We’ve been telling you for years that Michael Cohen’s business history couldn’t survive first contact with serious investigative scrutiny. He’s been tied his entire life to emigres from Russia and Ukraine; he’s been their business partners, and they’ve been the source of rivers of money from that part of the world which Cohen has used to make himself a very wealthy man. A number of them have reputed ties to organized crime. Taxis, real estate, casino cruise boats. These are all businesses that require large amounts of cash to operate. They’re all good ways to channel cash into the United States. With Cohen taxis have always been the biggest red flag in our reporting. Read More
If you’re worried about the John Bolton situation in the White House, don’t miss the new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast where I talk to Steve Clemons, a true Bolton expert. He predicted when we recorded the episode on Sunday that Tom Bossert, the President’s Homeland Security Advisor, would be pushed out. Sure enough he was forced out this morning. Steve also told us a surreal story about how Iranian hackers were trying to hack neoconservatives in the AEI orbit using Facebook and other platforms to create a sort of ersatz John Bolton fan club. Steve’s actually the one who took it to the FBI. Listen here. It’s wild.
And don’e forget, please subscribe to The Josh Marshall Podcast on iTunes and Google Play. You’re subscribing plays a huge role in helping us spread the word about this new effort.
A few telling morsels as we end the day. First Fox was out tonight with a breaking news alert about the drama of the day but with a jarring and revealing framing. Said Fox’s Bret Baier: The President is facing “the most serious and consequential personnel decision of his life tonight.”
Well, what personnel decision would that be? There’s no big personnel decision. Except of course that they’re referring to whether or not President Trump will decide to “pull the plug” on the Russia probe, as Baier put it. Read More
President taunts Russia with the threat of “nice and new and smart! missiles” heading toward Syria, the Mueller probe is firing on all cylinders and the President appears determined to stop it, and, oh, Paul Ryan is not running for re-election.
The bank Michael Cohen used to make the Stormy Daniels’ hush money payment is partly owned by Tom Barrack’s private equity firm, and Barrack sits on the bank board (Prime access).
We know for a fact that Michael Cohen arranged a hush agreement with Stormy Daniels. He was at least involved in The National Enquirer’s ‘catch & kill’ purchase of the story of alleged Trump girlfriend Karen McDougal. This afternoon we’ve learned that FBI agents who raided the homes and office of Michael Cohen were looking for information about the Access Hollywood tape, at least suggesting that investigators believe he may have been involved in (unsuccessful) efforts to suppress that tape. We know enough to say that Michael Cohen was clearly on the Trump sex and assaults beat throughout the fall of 2016.
Who was he working with? Read More
Note that there is an emerging attack from the White House that suggests that Rod Rosenstein must recuse himself because he has a conflict of interest in overseeing the Mueller probe. The conflict is this: Mueller is investigating the firing of James Comey as a central part of his investigation of potential obstruction of justice. But Rosenstein was a central player in that firing. He wrote the memo that Trump used to justify Comey’s ouster.
As you can see, the argument is not that crazy in itself. There are in fact many people who have suggested that Rosenstein should recuse himself. But note the position in which this puts the White House. The President is saying that Rosenstein can’t oversee the probe because he was a central actor in one of the President’s alleged bad acts that is under investigation. Read More
We’ve now had numerous instances in which President Trump has taken some dramatically inappropriate or illegal steps but we only learn about it much, much later. Look what happened today. I strongly suspect we now have another example.
Earlier today, the White House press aide Lindsay Walters announced that today: “Rod Rosenstein met with the president at the White House regarding routine department business.” Read More
In a new legal filing, attorneys for Michael Cohen request a pause on the Stormy Daniels civil litigation because of Cohen’s possible need to invoke his 5th Amendment rights. Read More