Okay, Donald Trump may really be fucked now.
The President’s former personal attorney and ‘fixer’ Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to a number of charges Tuesday after he surrendered to federal agents. Among those charges of bank fraud and tax evasion were campaign finance violations which Cohen also pleaded guilty to.
And it’s those campaign finance violations that look to directly involve the President of the United States Donald Trump.
While in front of the judge (and under oath), Cohen indicated that he coordinated hush money towards a porn star and former Playboy model “at the direction of the candidate for federal office” and “for the principal purpose of influencing the election” for president in 2016.
Those payments that were directed to keep affairs from surfacing during the election season included a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. The other payment came via what the New York Times refers to as a ‘complicated’ agreement with American Media, owner of the National Enquirer who tried to bury the story of Karen McDougal who has also been suspected of having an extramarital affair with the private citizen Donald Trump.
Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani released a statement shortly after Cohen’s plea:
“There is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president in the government’s charges against Mr. Cohen,” Mr. Giuliani said. “It is clear that, as the prosecutor noted, Mr. Cohen’s actions reflect a pattern of lies and dishonesty over a significant period of time.”
Although it’s true there are no allegations of wrongdoing against the President within the federal government’s charges, Trump’s fingerprints are all over the allegations against Cohen (which he plead guilty to) and is now implicated within Cohen’s own testimony in court today. In essence, Michael Cohen named Donald Trump, the President of the United States as a co-conspirator that have resulted in felony charges by the federal government. Likewise if Donald Trump wasn’t the President, he’d probably find himself indicted as well alongside Michael Cohen.
Although it’s Justice Department policy not to indict a sitting President, this – Russian investigation aside – could very well turn political in congress and result in impeachment proceedings within the House. This could be an even more sure thing if Democrats end up taking back the House of Representatives this November.
