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#14904617
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

Trump attorney Cohen is being investigated for possible bank fraud, campaign finance violations, according to a person familiar with the case.

By Carol D. Leonnig and Tom Hamburger

Michael Cohen, the longtime attorney of President Trump, is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations, according to a person with knowledge of the case.

FBI agents on Monday raided Cohen’s Manhattan office, home and hotel room as part of the investigation, seizing records about Cohen’s clients and personal finances. Among the records seized were those related to a 2016 payment Cohen made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had a sexual encounter with Trump, according to another person familiar with the investigators’ work.

Investigators took Cohen’s computer, phone and personal financial records as part of the search of his office at Rockefeller Center, the second person said.

The broad seizure collected communications between Cohen and his clients — including some with Trump, according to both people.

The raid was related to an investigation referred by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to federal prosecutors in New York, said Stephen Ryan, an attorney for Cohen.

President Trump on April 9 said the raid by FBI agents of the office of Michael Cohen, his private lawyer, is a “disgraceful situation.” (The Washington Post)

Ryan called the tactics “inappropriate and unnecessary,” saying Cohen has “cooperated completely with all government entities, including providing thousands of non-privileged documents to the Congress and sitting for depositions under oath.”

Among the records seized by investigators were “protected attorney client communications,” Ryan said.

On Monday evening, Trump called the raid of his attorney’s office and home “a disgraceful situation.”

“I have this witch hunt constantly going on,” the president said.

Dawn Dearden, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, declined to comment. Peter Carr, a spokesman for the special counsel’s office, declined to comment.

Squire Patton Boggs, the law firm that formed a strategic alliance with Cohen last year, said in a statement Monday that its “arrangement with Mr. Cohen reached its conclusion, mutually and in accordance with the terms of the agreement."

“We have been in contact with federal authorities regarding their execution of a warrant relating to Mr. Cohen,” the firm said. “These activities do not relate to the firm and we are in full cooperation.”

The seizure of Cohen’s records was first reported by the New York Times.

Under Justice Department regulations governing the special counsel’s work, Mueller is required to consult with Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein if his team finds information worth investigating that does not fall under his mandate.

Rosenstein, as the acting attorney general supervising Mueller’s work, has the responsibility of deciding whether to expand Mueller’s mandate to include the new topic or to refer it to a U.S. attorney’s office.

Known for his combative style and fierce loyalty to Trump, Cohen served for a decade as a top lawyer at the Trump Organization, tangling with reporters and Trump’s business competitors on behalf of the celebrity real estate mogul.

He never formally joined Trump’s campaign but was in close contact with his longtime boss from his Trump Tower office throughout the 2016 race and presidential transition.

Cohen left the Trump Organization in January 2017, around the time of Trump’s inauguration, and since then has served as a personal attorney to the president.

Cohen’s aggressive tactics came into public view when he acknowledged he facilitated a $130,000 payment in October 2016 to Daniels, who claims she had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006.

On Oct. 17, Cohen established Essential Consultants Limited Liability Co. as a vehicle for the $130,000 payment. Ten days later, on Oct. 27, the bank Cohen used in New York transferred the money to Daniels via a California bank account belonging to her lawyer, Keith Davidson.

Eleven months later, in September 2017, that California bank — City National Bank in Beverly Hills — asked Davidson about the source of the payment, according to an email reviewed by The Washington Post. Bank officials declined to comment on whether the inquiry was triggered by a request or subpoena from law enforcement.

At some point, Cohen’s New York bank, First Republic, flagged the transaction to the Treasury Department as a suspicious payment, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Cohen used his Trump Organization email in negotiating the agreement with Davidson and in communicating with his bank about the funds.

In February, after a watchdog group filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, Cohen released a statement saying he “used my own personal funds to facilitate” the payment. He rejected the idea that the payment should have counted as a campaign contribution.

Trump made his first comments about the payment last week, saying he did not know about the transaction.

To pursue criminal charges against Cohen for breaking federal election law, prosecutors would have to prove that he made the payment to influence the election, rather than for personal reasons — to protect Trump’s reputation, for example, or his marriage to Melania.

While the timing of the payment — 12 days before the presidential election — might suggest an attempt to influence the outcome, timing is not enough to prove intent, said Rick Hasen, a professor specializing in election law at the University of California at Irvine.

“It would be very difficult to bring one of these cases without some good documentary evidence,” he said. “I think a lot of people are underestimating the hurdles that it takes to bring a criminal prosecution.”

Devlin Barrett, Mark Berman, Emma Brown, Josh Dawsey, Rosalind S. Helderman, Beth Reinhard and Philip Rucker contributed to this report.


Doesn't this guy look like he's about to cry?

Image

Jeff Sessions may be in deep do-do after this one!

Zam
#14909693
Just lmfao at Trump's call to Fox & Friends expediting the review of Cohen's documents since he admitted that Cohen had handled his legal shit. Trump really is going for a Nixon speedrun.



I imagine Trump's lawyers had the same reaction.
#14909712
SpecialOlympian wrote:Just lmfao at Trump's call to Fox & Friends expediting the review of Cohen's documents since he admitted that Cohen had handled his legal shit. Trump really is going for a Nixon speedrun.

Listen to the guy ... ! How much meth did that degenerate white house Dr. give him ?

Zam ;)
#14910089
Let us say that there is even a series of valid reasons as to why to raid the office...

Unless they are absolutely obvious, this doesn't resonate well with anyone. This makesit not unlike the Alfie situation: even though there is a series of standing regulations and arguments as to why it should have unfolded that way, it is terrible optics and isn't exactly the kind of thing that you want to do if it can be avoided.
#14911074
The Show Must Go on !
Enter Rudy Giuliana ... "Trump repaid Cohen." In an attempt to divert questions about campaign finances Giuliana has opened an entire new can of worms regarding Presidential lies, money laundering, and ethical misconduct. He's also virtually thrown Cohen under the bus, then, after smashing the lawyer flat, put it in reverse and backed over him. Lying to the FBI - "I paid it out of my own pocket" would now seem to be an open and shut case. Will Cohen flip? He's been openly betrayed. Is he expecting a pardon while congress discusses limiting that presidential prerogative? Stay tuned.



Zam :eek:
#14913000
Firm Tied to Russian Oligarch Made Payments to Michael Cohen
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/us/politics/michael-cohen-shell-company-payments.html?partner=msft_msn
A shell company that Michael D. Cohen used to pay hush money to a pornographic film actress received payments totaling more than $1 million from an American company linked to a Russian oligarch and several corporations with business before the Trump administration, according to documents and interviews. (see url for full story)


I wonder what Mr. Giuliani will say about this? :peace:

Zam
#14913218
How can liberals promote a global economy and then use it’s reality as proof of wrong doing? It appears all their views are required to be logically inconsistent. This was an American company with foreign backers. Why do you find this clandestine?
#14913279
SpecialOlympian wrote:Lmfao OK 1° what product was Cohen selling?


Lawyers sell services, not products. People pay them for their services. Is this getting too complicated? :)
#14913339
SpecialOlympian wrote:And what do you think that service was?


I read NBC’s account of what each of the companies said they agreed to. It was all legal. Probably all lies, but that is the political game today. They all paid for his legal services. As one 0f them said, “We do this with every new administration “.
#14913406
One Degree wrote:This was an American company with foreign backers. Why do you find this clandestine?

Ummm … how about it took an FBI raid and several weeks of careful analysis to figure it out ?

Zam :roll:
#14913455
One Degree wrote:I read NBC’s account of what each of the companies said they agreed to. It was all legal. Probably all lies, but that is the political game today. They all paid for his legal services. As one 0f them said, “We do this with every new administration “.


The fact that you're unable to answer the question is an answer in itself.
#14913457
SpecialOlympian wrote:The fact that you're unable to answer the question is an answer in itself.


Why would you expect me to know the truth? They had legal arrangements with Cohen. Accusations of wrong doing are just that ‘unsubstantiated accusations’. My dislike of lawyers and politicians is not proof of anything.
#14913518
SpecialOlympian wrote:1° your dodging is pathetic. Cohen legal defense pathetic.



This was verified by the other Michael Cohen. I believe he is a 27 year old nobody whose life is a nightmare because of this,

Edit: These were the smaller payments listed.
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