Michael Cohen's Congressional testimony

Squeegee Beckenheim

Penultimate Amazing
Squeegee Beckenheim
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I feel like this should probably have its own thread.

First, here is his opening written statement in full.

And here is the TL/DR version, thanks to the Failing New York Times.

It's worth bearing in mind that there is claimed documentary support for much of what Cohen is going to say, and that he's already said much, if not all, of what he's going to say to Mueller - in other words, if he contradicts what he's already testified to, then he's in serious legal trouble beyond the trouble he's already in.
 
I see the Cohen testimony as a resource for current and future investigative committees: it doesn't exactly matter if Cohen speaking only the truth and nothing but, or if he has evidence to prove it;
what matters is that future investigators, can use his testimony as the reason for questioning people of interest or even for issuing subpoenas.

I see him as the 2nd stage of the Mueller Grand Opening, with McCabe have laid the initial foundation, and Cohen explaining where all the rooms are going to be.
It will be up to Mueller and prosecutors following his investigations to actually build and fill the house.
 
Well, in all honesty I don't think we're going to learn anything new. I certainly don't think Mueller will. This will just be corroborative evidence for the public, and additional evidence for investigations other than Mueller's.
 
I just hope that Congress treads carefully. Congress compelled Oliver North to testify and it resulted in him escaping criminal liability for Iran Contra on the grounds that he was forced to testify against himself. His convictions were overturned on appeal.

We need to balance priorities here, which is tough when we are totally in the dark in regards to the Mueller probe.
 
Squeegee Beckenheim said:
Well, in all honesty I don't think we're going to learn anything new. I certainly don't think Mueller will. This will just be corroborative evidence for the public, and additional evidence for investigations other than Mueller's.
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I expect that you are quite correct.

After all, so much of what Cohen did for himself and for Trump is already public knowledge.
 
SuburbanTurkey said:
I just hope that Congress treads carefully. Congress compelled Oliver North to testify and it resulted in him escaping criminal liability for Iran Contra on the grounds that he was forced to testify against himself. His convictions were overturned on appeal.
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The charges against North were overturned because it was found that his earlier Congressional testimony may have prejudiced the jury of his later trial. Cohen has already been charged, plead guilty, and been sentenced.
 
Squeegee Beckenheim said:
The charges against North were overturned because it was found that his earlier Congressional testimony may have prejudiced the jury of his later trial. Cohen has already been charged, plead guilty, and been sentenced.
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Thanks for the correction, not sure how I came to that misunderstanding.

My concern still stands that congressional inquiries could make criminal conviction difficult or impossible. North's highly public testimony made it impossible for him to have a fair trial, despite being guilty as sin.

I want as many of these crooks going to jail for as long a possible, not just Cohen. I hope Congress doesn't do anything to endanger that goal. Cohen's testimony today could lead to further inquiry of so-far unindicted participants.
 
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SuburbanTurkey said:
I want as many of these crooks going to jail for as long a possible, not just Cohen. I hope Congress doesn't do anything to endanger that goal. Cohen's testimony today could lead to further inquiry of so-far unindicted participants.
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It's an interesting question as to whether Trump could possibly have an unprejudiced trial. But I don't think Cohen's testimony is going to reveal anything groundbreaking. There's so much in the public domain already.
 
Squeegee Beckenheim said:
Well, in all honesty I don't think we're going to learn anything new. I certainly don't think Mueller will. This will just be corroborative evidence for the public, and additional evidence for investigations other than Mueller's more stuff for the trumpettes to pretend hasn’t happened.
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FTFY.
 
Thermal said:
'He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat.'

Ouch.
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Yes but tell us something we don't know and that didn't make the republicans love him in 2016? I want to hear something new out of this, everyone knew all of that well before he was elected.
 
ponderingturtle said:
Yes but tell us something we don't know and that didn't make the republicans love him in 2016? I want to hear something new out of this, everyone knew all of that well before he was elected.
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But seeing his own start to turn on him might be a harbinger of things to come? Usually the fall guy stays quiet, and gets his pardon/reward on the tail end.
 
Thermal said:
But seeing his own start to turn on him might be a harbinger of things to come? Usually the fall guy stays quiet, and gets his pardon/reward on the tail end.
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Yea but why would any republican legislators care about such old news? They all knew this before he became president so why would it be an issue now?
 
ponderingturtle said:
Yea but why would any republican legislators care about such old news? They all knew this before he became president so why would it be an issue now?
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Because the bag man is going public. It gets harder to publicly deny, and like the #MeToo jazz, others may be inspired to produce some proofs
 
Thermal said:
Because the bag man is going public. It gets harder to publicly deny, and like the #MeToo jazz, others may be inspired to produce some proofs
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Why? Trump university was a clear con and his settlement shows that, so being a conman was not new or shocking. Racism was a feature of his campaign speaches so that isn't new or shocking, the self dealing was clear with his "charity" so his embezzling inauguration funds is again exactly what we would expect.

These are all the traits that won him the presidency they are not serious liabilities with him now. Sure when he gets out of office he might be going to prison right away, but nothing about this is going to change any republicans minds. They all knew this and liked him for it so why the change?

As for MeToo, his own bragging about sexual assault didn't hurt him this won't either.
 
"Cohen's Testimony is like if you condensed every unsupported accusation hurled at President Trump over the last 3 years and then trained a sewer rat to read them in front of congress."

-Carpe Donktum
 
Matthew Best said:
Was he one of the "best people" we were promised?
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BobTheCoward said:
When I think of every mob movie where they call someone a rat, the problem is the person is telling the truth.
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Exactly. The problem for The Big Dog isn't that Cohen is lying. It's that he's telling the truth. That's what really bothers him. In his mind, Cohen should be taking a bullet for Trump. He should be lying for Trump.

Damn that 'rat". :eek:
 
ponderingturtle said:
Why? Trump university was a clear con and his settlement shows that, so being a conman was not new or shocking. Racism was a feature of his campaign speaches so that isn't new or shocking, the self dealing was clear with his "charity" so his embezzling inauguration funds is again exactly what we would expect.

These are all the traits that won him the presidency they are not serious liabilities with him now. Sure when he gets out of office he might be going to prison right away, but nothing about this is going to change any republicans minds. They all knew this and liked him for it so why the change?

As for MeToo, his own bragging about sexual assault didn't hurt him this won't either.
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What are you saying? You would rather Cohen give it a rest?

I say Preach it, Preacher
 
Cohen has said "I wouldn't use the word collusion re Trump". I wonder if those who are trying to dismiss everything he says as a lie will dismiss that?
 
The Big Dog said:
"Cohen's Testimony is like if you condensed every unsupported accusation hurled at President Trump over the last 3 years and then trained a sewer rat to read them in front of congress."

-Carpe Donktum
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Yeah, isn't it amazing? Trump is EXACTLY, the person we ALL...including you Big Dog knew him to be. Racist, narcissistic, sexist, misogynistic, lying POS CON MAN. DID I SAY lying? I meant LYING.
 
Mark Green asked Cohen where he was going to get his income from going forwards (after a tirade about how he wasn't a credible witness, attempting to establish that Cohen is only testifying for the sake of a book deal), to which Cohen replied "I don't imagine I'll have much of an income in prison".
 
Thermal said:
'He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat.'

Ouch.
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One of the things I wish Cohen had was a tape of Trump using the N-word.

Granted, it would not cause a legal problem for him. And his base would probably be fine with it. (Probably make him even more popular among republican voters.)

But, it would 1) show Trump obviously lied (when he claimed he never used that word), and 2) highlight Trump's racism to the electorate.
 
Segnosaur said:
One of the things I wish Cohen had was a tape of Trump using the N-word.

Granted, it would not cause a legal problem for him. And his base would probably be fine with it. (Probably make him even more popular among republican voters.)

But, it would 1) show Trump obviously lied (when he claimed he never used that word), and 2) highlight Trump's racism to the electorate.
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My only concern is Cohen only giving up tabloid fodder. He is still hemming and hawing about collusion. Maybe that's the strategy?
 
A Republican Congressman threatened Cohen yesterday afternoon, claiming that his testimony would lead to the revelation of infidelity, while offering no proof.

Less than 24 hours before former Trump fixer Michael Cohen is scheduled to appear in an open hearing to discuss his relationship with the President of the United States and shed light on his involvement in a hush money scheme involving two women alleging they had affairs with the billionaire businessman, Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz directly threatened Cohen via Twitter.
"Hey @MichaelCohen212," Gaetz tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. "Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she'll remain faithful when you're in prison. She's about to learn a lot..."
Gaetz offered zero proof for his claims of infidelity by Cohen. Speaking to reporters outside his office Tuesday evening, Gaetz defended his tweet, adding that it wasn't a threat. He told reporters his tweet wasn't witness-tampering, but instead was "witness-testing." Gaetz said he's trying to get into Wednesday's hearing to ask questions (he's not on the House Oversight Committee), and he added that he didn't speak with Trump about his allegations.
In an interview with CBS News after the tweet, Gaetz was pressed for evidence of the claim he hinted at on his Twitter feed and he replied: "As the President loves to say, 'We'll see.' "
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Thermal said:
My only concern is Cohen only giving up tabloid fodder. He is still hemming and hawing about collusion. Maybe that's the strategy?
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Or maybe he's limited about what he can talk about when it comes to collusion, because it might interfere with the Mueller investigation.
 
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