In a piece today in the New York Times get a look at several checks that where made and signed by Donald Trump to Michael Cohen to reimburse him for payments made to Stormy Daniels that Trump said he did NOT make….
There are copy of the checks displayed….
The story is fronted by Lanny Davis, Michael Cohen’s lawyer…
The piece says this……Citing Mr. Cohen and other evidence, prosecutors from the Southern District of New York said in court papers that Mr. Trump directed the scheme, essentially making him an unindicted co-conspirator….
The piece also points to the fact that there is NO legal bar against charging an American President in office like what’s coming to the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu….
Nothing except a view from Justice Dept. lawyer back in the day against it…..
The Times piece points to concrete evidence that Donald J Trump seems to have committed several crimes while he is office….
Anyone else would have been charged already….
Donald Trump is ridding in plain sight……
Altogether, Mr. Trump or his trust paid Mr. Cohen $420,000, according to federal prosecutors. Of that, $130,000 was to reimburse paymentsmade shortly before the 2016 election to Ms. Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, so she would not tell her story. Another $50,000 was for Mr. Cohen’s effort to manipulate online polls to inflate Mr. Trump’s reputation as a businessman.
That $180,000 was then “grossed up” with another $180,000 to offset taxes that Mr. Cohen would have to pay on the original money since it was being treated as income. Another $60,000 was added as a “bonus,” prosecutors have said.
Mr. Trump has offered conflicting accounts about the matter. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One in April 2018, he said he did not knowabout the payment to Ms. Daniels. But a month later, his lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, hoping to refute the suggestion that it might be a campaign finance violation, told Fox News and The Times that the president had in fact reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the payment.
Citing Mr. Cohen and other evidence, prosecutors from the Southern District of New York said in court papers that Mr. Trump directed the scheme, essentially making him an unindicted co-conspirator.
“We’re talking about a felony committed by the president of the United States where there’s no dispute,” said Mr. Davis, the lawyer for Mr. Cohen.
People close to Mr. Trump have suggested that he may not have been aware of what Mr. Cohen was doing in real time, despite an audiotape that Mr. Cohen recorded of him discussing with Mr. Trump payments that The National Enquirer had made to a second woman who claimed to have had an affair with the candidate.
A person close to Mr. Trump said that he may have believed the checks were payment for general legal fees, but may not have known why. The president’s associates stressed that the payment to Mr. Cohen was one of several he made privately each month.
Mr. Davis scoffed at that. “You denied the Stormy Daniels affair and that was a lie,” he said. “Now you’re denying that you knew about this payoff and reimbursement that Giuliani says you knew about. So your claim of ignorance doesn’t have any credibility.”
One person who without question was involved, according to multiple people briefed on the events, was Mr. Weisselberg, the Trump Organization chief financial officer. Mr. Cohen told Mr. Weisselberg about the $130,000 wire transfer to Ms. Daniels. Mr. Weisselberg suggested repaying it in installments and told Mr. Cohen to send invoices once a month, according to the people.
By Mr. Cohen’s account, the checks began in February 2017, just weeks after Mr. Trump was inaugurated as president. When Mr. Cohen visited the Oval Office for the first time, he said, Mr. Trump raised the issue of the hush payments in the same room that symbolized the United States’ seat of power……
image…..One of six checks provided to The New York Times. The account number on every check has been redacted.