This Cohen Stuff Could Be For Realz
After all the crazy spin and grasping at straws, I found myself almost shocked to find that...this sounds like it may very well be the real deal. Not shocked...but almost. (And just for the record, can I remind us all that we no longer even bat an eye when discussing the POTUS paying hush money to porn stars?)
posted by Winston Smith at
6:33 AM
3 Comments:
Porn stars, and also ex-white house staffers. His old driver is getting 15G a month(!) from the RNC IN 'consulting fees' to ensure he stays quiet. Omarosa got the same offer. I have a hard time distinguishing this stuff from bribery.
I mean, I'd say we can now declare that we know Trump directly ordered felony campaign finance violations in the form of hush-money for a pr0n actress.
[Obligatory sidebar: Jebus, America. Republicans are tolerating that? For real? I've seen some severe hypocrisy, but this is pretty damaging to my former hypothesis that there were at least some issues about which the republican base was serious and relatively non-partisan.]
I didn't exactly think there was a chance that wasn't true, but to have Cohen plead guilty and directly state it (and likely back it up with recordings of conversations) pretty much seals that one.. I'm sure it will get worse.
Apparently, Mueller's team has so much evidence against Manafort in his upcoming trial that his defense actually complained about the volume. There are hypothetical scenarios in which that would be warranted on the defense side (e.g. the evidence is too weak or irrelevant), but I'm pretty sure Mueller's A-team isn't pulling any of that nonsense..
I think we're finally starting to see the ramping up of results from Mueller. I have expected, and continue to expect, that this will be pretty spectacular. trump and his ilk seem way too obviously and extensively corrupt, and Mueller seems way too obviously and extensively competent, for this to turn out any other way, in my mind.
It's a risky expectation in a world of hyperbole, constant intellectual dishonesty from the news, and whatnot, but so far, given these latest results, things are on track to meet that expectation.
I'll still be surprised if there was clear, substantial collusion with the Rooskies, but I still won't be surprised if there was substantial obstruction--I mean, I don't see any other plausible explanation for the Comey incident. I *won't* be surprised if there was relatively minor and obscure collusion that they might not have understood as collusion...nor if the obstruction involved that.
I haven't given the pr0n star thing much thought, but honestly I don't know who could seriously buy the story that Trump wasn't involved in it. It only slowly dawned on me that that was illegal.
Until that did dawn on me, I rather thought that the Trumpistas were too wiley and prudent to do anything so stupid that they'd get busted red-handed. OTOH, I also thought they might be in even over *their* heads, old hands at this that they must be. They're undoubtedly used to going up against badass prosecutors, right? OTOH, they may not be used to going up against the real A team.
I *will* be pretty funny if they absolutely get their asses handed to them.
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