Michael Cohen, the former lawyer, media attack dog and all-around fixer for U.S. President Donald Trump, has arrived at an upstate New York prison to start a three-year sentence for crimes including campaign finance violations related to hush-money payments made on Trump's behalf.
Cohen has 3 years of solitude to write a book on Trump’s crimes.
"I hope that when I rejoin my family and friends that the country will be in a place without xenophobia, injustice and lies at the helm of our country."
"There still remains much to be told. And I look forward to the day that I can share the truth."
The use of “Individual-1” seems like a bulky and unnecessary contrivance. But what's actually going on here?
Donald J Trump #Individual1 no charges yet... COMING SOON .., 2019
The U.S. Attorneys' Manual (a guidebook for federal prosecutors) supplies an answer:
"Ordinarily, there is no need to name a person as an unindicted co-conspirator in an indictment [or other court document] in order to fulfill any legitimate prosecutorial interest or duty…. In any indictment where an allegation that the defendant conspired with 'another person or persons known' is insufficient, some other generic reference should be used, such as 'Employee 1' or 'Company 2.'”
So, prosecutors adhered to the rules when they referred to the president as “Individual-1.” What’s the rationale behind this? Again, the guidebook is helpful:
“In all public filings and proceedings, federal prosecutors should remain sensitive to the privacy and reputation interests of uncharged third-parties.... [T]his means that, in the absence of some significant justification, it is not appropriate to identify … a third-party wrongdoer unless that party has been officially charged with the misconduct at issue…. [T]here is ordinarily 'no legitimate governmental interest served' by the government's public allegation of wrongdoing by an uncharged party…."
Putin’s spokesperson knew Cohen lied to Congress — and helped him cover it up.
Michael Cohen confessed to colluding with Russia. Dmitry Peskov helped Cohen cover up emails and calls about the Moscow Project during the Presidential Election.
Giving Russia #Kompromat on Cohen and Trump 💣
It’s only a matter of time before Mueller indicts Dmitry Peskov
It’s only a matter of time before Mueller links this to Trump 💣
Michael Cohen’s plea deal for making false statements to Congress doesn’t just indicate that he lied about the Trump Organization’s attempt to get a real estate project off the ground in Russia — it also indicates that the Kremlin helped in the cover-up.
In August 2017, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that he received an email from Cohen, who was then Donald Trump’s lawyer and an executive at the Trump Organization, in January 2016. Cohen’s email asked for help with a development project in Russia. Peskov said he never responded to Cohen’s query.
But as Trump’s contacts with Russia came under increased scrutiny in the summer of 2017, both Cohen and the Kremlin decided to lie about it, pretending they’d never successfully connected.
But according to the plea agreement Cohen agreed to in federal court on Thursday, it turns out both he and Peskov were lying.
"The Kremlin has blackmail material over the president. Lying to Congress is a criminal offense. The Kremlin knew for more than a year that the story Trump’s longtime lawyer and personal fixer told Congress wasn’t true. Cohen also knew that the Russians knew this — and could have exposed his lies, if they’d wanted to.”
Last year, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Cohen’s outreach on the Trump Tower Moscow deal received no response. As Cohen’s plea demonstrates, they lied. They helped Trump by providing false corroboration. This is a counterintelligence nightmare.
Corporate Finance Violation carries a maximum sentence of FIVE years in prison
Trump is the Liar in Chief. National Disgrace. Believe Me!
Cohen, who was Trump's longtime lawyer, pleaded guilty to violating two campaign finance rules — willfully causing a corporate finance violation and making an excessive campaign contribution.
Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and involved hush-money payments to two women who said they had relationships with Trump.
