Cohen Claims Trump Knew In Advance Of 2016 Trump Tower Meeting

[edpc]

(CNN) Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, claims that then-candidate Trump knew in advance about the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower in which Russians were expected to offer his campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton, sources with knowledge tell CNN. Cohen is willing to make that assertion to special counsel Robert Mueller, the sources said.

Cohen's claim would contradict repeated denials by Trump, Donald Trump Jr., their lawyers and other administration officials who have said that the President knew nothing about the Trump Tower meeting until he was approached about it by The New York Times in July 2017.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/26/politics/michael-cohen-donald-trump-june-2016-meeting-knowledge/index.html

[edpc]

To be clear, these sources said Cohen does not have evidence, such as audio recordings, to corroborate his claim, but he is willing to attest to his account.


Like his word is any good.

[XenaLee]

(CNN) Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, claims that then-candidate Trump knew in advance about the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower in which Russians were expected to offer his campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton, sources with knowledge tell CNN. Cohen is willing to make that assertion to special counsel Robert Mueller, the sources said.

Cohen's claim would contradict repeated denials by Trump, Donald Trump Jr., their lawyers and other administration officials who have said that the President knew nothing about the Trump Tower meeting until he was approached about it by The New York Times in July 2017.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/26/politics/michael-cohen-donald-trump-june-2016-meeting-knowledge/index.html

Well, I guess it's settled then.   Cohen has ""flipped"" and is against Trump now, officially.  Or is this just more fake news from a fake "news" outlet...?   Whenever I see CNN, I consider the source.

[edpc]

Well, I guess it's settled then.  Cohen has ""flipped"" and is against Trump now, officially.

It's an overture and a clumsy one, if true.  No doubt Cohen has seen or read about Weisselberg being subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury.  That means an indictment is pending.  He probably also probably put this out to whiz on the credit his former employer will get from economic numbers due to be reported tomorrow.

[edpc]

LONDON — The Moscow lawyer said to have promised Donald Trump's presidential campaign dirt on his Democratic opponent worked more closely with senior Russian government officials than she previously let on, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

Scores of emails, transcripts and legal documents paint a portrait of Natalia Veselnitskaya as a well-connected attorney who served as a ghostwriter for top Russian government lawyers and received assistance from senior Interior Ministry personnel in a case involving a key client.

The data was obtained through Russian opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky's London-based investigative unit, the Dossier Center, that is compiling profiles of Russians it accuses of benefiting from corruption.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/emails-lawyer-met-trump-jr-215132450.html

[XenaLee]

It's an overture and a clumsy one, if true.  No doubt Cohen has seen or read about Weisselberg being subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury.  That means an indictment is pending.  He probably also probably put this out to whiz on the credit his former employer will get from economic numbers due to be reported tomorrow.

Nevertheless.... I can't imagine what Cohen thinks he'll be achieving by making Trump into his most powerful... and most pissed off... enemy.  Knowing that if he stood by Trump, no matter what, he could and probably would get a pardon... it makes no sense to me that he would turn at this point.  There's got to be a LOT more going on behind the scenes that we're not privy to.... and will probably never know.  But... you seem to have a solid handle on the situation.  Kudos.

[Victoria33]

Heard tonight Cohen was in the room when Don Jr. told Trump about the upcoming meeting with the Russian who had dirt on Clinton.

[edpc]

Nevertheless.... I can't imagine what Cohen thinks he'll be achieving by making Trump into his most powerful... and most pissed off... enemy.  Knowing that if he stood by Trump, no matter what, he could and probably would get a pardon... it makes no sense to me that he would turn at this point.  There's got to be a LOT more going on behind the scenes that we're not privy to.... and will probably never know.  But... you seem to have a solid handle on the situation.  Kudos.

NY state can also charge Cohen for things feds may discover, like bank fraud if those institutions are in their jurisdiction.  The president can't pardon him for state convictions, only the NY governor.

[XenaLee]

NY state can also charge Cohen for things feds may discover, like bank fraud if those institutions are in their jurisdiction.  The president can't pardon him for state convictions, only the NY governor.

Ah.   I didn't think of that.   Thanks.  Makes more sense now.... that he appears to be willing to cut a deal to cover his @ss. 

[edpc]

Ah.   I didn't think of that.   Thanks.  Makes more sense now.... that he appears to be willing to cut a deal to cover his @ss.

He probably realizes it's in a sling.  The contents of what the feds seized is not a mystery to him.

[corbe]

                 Like Sand through an Hourglass.

[Frank Cannon]

LOL. This loser Cohen has nothing and he knows it. We got ten people who will say otherwise to these silly charges. He shot the wad with these barely audible cut up tapes. Now he is out of ammo.

[DCPatriot]

LOL. This loser Cohen has nothing and he knows it. We got ten people who will say otherwise to these silly charges. He shot the wad with these barely audible cut up tapes. Now he is out of ammo.

Now see?  Here's where you and I see it differently.

...especially when THE Lanny Davis is Cohen's attorney.

That tape could have been purposefully 'cut' at that moment and juicier stuff may come out say...middle of October.

[Frank Cannon]

Now see?  Here's where you and I see it differently.

...especially when THE Lanny Davis is Cohen's attorney.

That tape could have been purposefully 'cut' at that moment and juicier stuff may come out say...middle of October.

Davis is a slip and fall clown. People hire him when they need spin, not when something serious is happening. He was such a shitshow when the Clinton thing was going on even he has reportedly said he was just throwing things at the wall and trying to get them to stick. If Cohen had serious people representing him instead of damage control mouthpieces, you would be right, but  Davis isn't a serious lawyer.

[corbe]

   @Frank Cannon you are delusional if you think Cohen can't hurt Trump, politically.
   This is what happens when you go cheap on a slimy lawyer to handle $hit your real lawyer won't touch. 

   Honestly, I'd rather this $hit never have happened but none the less a lot of us Nevers were here warning you Trumpers this kinda crap could rear it's ugly head wasting extensive political capital 3 months before the Midterms.

   Frankly, it's insane and mostly self-inflicted. #SAD

[DCPatriot]

Davis is a slip and fall clown. People hire him when they need spin, not when something serious is happening. He was such a shitshow when the Clinton thing was going on even he has reportedly said he was just throwing things at the wall and trying to get them to stick. If Cohen had serious people representing him instead of damage control mouthpieces, you would be right, but  Davis isn't a serious lawyer.

@Frank Cannon

Hope you're right, Frank.

I give much of the credit of the Clintons' ability to stay 3 steps ahead of serious legal jeopardy to Lanny Davis.

He may be a snake.  But, he's the best at what he does. 

...like Ray Donovan without the sex appeal. 

[DCPatriot]

   @Frank Cannon you are delusional if you think Cohen can't hurt Trump, politically.
   This is what happens when you go cheap on a slimy lawyer to handle $hit your real lawyer won't touch. 

   Honestly, I'd rather this $hit never have happened but none the less a lot of us Nevers were here warning you Trumpers this kinda crap could rear it's ugly head wasting extensive political capital 3 months before the Midterms.

   Frankly, it's insane and mostly self-inflicted. #SAD

Talk about premature ejaculation.....

Come on, @corbe

Don't use your ace of 'Trump' (I told you so) on this.  Save it.   ^-^ 

[Frank Cannon]

   @Frank Cannon you are delusional if you think Cohen can't hurt Trump, politically.
   This is what happens when you go cheap on a slimy lawyer to handle $hit your real lawyer won't touch. 

   Honestly, I'd rather this $hit never have happened but none the less a lot of us Nevers were here warning you Trumpers this kinda crap could rear it's ugly head wasting extensive political capital 3 months before the Midterms.

   Frankly, it's insane and mostly self-inflicted. #SAD

Give me a break. You sit in your hovel of a busted up single wide loaded on some sort of intoxicant pounding away at the keyboard here 24/7 bashing the President. You love this shit happening. That is why you think this is important when it isn't even criminal. Trump could have gotten blow jobs from female Russian spies in his plane while he was running for President and it is a big nothing. Still waiting for your Barney Fife Independent Prosecutor to show some crime related to this Russian collusion. All he has is process bullshit and financial indiscretions. 

Wake me up when you have something more than some jackhole real estate attorney feeding CNN cut up and inaudible tapes no one in the country cares about.

[Frank Cannon]

@Frank Cannon

Hope you're right, Frank.

I give much of the credit of the Clintons' ability to stay 3 steps ahead of serious legal jeopardy to Lanny Davis.

He may be a snake.  But, he's the best at what he does. 

...like Ray Donovan without the sex appeal. 

Three steps ahead? Really? Davis ended up getting his client impeached and disbarred.

[DCPatriot]

Three steps ahead? Really? Davis ended up getting his client impeached and disbarred.

A semen-stained blue dress got his client impeached and disbarred. 

Davis was 0-2 before he feet touched the floor getting out of bed.

[Jazzhead]

OK, so let's assume the worst.  Trump knew in advance that his son was going to meet with some Russians who said they had dirt on Hillary.   So what?  The fact is the meeting took place and the matter was quickly dismissed as bullshit.   is it illegal to take a meeting?  He was offered something and refused to take it.   Is any of that against the law? 

[Frank Cannon]

A semen-stained blue dress got his client impeached and disbarred. 

Davis was 0-2 before he feet touched the floor getting out of bed.

Well the point of hiring a top notch attorney is to get you not suffer any indignities even though you are standing there with a bloody knife in your hand and two near decapitated bodies near by. Instead Davis ran around parroting idiotic slogans and memes that are today biting him in the ass as he tries to get the public to care about people having sex.

[DB]

Nevertheless.... I can't imagine what Cohen thinks he'll be achieving by making Trump into his most powerful... and most pissed off... enemy.  Knowing that if he stood by Trump, no matter what, he could and probably would get a pardon... it makes no sense to me that he would turn at this point.  There's got to be a LOT more going on behind the scenes that we're not privy to.... and will probably never know.  But... you seem to have a solid handle on the situation.  Kudos.

That would depend on what sort of criminality was involved regarding a pardon. If Cohen thought he's got no chance of a pardon (apparently his job was primarily a fixer which tends to be pretty shady) then the only thing left for him to do is try to make the prosecutor happy...

But really, who knows...

Not my circus, not my clown.

[DB]

OK, so let's assume the worst.  Trump knew in advance that his son was going to meet with some Russians who said they had dirt on Hillary.   So what?  The fact is the meeting took place and the matter was quickly dismissed as bullshit.   is it illegal to take a meeting?  He was offered something and refused to take it.   Is any of that against the law?

The snare is the "investigation", not what was being investigated.

[Concerned]

@Frank Cannon

Hope you're right, Frank.

I give much of the credit of the Clintons' ability to stay 3 steps ahead of serious legal jeopardy to Lanny Davis.

He may be a snake.  But, he's the best at what he does. 

...like Ray Donovan without the sex appeal. 

I think you are exactly right @DCPatriot My company used Davis twice for crisis management issues.  He spent the time to understand the excruciating details of our problems and laid out a detailed 5-6 step solution to resolve them.  At the time, we thought his steps were impossible to achieve, but he pulled each of them off and they worked.  His solution steps included the PR, contractual, and legal resolutions of our problems.  He was constantly thinking 3 or 4 steps ahead and thinking through all aspects of our problem.  I suspect this leak of the Cohen-Trump tape is simply Step 1 of his multi-step solution for Cohen himself.