Trump Troubles Growing: Based on More Michael Cohen Lies and Guilty Plea Deals

Man in the middle and two who could bring him down

(Manafort: “Pardon me — I did my part”)

This post has two updates included below - ref: Another Federal raid on Trump allies.

Original post from here:

Reminder for anyone who still believes and trusts Trump this #1 reason to prove he is a skilled, savvy serial liar two examples: His own words in the Lester Holt MSNBC interview on why he fired James Comey from the FBI (May 11, 2017) and then his tweet (May 31, 2018) denying that very same reason for firing Comey as the once again blames the media and “Fake News.” 

The man either has no memory or he lives in constant world of lying – maybe both, but I choose “world of lying.”

Trump’s live TV interview with Lester Holt:

==============================================

THE NEW POST FOR TODAY FOLLOWS:

COHEN, TRUMP AND BUILDING DEAL IN MOSCOW (November 29, 2018 from Reuters) – Cohen pleads guilty to more lies:

WASHINGTON — Trump has denied working on a Trump Organization real estate project in Moscow, which his former lawyer Michael Cohen says they had pursued until June 2016 during the presidential campaign.

NOTE: Cohen pleaded guilty today to making false statements to Congress regarding that project, putting fresh pressure on Trump. 

Cohen told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details “to be consistent with Trump's political message.

Cohen and prosecutors referred to Trump as “individual one” throughout the proceedings and Cohen said “he lied to be loyal to Individual One.”

Among other lies, Cohen said he told Congress that all discussions about building a Trump Tower in Moscow had ended by January 2016, when they had actually continued until June 2016. He said he also lied about his contacts with Russian officials and lied when he said he never agreed to travel to Russia in connection with the project and never considered asking Trump to travel to support the project.

Prosecutors said in a court complaint that Cohen had misled Congress to give a false impression that the Moscow project had ended before the Iowa caucus and first Republican presidential primary in 2016.  Cohen told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details to be consistent with Trump's political message. Cohen and prosecutors referred to Trump as “individual one throughout the proceedings and said he lied to be loyal to Individual One.”

Trump reacted by attacking his former lawyer, calling him a weak person and accusing him of lying about the real estate project to try to obtain a reduced sentence from prosecutors.

Trump told reporters outside the White House he had decided not to build the building in Moscow, although he did not specify when he decided against pursuing the project as Trump continued to try and distance himself from Cohen despite their long relationship.

Cohen testified in August that Trump had directed him to commit a crime by arranging payments to silence two women before the 2016 election who said they had affairs with Trump. The president has denied having affairs with the women.

Related to the above is this part of Cohen's guilty plea:

Cohen said he had tied Trump family members into the Trump Moscow Tower deal, which is all over the news today. This probably expands on who that may have been:

Mueller Eyes Ivanka & Don Jr. on Trump Tower Moscow Deal

Don Jr and Ivanka: Duck!!!

(What duck???)

Critical Points: Who is Michael Cohen? He is an attorney who worked as a lawyer for Trump for 12 years (from 2006 until his termination in May 2018 soon after a federal investigation of him began).

That investigation led Cohen to pleading guilty on August 21, 2018, to eight counts of campaign finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud. 

In his statement before the court, Cohen said he violated campaign finance laws “in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office” (meaning Trump), “for the principal purpose of influencing the election for president in 2016 – paying $130,000 hush money to Stormy Daniels about Trump affair).

Cohen also served as a vice-president of the Trump Organization and special counsel to Trump, and he previously served as co-president of Trump Entertainment, and was a board member of the Eric Trump Foundation, a children's health charity (2017 to 2018),

He also was the Deputy Finance Chairman of the RNC. On October 11, 2018, he re-registered as a DEM to “distance myself from the values of the current administration.”

1st Update related to new breaking story from RawStory.com here.

Highlights and headlines: “Federal agents raided the office of an attorney who in the past has handled the Trump Organization’s taxes.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that “federal agents showed up unannounced at the City Hall office of Finance Committee Chairman Ed Burke, kicked everyone out, and papered over the windows in the early morning raid.”

Burke runs a law firm, Klafter & Burke, which specializes in property tax appeals. Burke did tax-related work for the Trump Organization for the past twelve years before the two parties severed their business relationship earlier this year.

This past June, Burke announced his breakup with Trump in letters filed last month with the Cook County courts and the Illinois State Property Tax Appeal Board in which he wrote that “[…] irreconcilable differences have led his firm to stop representing Trump’s company and step aside in five current cases that seek refunds of millions of dollars in property taxes the president’s company has paid.”

Law enforcement officials have so far declined to comment on the nature and purpose of the raid on Burke’s office.

2nd Update on the Burke story above. This part from Vox.com. The pressure is mounting on Trump Empire, Inc. the endgame is closer than Trump thinks:

My 2 cents: Trump’s circle is closing in on him – the control he is used to having is slowly crumbling around him. Time is not on Trump's side.

Thanks for stopping by.

Manafort Met With Assange: In London at Ecuadorian Embassy for Several Years

Paul Manafort & Julian Assange: Secret London meetings 

over 3-year period

Report from the Guardian:

Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort held secret talks with Julian Assange inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2013, 2015, and in spring 2016 — during the period when he was made a key figure in Trump’s push for the White House.

It is unclear why Manafort wanted to see Assange and what was discussed. 

But, the last meeting in March 2016 is likely to come under scrutiny and could interest Robert Mueller still investigating alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

It was later after that when WikiLeaks released a stash of Democratic emails stolen by Russian intelligence officers and later showed up in WikiLeaks.

Significant notes:

1.  A separate internal document written by Ecuador’s Senain intelligence agency and seen by the Guardian lists “Paul Manaford (sic)” as one of several well-known guests. It also mentions “Russians.”

2.  According to two sources, Manafort returned to the embassy in 2015. He paid another visit in spring 2016, turning up alone, around the time Trump named him as his convention manager. The visit is tentatively dated to March.

3.  Manafort’s 2016 visit to Assange lasted about 40 minutes. Noteworthy is that visitors register with embassy security guards and show their passports. Sources in Ecuador, however, say Manafort was not logged.

Related from CBS News (April 20, 2018): “DNC sues Russia, WikiLeaks, and Trump campaign associates alleging conspiracy”

One link clearly established. Who is next?

(Roger Stone and pal Jerome Corsi likely)

My 2 cents: Mueller keeps getting good info on Manafort – I suspect he will go away for years before all is said and done maybe along with Don Jr., Kushner, Stone, and a few others – no, wait: Pardons pending signature – bet on that Trump angle.

So, would the public stomach mass pardons from Trump to a bunch of obvious criminals to get them off the hook so easily?

If their cases go outside the Federal circle, then it’s bye, bye “lock ‘em up” time. That seems reasonable for justice to prevail, don’t cha’ think?

I sure do. Stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by.

Trump Up-to-Date Analysis: Nearly Two Full Years — Gets Worse Each Passing Day

Who's driving this train? Engineer D. J. Trump — oops

Original article here from Slate.com with my minor formatting to fit the blog readers – the article is excellent – check it out.

Background: Now after nearly two deeply destabilizing and in fact traumatic years of soaking in Trump’s ugliness and invectiveness and absorbing the sound and sight of his sneering and scowling and fury, there is much to be thankful for this year. Because now Trump is being reduced to his actual size: small and near nothingness. He isn’t everything anymore. He is barely anything at all. He becomes smaller every single day. For that with positive results, we have most Americans to thank.

Highlights:

·       Trump is sliding further and further off the rails.

·       His tweets are cruder and materially less coherent.

·       His public performances are more frightening and more self-bragging (e.g., he actually gave thanks to himself for “saving the country” on Thanksgiving Day).

·       His White House staff is in turmoil.

·       He seems to have aligned himself with the Saudis and the murder of Washington Post reporter and legal U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi.

·       He “lost the GOP-run House to the DEMS and blames them for winning.”

·       His support is peeling off from the military, conservative lawyers, and women, and he finds himself ever more shrilly attacking them all.

·       He finds himself shunned and largely ignored internationally all while constantly insulting allies (e.g., recently France) while still praises strongmen, tyrants, dictators, and iron-fisted rulers around the globe.

Trump lies daily and they pile up not only daily, but hourly in some cases – now documented to be well over 4,400 – as seen in the short video below:

Now it seems: Trump is left more and more alone to watch television (FOX and Hannity mostly), to tweet hectically, and attempting to rewrite his own story to his own satisfaction.

Original article continues here – enjoy.

My 2 cents: Just a simple question – when will this national nightmare and insulting disgraceful presidency end, but more importantly how will it end? Be assured, Trump will not got peacefully, even like Richard Nixon did by resigning.

In short, Trump cannot accept any kind of loss or second place achievement, or even the slightest rebuttal or shunning by anyone – even though that is precisely what he deserves and has earned.

Simply stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.

Trump Con is Working as Planned: Many Around Him Are Gone But Know Him 100%

Aptly named and recognized by millions of Americans

(And by allies and partners around the globe)

2020 Campaign Bumper Sticker

(Could be a huge money maker)

This article from The American Prospect lays out what this post intends – only they do it better I am able to do.

My input: The one single talent Trump has beyond being a slick TV showman & con-artist is his unique ability-skill to bring out the angry, nasty, ugly, and raw bigoted GOP-Conservatives – they are the ones who always come across and claim to be the only “true patriots/real Americans” but in reality that claim is as false as they are – their actions speak volumes.

As it turns out they are against everything good that most Americans stand for. Their hatred is real and raw and very dangerous – it is something we haven't seen or faces in decades at the level they generate,

Now a reminder of those around Trump who have been either fired, resigned, or otherwise forced – many for various ethical problems (e.g., ripping off the public for their own greed).

The total list is at (NY TIMES here). Partial below – may not be complete (there are 35 high-level names and positions here):

FIRED NOV. 7, 2018

Jeff Sessions

Attorney general

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED OCT. 9, 2018

Nikki Haley

U.N. Ambassador

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED AUG. 29, 2018

Donald F. McGahn II

White House counsel

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED JULY 5, 2018

Scott Pruitt

E.P.A. administrator

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED JUNE 19, 2018

Joseph W. Hagin

Deputy chief of staff

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED APRIL 12, 2018

Maj. Gen. Ricky Waddell

Deputy national security adviser

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED APRIL 11, 2018

Nadia Schadlow

Deputy national security adviser for strategy

FORCED OUT APRIL 10, 2018

Thomas P. Bossert

Homeland security adviser

FIRING ANNOUNCED MARCH 13, 2018

Rex W. Tillerson

Secretary of State

RESIGNED MARCH 29, 2018

Hope Hicks

White House communications director

FIRED MARCH 28, 2018

David J. Shulkin

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED MARCH 22, 2018

Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster

National security adviser

FIRED MARCH 16, 2018

Andrew McCabe

F.B.I. deputy director

RESIGNED MARCH 16, 2018

Rick Dearborn

White House deputy chief of staff

FORCED OUT MARCH 12, 2018

John McEntee

President Trump’s personal aide

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED MARCH 6, 2018

Gary D. Cohn

Director of White House National Economic Council

RESIGNED FEB. 9, 2018

Rachel L. Brand

Associate attorney general

FORCED OUT FEB. 9, 2018

David Sorensen

White House speechwriter

FORCED OUT FEB. 7, 2018

Rob Porter

White House staff secretary

FORCED OUT JAN. 31, 2018

Brenda Fitzgerald

Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

FORCED OUT JAN. 18, 2018

Carl Higbie

Chief of external affairs for Corporation for National and Community Service

FIRED DEC. 13, 2017

Omarosa Manigault Newman

Director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED DEC. 8, 2017

Dina H. Powell

Deputy national security adviser for strategy

FORCED OUT SEPT. 29, 2017

Tom Price

Secretary of Health and Human Services

FORCED OUT AUG. 25, 2017

Sebastian Gorka

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED AUG. 18, 2017

George Sifakis

Director of White House Office of Public Liaison

FORCED OUT AUG. 18, 2017

Stephen K. Bannon

Chief strategist

FIRED JULY 31, 2017

Anthony Scaramucci

White House communications director

FORCED OUT JULY 28, 2017

Reince Priebus

White House chief of staff

RESIGNED JULY 21, 2017

Sean Spicer

White House press secretary

RESIGNED JUNE 2, 2017

Mike Dubke

White House communications director

FORCED OUT MAY 19, 2017

K. T. McFarland

Deputy national security adviser

FIRED MAY 9, 2017

James B. Comey

F.B.I. director 

FORCED OUT MARCH 30, 2017

Katie Walsh

White House deputy chief of staff

FORCED OUT FEB. 13, 2017

Michael T. Flynn

National security adviser 

My 2 cents: It will get far worse before it gets any better and the country and our very foundation may be cracked forever.

Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.

Another FOX News Attack: Blame DEMS No Matter What But Never Blame Trump

Right arm propaganda machine for Trump Empire, Inc. 

FOX News is blaming Democrats for the decline in the stock market, claiming it’s in part because their “tone” is creating a “real negative wave for the market” and that banks are worried they will be needlessly investigated.

In reality, experts are pointing to poor performance by retail giant Target and tech companies and to larger factors like Trump’s trade war with China, Trump’s tax cuts, and rising interest rates. 

Following months of strong gains, the stock market plunged week, with the Dow dropping more than 400 points one day (a Monday) and then more than 600 points the next day (on Tuesday).

As CNBC reported: “The major U.S. stock indexes fell sharply and turned negative for the year as a decline in Target shares pressured retailers, while the most popular tech shares dropped again.”

The report noted stocks also fell “sharply last month amid heightened concerns about rising interest rates, slowing economic growth and global trade tensions.” 

According to CNN: “Analysts expect a deceleration in 2019 driven by tariffs, the fading impact of the tax cuts and higher borrowing costs caused by the Federal Reserve.”

In another report, Goldman Sachs said that U.S. economic growth could be reduced by half by the end of next year as the effect of the tax cuts wears off. And 35 percent of chief financial officers surveyed “cited trade as their biggest current concern.”

FOX, however, started blaming the sinking stock market on the Democrats winning back the majority in the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections. This trend likely previews how FOX and other right-wing media outlets will cover any negative economic turn for at least the next two years –

Continue at the link here from Media Matters on this story.

My 2 cents: First of all, FOX is NOT willing to blame Trump or his harsh economic and BFF tax policies for this dramatic downturn – that is the real culprits).

This PR strategy is not unusual for FOX and most other right-wing media outlets… they always blame someone, anyone, except their fav game in town: Trump Empire, Inc.  – That is a fact and the record is clear with few if any exceptions.

It will only get worse – bet on it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Business Failure; Failure as President: Constant Effort to be T*RU*mp-in-Charge

The Trump name being removed in 2014 from the facade of

the Trump Plaza casino in Atlantic City, which had gone 

out of business. [Photo Credit: Mark Makela / Reuters]

I note: RU are the first two letters in spelling Russia. Ironic they still stand while Trump is being taken down – simple analogy and maybe good metaphor, too? (But, I leave that to history). 

Now post for today is absolutely an excellent article from Michelle Goldberg at the NY TIMES –

Now we wait for Trump to once again call it “Fake News” from the “failing NY Times” – his shield against any criticism and truth about him – in short, he cannot accept failure or honestly or anything except being 1^st place center stage in the limelight and Goldberg nails that point precisely and I say with great concern: “America: We've been had, bigly.”

Enjoy the article – the introduction is here:

“Donald Trump has failed at most things he’s tried to do in life, with the crucial exception of selling himself as a success.”

“Consider his business record over the past thirty years. In 1988, he bought Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel for over $400 million — at the time an unprecedented sum for a hotel, according to The New York Times. A few years later it was in bankruptcy protection. His casino company went bust, dragging the economy of Atlantic City down with it. Trump Airlines failed; the president defaulted on the loans he took out to buy it. Trump University was a con; he settled a lawsuit over it for $25 million.”

“But as a self-marketer, Trump is peerless. He convinced people that he was a self-made tycoon despite receiving at least $413 million in today’s dollars from his father, much of it, as The Times has reported, through legally dubious tax dodges. He was cast a paragon of business acumen on The Apprentice when most banks refused to lend to him. And then, to America’s enduring disgrace, he was able to use his fictional reality-TV persona as a steppingstone to the White House.”

Thanks for stopping by – enjoy the rest of this fine article.

The Mechanics of an Authoritarian Government: One Man or One Family Rules Only

Three steps in the process

Five already in place - one in the making

John Oliver – one of his best shows and the last show of this season.

Watch it below (about 18-minutes) and see if it reminds you of anyone these days (alongside the 5 others mentioned in the video seen above):

TOPIC: “Authoritarianism” from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO production – Warning: Has spicy language – be forewarned)…

Via YouTube here:

 Thanks for stopping – enjoy.

CIA Blames Saudis for Khashoggi: Trump Says Saudis Good for Jobs and Business

MBS is great job creator for defense industry and American workers

L to R: Ordered man in the middle killed — dislikes CIA report — 

trusts and believes MBS

Update late today from here (Huffington Post):

Highlights: 

Trump is still praising Saudi Arabia as a “truly spectacular ally,” despite the CIA reportedly pinning blame for journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder on the Saudi royal family.

Before leaving to review the wildfire damage in California, Trump addressed a Washington Post report that, according to CIA officials, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) personally ordered the killing of Khashoggi, and he said: “We haven’t been briefed yet. The CIA is going to be speaking to me today. We have not been briefed yet. As of this moment, we were told that he did not play a role.” 

Trump concluded: “They give us a lot of jobs and a lot of business and economic development. They have been a truly spectacular ally in terms of jobs and economic development.”

Original post from here:

Trump on journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in the Saudi counsel in Turkey (October 22, 2018 from Washington Post here): Trump has once again given away the game on Saudi Arabia and his reverence for authoritarians. 

But his soft stance on the Saudis' killing of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi also betrays this irony: By going easy on them, he’s conceding his own weakness.

Despite ostensibly putting pressure on Saudi Arabia this weekend to come clean, Trump in an interview with The Post’s Josh Dawsey seemed to marvel at that same government’s ability to snuff out unrest saying: “He’s seen as a person who can keep things under check. I mean that in a positive way. I mean that in a positive way.”

This is a heckuva time to be promoting the Saudis' ability to “keep things under check” — a moment when their apparent killing of a well-known critic has created an international incident. Khashoggi’s detention and alleged murder sure seem like part of an emerging effort inside Saudi Arabia to silence dissent. And Trump is expressing admiration for that effort, at least at the macro level.

My Insert: Two days prior here from the Guardian: Trump said he found Saudi Arabia’s explanation about the death of Khashoggi credible and termed it an “important first step.”

Now this CIA assessment from CBS news – and Trump’s stance – he still favors and supports the Saudis in this Washington Post piece, saying in part seen in this short video – that he’ll talk to the CIA about their report:

And just like then, The Post is reporting Trump remains skeptical of the finding that that the prince was responsible (again not trusting our intelligence agencies — and that despite the evidence:

Trump resists blaming the Saudis for the killing, who has close relationship with Jared Kushner. Aides said that Trump has been shown evidence of the MBS involvement but remains skeptical that Mohammed ordered the killing. He asked the CIA and State where Khashoggi’s body was and remains frustrated that the CIA says they don’t know where his remains are.

My 2 cents: Trump persists the Saudis are good for business and our jobs and the economy despite the seriousness of this case – all the while, and again, not trusting believing his own intelligence agency reports as before when they reported en masse about Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

Stay tuned – this sort of Trump presidential “non-leadership” is apt to get crazier, even if that’s even possible.

Thanks for stopping by.