Will that hurt us?

R487, it’s possible that pardon discussion came up but that Cohen wasn’t the one who raised it. Or he could have been trying to make the distinction in his testimony that *he* didn’t personally ask *Trump* for a pardon.

It seems like a weird thing to lie about. Anyway, Lanny Davis has already said the story in WSJ tonight is true, so I guess he doesn’t think it’s a big deal.

I used to be an acquaintance with a guy who went to work in the Trump org. He's a vice president there of special projects. I wonder if he's caught up in any of the latest. We live in the same neighborhood of Cohen's uncle's place the El Caribe, the catering place in Brooklyn.

I worry he destroyed all his previous testimony.

Who really expects Cohen to suddenly be Mother Teresa now that he is coming clean? The man is a mob thug - just like his fuhrer. Dump surrounds himself with thugs and we will never have some upstanding perfect citizen as a key witness against the fuhrer. This is a reflection on Dump's character - nobody should expect anything more. Whatever the case, his precious offspring will soon be trotted in front of Congress and grilled. Bout time!

To be wrong all along and admit it is not amazing grace.

Cohen Told Lawyer to Seek Trump Pardon

President’s former lawyer testified before House committee last week, ‘I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from Mr. Trump’

“During that time period, [Cohen] directed his attorney to explore possibilities of a pardon at one point with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani as well as other lawyers advising President Trump,” Lanny Davis told The Journal.

R493, those two statements do not literally contradict each other.

Cohen appears more upbeat and at peace than he did prior to coming clean. I believe that he's telling the truth now, the stakes are too high not to. It must be a very liberating feeling to turn on the trump and be free of his influence. He'll pay his dues in prison and in only three years be able to restart his life away from the criminal mob. Great legacy for his kids, providing they aren't already corrupted.