President Trump Directed His Attorney To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project

By artappraiser on Thu, 01/17/2019 - 11:00pm |

Trump received 10 personal updates from Michael Cohen and encouraged a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin.

By Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier @ BuzzFeedNews.com, January 17, 10:11 p.m. ET

President Donald Trump directed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter.

Trump also supported a plan, set up by Cohen, to visit Russia during the presidential campaign, in order to personally meet President Vladimir Putin and jump-start the tower negotiations. “Make it happen,” the sources said Trump told Cohen.

And even as Trump told the public he had no business deals with Russia, the sources said Trump and his children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., received regular, detailed updates about the real estate development from Cohen, whom they put in charge of the project. [....]

URL:

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonleopold/trump-russia-cohen-moscow-tower-mueller-investigation?ref=bfnsplash

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Again, the BuzzFeed scoop IS NOT the first evidence we have that Trump suborned perjury. At all. If that's why you're excited about it, check out. Otherwise, read on.
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 18, 2019

by artappraiser on Thu, 01/17/2019 - 11:01pm

In this statement Klobuchar points to the things that were already public b4 BuzzFeed, including Trump writing the June 9 report that was not entirely cleaned of lies b4 Don Jr delivered it to Congress. https://t.co/S37I4eZF1N
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 18, 2019

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 7:24pm

Maggie Haberman re-tweeted this:

FWIW in all our reporting I haven’t found any in the Trump Org that have met with or been interviewed by Mueller. https://t.co/U4eV1MZc8p
— John Santucci (@Santucci) January 18, 2019

by artappraiser on Thu, 01/17/2019 - 11:07pm

Though it pains me, I must also confess some slight skepticism. We've heard nary a peep from Mueller's office for a year and a half, and suddenly "two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter" leak to Buzzfeed? Josh speculates that the leak came from SDNY, but still, how did Buzzfeed--and only Buzzfeed--get the scoop? Jason Leopold and Anthony Courmier are serious journalists, but I don't think they've broken any big Mueller stories before. And the most sensational "scoop" of Leopold's career, which claimed that Karl Rove had been indicted by a grand jury in 2006, turned out to be false. I hope that my doubts are unfounded.

by Michael Wolraich on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 10:24am

Courmier defends the report:

Appearing on CNN’s “New Day,” Cormier told Alisyn Camerota and John Berman that his reporting was “rock solid” and that “this 100 percent happened.”

Cormier’s report details how Trump ordered Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer, to lie to Congress about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cormier and co-writer Jason Leopold cite two law enforcement officials “involved in an investigation of the matter.”

Pointing out Leopold’s troubled record with journalistic integrity, Camerota asked Cormier if he could truly be certain of the story, given the gravity of the allegations.

“My sourcing goes beyond the two on the record,” Cormier responded. “This is a thing that happened.”

by Michael Wolraich on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 10:27am

It's easy to believe that Cohen would make this claim because he would say and do anything to avoid his long stay in the stir. Mueller knows that Cohen is a worthless tainted liar and his only use is to keep the inquisition fires burning and media flaming for a few more news cycles.

A number of things make me wonder if Cohen was flipped before the election and was the mole in Trump's organization working to frame him while other FBI stooges tried to entrap members of Trump's campaign. One of these paid informants was exposed by Papadoc and is hiding while another may face interrogation as the counteroffensive proceeds. Bruce Ohr has already started to sing about Comey's lies and others will follow when they also see bars in their future.

by Peter (not verified) on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 1:17pm

Peter, meet Occam. Occam, meet Peter. Perhaps you could use a shave...

by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 1:57pm

Ah, but if one accepts the premise that Mr. Trump is clearly innocent of all wrongdoing, then Occam would tell us that anyone who accuses or investigates him must be tainted. Likewise, if "multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents" implicate Trump, then this evidence must also be tainted.

Peter's mind is powerful machine, you see. No matter what evidence you may present against Mr. Trump, he will find a way to rationalize it into oblivion. Because the premise may not be doubted.

by Michael Wolraich on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 2:15pm

As you should know by now Trump doesn't use email or text so this is another of the about 565 Bombshells that have all been duds. If some real evidence is produced that Trump committed a real crime more serious than jaywalking I might change my tune but so far all we see is nothingburgers and fake news.

by Peter (not verified) on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 3:44pm

You are a veritable Atticus Finch, sir, defending the innocent from baseless accusations by the mob. At least if said innocent is named Trump. But I can't help noticing that when the name of the accused changes to Clinton or Comey or anyone else on Trump's enemy list, you morph into Jack McCoy, ready to convict on the flimsiest evidence. I haven't seen such a complete transformation since once-aggressive prosecutor Rudy Giuliani became Trump's demented defense attorney. At least he's getting paid.

by Michael Wolraich on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 4:53pm

And you're sure Peter's not? I mean, I know it's flimsy likelihood, slim pickins and all, but it's not like he's here for the intellectual discussons.

by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 6:16pm

Senator Murphy:

Listen, if Mueller does have multiple sources confirming Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress, then we need to know this ASAP. Mueller shouldn't end his inquiry, but it's about time for him to show Congress his cards before it's too late for us to act. https://t.co/ekG5VSBS8G
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 18, 2019

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 7:18pm

Quick thread.

It's interesting to re-read Cohen's sentencing statement and brief in light of the BuzzFeed report. There's this excerpt from Cohen's brief, which seems to flatly declare that the false statements to Congress were "in accordance with Client 1's directives." /1 pic.twitter.com/gRoktTI2PD
— David French (@DavidAFrench) January 18, 2019

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 7:22pm

Cohen tweeted yesterday morning about the WSJ poll rigging article that I truly regret my blind loyalty to a man who doesn’t deserve it and nothing after that:

As for the @WSJ article on poll rigging, what I did was at the direction of and for the sole benefit of @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. I truly regret my blind loyalty to a man who doesn’t deserve it.
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) January 17, 2019

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 7:28pm

I break down the six things that really stand out to me about the Michael Cohen news. Short answer: it's a really big deal. https://t.co/im1pUD4qtw
— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) January 18, 2019

edit to add another similar:

"It's quite clear there is corroborating evidence" that Trump "instructed" Michael Cohen to lie to Congress

"If we do not impeach and remove a President" for that, we're "going to be the laughing stock of the world" - @RWPUSA pic.twitter.com/SuLfL2mdh4
— TheBeat w/Ari Melber (@TheBeatWithAri) January 18, 2019

and White House spokesperson refusing to answer on Fox News

Here is White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley refusing three times to answer whether Trump told Michael Cohen to lie to Congress as reported in the Buzzfeed article. pic.twitter.com/y7Po0QaDRv
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) January 18, 2019

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 7:36pm

Giuliani finally responds:
“Any suggestion – from any source – that the President counseled Michael Cohen to lie is categorically false. Michael Cohen is a convicted criminal and a liar. ...”1/2
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 18, 2019

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 7:31pm

BUT WAIT, Mueller's office just made a for the record statement that Buzz Feed has it wrong:

UPDATE: The special counsel's office has taken the rare step of issuing a statement in response to our report on Michael Cohen being directed by Trump to lie to Congress:https://t.co/WA2fZcdK9u pic.twitter.com/PY1r9LxDid
— Jason Leopold (@JasonLeopold) January 19, 2019

That will teach me to waste time posting "breaking" without waiting for things to sort out.

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 7:40pm

Axios on Mueller's office's on-the-record comment:

In a rare comment, the Mueller investigation is going on the record to deny the BuzzFeed report. https://t.co/u7t4hXlOOP
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) January 19, 2019

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 7:47pm

Well, as the many comments point out on both Tweets, which part is not accurate is not revealed.

May the pulling out of hair resume.

by moat on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 7:58pm

some deconstruction of legal linguistics (or tea leaf reading if you prefer) I see going on:

In response to the statement tonight from the Special Counsel's spokesman: We stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it, and we urge the Special Counsel to make clear what he's disputing.
— Ben Smith (@BuzzFeedBen) January 19, 2019

This is an important distinction https://t.co/ENvP46oahd
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) January 19, 2019

Trying to decide what I think about this. "Disputes report" is a little strong, only because we really don't know from this statement how much the Special Counsel is saying is inaccurate. It could be just a piece of the report, or a good chunk of it. https://t.co/zsp8e1Z4a8
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) January 19, 2019

Good point https://t.co/LcCrqWcr7M
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) January 19, 2019

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 8:47pm

More of same:

Marcy Wheeler argues, and I agree, that the leak came from the SDNY. And, yes, the SC freaked about it.
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) January 19, 2019

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 11:38pm

Very good supposition regarding Wolraich's basic question of "why haven't they said anything before?":

Clarity. For two years, stories, whether accurate or not, had no political consequences b/c Ryan didn't do anything. When House Dems start to take news stories as potential evidence to start essentially legal proceedings, Mueller's office has an interest in correcting. https://t.co/6GYPhOVyQr
— Juliette Kayyem (@juliettekayyem) January 19, 2019

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 8:32pm

1) they want to make clear they don't/didn't leak, 2) Mueller is close to using this info and can't have it tainted w inaccuracies

As Marcy notes, much of this was long known, but 1) came through NYT's chummy "access" connections rather than journalism, 2) they always give it a mushy spin rather than Ben's no nonsense summary: Trump told Cihen to lie to Congress. Still, dictating Don Jr's lying letter on the plane is not knew, nor is meeting in Trump Tower w Russians about "adoptions" (cough, blowjob). It's just people are starting to care, and certainly a Dem investigation will go somewhere, whereas Nunes' wouldn't.

eta: and the dumbfuck continues with his Crooked Hillary line - will be so pleased when he goes to jail

by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 01/19/2019 - 1:04am

Will Brand shares similar Watergate anecdote:

1. Today reminds me a lot of one of the most talked-about episodes during Woodward and Bernstein's historic reporting on Watergate, which is probably better remembered as a key plot point in the "All the President's Men" movie.
— Will Bunch (@Will_Bunch) January 19, 2019

by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 01/19/2019 - 10:22am

Senator Lieu's #FridayThoughts are not with Buzzfeed's communications:

This tweet by @realDonaldTrump may be a felony.

18 U.S.C. § 1512(b):

"Whoever knowingly uses intimidation, threatens ... or attempts to do so ... with intent to ... influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person ...." is guilty of a felony.#FridayThoughts https://t.co/MDK6Z50WmW
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) January 18, 2019

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 8:56pm

Ronan Farrow turned down parts of same narrative:

I can’t speak to Buzzfeed’s sourcing, but, for what it’s worth, I declined to run with parts of the narrative they conveyed based on a source central to the story repeatedly disputing the idea that Trump directly issued orders of that kind.
— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) January 19, 2019

by artappraiser on Sat, 01/19/2019 - 6:38pm

You're going to want to read this:
Inside the Mueller team decision to dispute BuzzFeed’s explosive story on Trump suborning perjury. A scoop-filled look at how the special counsel came to issue an unprecedented public statement @mattzap @devlinbarrett https://t.co/KW3uXf0ZYB
— Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) January 20, 2019

by artappraiser on Sun, 01/20/2019 - 6:36am

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