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In a morning tweet on Monday, December 3rd, 2018, Trump wrote..."'I will never testify against Trump.' This statement was recently made by Roger Stone, essentially stating that he will not be forced by a rogue and out of control prosecutor to make up lies and stories about 'Trump.' Nice to know that some people still have 'guts'!"
Earlier on the same day, Trump sent a double-tweet slamming his former personal attorney and "fixer" that reads..."'Michael Cohen asks judge for no Prison Time.' You mean he can do all the TERRIBLE, unrelated to Trump, things having to do with fraud, big loans, Taxis, etc., and not serve a long prison term? He makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself, and get...his wife and and father-in-law (who has the money?) off Scott Free. He lied for this outcome and should, in my opinion, serve a full and complete sentence." (Yes, Trump misspelled "taxes.")
One need not be a Harvard lawyer to read between the lines and understand that Trump's words denote that he is prepared to pardon any defendant who doesn't cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but that if a person won't protect Trump by lying about knowledge they have regarding crimes allegedly committed by him then Trump will stand by and watch Mueller send those who stab "The Donald" in the back - metaphorically speaking - to prison.
Unless you've been living in an underground bunker and, therefore, unconnected to the world for nearly the last two years, then you know Trump is accused of conspiring to collude with Russia in an effort to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. You also are aware that Trump could face obstruction of justice charges because he fired James Comey as F.B.I. director in an attempt to put a stop to the Russia investigation. That's not an allegation because it's a fact by Trump himself when - on May 11th, 2017 - he told NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt..."And in fact when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won." So Trump admitted on national television that "this Russia thing" was on his mind when he terminated Comey.
But as the late night infomercial announcer would say..."But wait, there's more." On August 21st, 2018, Michael Cohen implicated Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator when, under oath, Cohen - in a plea deal - testified in a New York federal courthouse that he was "directed" to pay a combined hundreds of thousands of dollars in hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal in order to guarantee their silence before the election that Trump committed adultery by having extra-marital affairs with the two women. It's alleged that Trump used campaign funds to pay the big bucks and that he paid off the women to influence the election, which are violations of the campaign finance law. Cohen acknowledged that he knew at the outset that he was committing a felony by obeying an order from "Individual-1 (who) had become the president of the United States" in January 2017. Trump has labeled Cohen a "liar." In addition, on November 29th, 2018 Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in New York that he lied when he previously stated that a Trump Tower Moscow project had come to an end in January 2016, prior to the Republican caucus in Iowa. "I made these statements to be consistent with Individual-1's political messaging and out of loyalty to Individual-1." Cohen says he had conversations with Trump about the Russian government's willingness to assist in building the Trump real estate complex. Cohen also insists that in 2017 - while Trump was already president - he spoke with Trump's lawyers and members of The White House staff at a time when Cohen designed a falsehood to tell Congress. All of this was part of a cover-up about Trump's participation in the Moscow project and his involvement with Vladimir Putin's Russia.
The bottom line is that now we - the American people - as well as Special Counsel Mueller...have proof that Donald Trump has lied all along when he claimed to have no business dealings with Russia during a campaign in which The Kremlin helped Trump by meddling in our election. Michael Cohen's sworn admission might not only give Trump legal migraines, but his three eldest children and one son-in-law - Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump Kushner, Eric Trump and Jared Kushner - could also be facing a whole heap of trouble with the law.
From a Moscow Trump Tower that never got built...to Trump Tower in Manhattan, which was the site of that infamous June 9th, 2016 meeting with Trump Jr., Kushner and then Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort...there are bound to be more lies that Mueller can prove about that get together with the Russians. On June 3rd, Trump Jr. received the following as part of a string of emails from British publicist and Trump family friend, Rob Goldstone. "The Crown prosecutor of Russia offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government support for Mr. Trump." Seventeen minutes later, Trump Jr. replied to Goldstone. "...if it's what you say I love it especially in the summer."
It is against the law - the campaign finance law - to receive any "thing of value" from a "foreign national" in order to influence an election. It doesn't have to be money. Getting "dirt" on Donald Trump's Democratic opponent - former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - is considered a "thing of value." Meeting with an enemy of the United States - especially one that was attacking our democracy - is inexcusable and unforgivable.
So is Donald Trump looking to get out before his life - as he knows it - and the lives of his family and his company are destroyed with him? Is he fed up with the politics, the people, and the U.S. Constitution that does not allow him to rule our country as he did when he was the day-to-day boss at The Trump Organization? Remember that on June 15th, 2018, Trump - with a serious tone - told Fox News that he wants Americans to treat him as North Koreans do Kim Jong-un. "He's the head of a country, and I mean, he's the strong head. Don't let anyone think different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same." Republicans wanted to spin it that Trump was joking. It's not at all funny for the president of the United States to jest that he wants to be dictator.
After Michael Cohen's testimony and plea deal, sources say Robert Mueller has reportedly elevated Donald Trump in to a central figure of his investigation, if not yet an official target of that probe. But soon... "Individual-1" - as Trump is described in court documents in the Cohen case - is likely to become "Defendant-1." There is much controversy and debate whether a sitting U.S. president can be indicted. But the president of our nation is not above the law. Impeachment and removal from office is not all that Trump could face. There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that would save Donald Trump from being indicted.
So with the handwriting on the wall looking more and more legible, will Trump continue to fight because his narcissism won't let him give in to the "witch hunt" and "hoax" that Trump wrongly believes this to be...or will he throw in the towel and tell Special Counsel Mueller...all Democrats...the "fake news media" (as Trump calls us)...and anybody else who doesn't support him...to go f--- themselves? No matter what Trump says or does may soon be irrelevant because I believe - at some point - Trump isn't going to have a choice...as he will be forced to resign the presidency.
Hey Donald...can you make the following declaration? "I am not a crook." Richard Nixon once uttered those five words...and he was a crook. And Robert Mueller is going to prove...that you are too.
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions. Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.
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What has happened to America, when stating your opinion is possible obstruction of justice and witness tampering, at least by some “legal experts and constitutional scholars?” What happened to “Freedom of Speech,” doesn’t the President still of his Constitutional rights. Not if you talk to the Trump haters.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think the President miss-spelled “taxes” part of the charges against Cohen included his taxi business in NYC.
I love the idea that you like to “read between the lines” but what facts do you have that the President is offering to pardon anyone? We do know that a criminal complaint has been filed with the Justice Department against Mueller and his team or as the President put it “a rogue and out of control prosecutor” for attempting to coerce a witness to lie about President Trump. The charge is that Mueller and his team is unwilling to accept the truth from a witness unless it fits his assumptions. Basically telling people, you either tell the story we want you to tell or we will find something in your past (or we will create something in you past) that we can turn into a crime, charge you and put you in jail. Did I hear someone say “McCarthyism” or maybe the word “witch-hunt?”
I haven’t been living in an “underground bunker” for the last two years and I haven’t seen any evidence that the President or his campaign conspired to collude with the Russians in any way to effect the 2016 election. As for the obstruction of justice claim, having something on your mind, doesn’t make it the major reason you do something or that it makes it wrong or obstruction. What if the President did fire Comey in part for the Russian investigation but not for the reason you claim but because he felt Comey was doing a lousy job overseeing it and was compromised in his performance especially after what many feel was a terrible and unethical job he did with the Hillary investigation. Did Comey decide to go after President Trump to make amends in his mind for reopening the Hillary investigation just before the election? In my opinion he should never have reopened it because it should have gone to a grand jury originally and indicted her. But that didn’t happen so was he trying to get back in the good graces of the mainstream politicians who hate President Trump. Doesn’t the President have not only the right but the obligation to make sure the FBI is being run by a competent, honest, unbiased director isn’t that part of his job? Comey had proven himself to be none of those so with the recommendation of the Assistant AG the President used his legal authority under the Constitution to fire and replace the incompetent Director of the FBI with one he feels is honest and fair. As for the Trump Tower in Moscow that never got built, everyone knew his company was negotiating with the Russian to build it which was 100% legal even while running for President. As for the rest of your column I don’t think you can believe a word Cohen has to say and you must question any and all other statements made by the other targets of the Mueller investigation that have been coerce, pressured or even outright “blackmailed” to tell the story Mueller and his team want told instead of the truth. It seems the Mueller policy is being truthful is not important just telling what we want is.
The following response to the above reader will be in three parts.
DeletePART ONE OF THREE
Wayne, your comments are a mess of mish-mosh as you seemed to ramble on and on. Nevertheless, I will respond.
You bring up "Freedom of Speech." The U.S. Constitution provides all of us with that right. However...that being said...as the saying goes, you can't run in to a crowded theatre and yell "fire" unless there is one. The person who does yell "fire" when there isn't one...is going to be arrested. Donald Trump is making statements that are equivalent to not only shooting himself in the foot, but in the head of his presidency (metaphorically speaking). Trump has never learned to keep his mouth shut. There's little to doubt what Trump meant by his two tweets on December 3rd. What he is basically saying is...if you protect my ass, I'll save yours. And if you don't...you can spend the rest of your life behind bars. If you don't think Trump is going to pardon people who help him, then open your eyes and ears. To "read between the lines" has been used by prosecutors for centuries in order to "get to the truth" (whether that truth is good or bad for the defendant)...and that is exactly what Special Counsel Robert Mueller is doing and will continue to do.
I'm well aware of Michael Cohen's taxi business, but to me it seemed as if Trump misspelled "taxes." But perhaps he was referring to Cohen's taxi business.
You basically are stating that Mueller's investigation was to only seek out facts about Russia's interference in our 2016 election. Many times law enforcement and prosecutors will seek to find a suspected guilty party because of Crime A, but in doing so, they discover that such a party...or subject...or target - along with others - were involved in committing Crime B, Crime C, Crime D and so on. Mueller is not doing anything to "create something" in a person's past. Those Trump cronies who have been convicted of crimes or who have pleaded guilty to crimes...have done so because they were, in fact, guilty of those crimes. There is no "witch-hunt." These individuals - including "Individual-1" (Donald Trump) - has a checkered past. But in that past, he reportedly and allegedly paid off people. The president of the United States cannot pay off people...either with money...or with pardons.
GBD
END OF PART ONE OF THREE
PART TWO OF THREE
DeleteWayne, perhaps you haven't been living in an "underground bunker." However, you didn't read my complete statement. I wrote..."Trump is accused of conspiring to collude with Russia in an effort to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election." The operative word is..."accused." And Trump is indeed "accused" of such action. You may not have seen "any evidence" that Trump has conspired to collude with Russia, but there is plenty of evidence. But evidence is not enough unless that evidence is "direct evidence." That's the legal term. And I'm banking on Mueller that he has that "direct evidence."
I won't even touch much further on the James Comey firing. The quote by Trump to NBC's Lester Holt is clear. I need not comment any more. As for your remark about Hillary Clinton...to respond is pointless. You and other Republicans hate Secretary Clinton and you will continue to slam her when the F.B.I., prosecutors, and even the United States Congress (including some Republicans) have exonerated Mrs. Clinton on everything that you, Trump and some other Republicans wrongly believe that she is guilty of. No grand jury would have indicted the former Secretary of State because there was no evidence...and no "direct evidence" to prove that she did anything wrong.
Donald Trump for more than two years - almost three years - has said he had "NOTHING to do with Russia." The Washington Post Fact Checker reports that Trump has repeatedly used those words and that Trump has done so with regards to his business affairs and the 2016 campaign. We know that is a lie. But as The Post reports...Trump stated during a 2017 press conference that three days after Michael Flynn resigned as national security adviser, Trump told reporters..."to the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with" has anything to do with Russia. That, of course, was not true. Trump's own son had dealings with Russia...and no matter what you may think, nothing in Trumpworld is ever done without "Daddy Donald" knowing about it. The Post also reports the following timeline of facts. On January 11th, 2017, Trump tweeted..."Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA - NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!" In a news conference that day, Trump said... "I tweeted out that I have no dealings with Russia. I have no deals that could happen in Russia because we've stayed away. And I have no loans with Russia." On May 11th, 2017, in that interview with Lester Holt, Trump said again..."I am not involved in Russia. No loans. No nothing." On August 27th, 2017, "The Washington Post reports for the first time that when Trump was running for president, his company pursued a plan to develop a massive Trump Tower in Moscow. But on November 29th, 2018, after the announcement of Michael Cohen's guilty plea, Trump told reporters about Cohen..."He's lying about a project that everybody knew about. I mean, we were very open with it. This deal was a very public deal. Everybody knows about this deal. I wasn't trying to hide anything." That is also a lie. Not "everybody" knew about the deal until it was revealed by The Washington Post on August 27th, 2017. That's nearly one year after the election. These are FACTS, Wayne. You cannot dispute them. And you cannot dispute that Donald Trump has lied. Over and over again...Trump has lied.
GBD
END OF PART TWO OF THREE
PART THREE OF THREE
DeleteWayne, you can try to dispute Michael Cohen's testimony under oath in federal court, but you'd be wrong. For you to believe that Robert Mueller - one of the most admired, respected and revered law enforcement officers in American history...a man who has been praised by Democrats and Republicans alike...and who has served Democratic and Republican presidents...to say that he has ever "coerce(d), pressured or even outright blackmailed" anyone is downright blasphemous. Mueller is out to obtain the truth. But you can't handle the truth. Yes, I actually used those words. But it's true. You cannot handle the fact that Trump's henchmen are guilty of crimes...and that Mueller will likely have all the proof he needs to force Trump to resign because of his own guilt. But then...I bring up Richard Nixon again. There were still some people who didn't believe Nixon's guilt...even after he resigned. Face the facts, Wayne. In less than a month, Democrats will control the House of Representatives...and everything that has been hidden by Republicans over the last two years will be discovered and disclosed. Just wait and see what happens after that.
GBD
END OF PART THREE OF THREE
Once again you make no sense, yelling fire in a crowded theater puts people in harm’s way, saying if someone lied they should rot in jail does not. I will agree President Trump sometimes needs to keep his mouth shut. But not doing that is not a crime.
DeleteAs for Mueller’s so called investigation if it is so on the up and up why has there been a criminal complaint filed with the Justice Department saying they are trying to get witness to lie? Now we are getting more people claiming they wanted them to lie. Please backup you statement that the President of the USA allegedly paid off someone after committing a crime. Just as a point of fact the President can pardon anyone for any reason for any federal crime, period. Just read the Constitution.
You claim there is “plenty of evidence” that the President conspired to collude with Russia, please backup your statement. Attempting to get factual dirt on your opponent is not conspiring or colluding.
How does possibly ling about trying to build a building in Moscow matter to Mueller it was not illegal to try and do a deal in Russia, it’s not illegal to lie about it to the public and we all know President Trump stretches the truth.
You make Michael Cohen sound like a saint, I don’t know about you but if I was faced with 20 years in jail for something I may or may not have done and I got offered a deal to lie and backup a corrupt prosecutor to get off or only 6 months, that would be a tough decision and I’m not sure what I would do.
You can say all you want that “Robert Mueller - one of the most admired, respected and revered law enforcement officers in American history” is a fair and honest guy which may have been true 2 years ago but I believe he has crossed to the dark side. I don’t hate Hillary I just believe she was guilty, you on the other hand spew hate in every column.
The following response to the above reader will be in three parts.
DeletePART ONE OF THREE
Wayne, Wayne, Wayne...you just don't want to get it. You claim to be smart about the law and the Constitution when it comes to a U.S. president, but what you just don't seem to understand is that NO president of the United States is above the law. Donald Trump thinks that he is...and apparently you agree with him. By Trump making the statements he does in his tweets...well...that's obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Read the statutes.
You aren't serious about conservative author Jerome Corsi's complaint against Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigative team, are you? Corsi is a hack whose got his head so far up Trump's ass that if Trump were to part his orange hair Corsi would pop out from Trump's scalp. Corsi claims that Mueller's investigators "criminally threatened and coerced (him) to tell a lie and call it the truth," so says the complaint. But like Trump, Corsi will lie and say the sky is bright red if Trump says the sky is bright red.
Corsi is a hater of Democrats. He hates President Obama and hates the Clintons. Corsi wrote the anti-Obama book, "The Obama Nation" and he's in bed with Roger Stone, another of Trump's flunkies who will be indicted in the not too distant future. Just this evening, Stone told Congress that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right in the Senate's Russia probe and, therefore, will not testify in response to requests for documents and testimony. Robert Mueller is also looking at Stone as someone who allegedly communicated with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign. Corsi claims he was improperly pressured by Mueller's investigators to agree to a plea deal. Corsi will say anything because even if he is found to be perjuring himself, he figures Trump will pardon him. Once again, Trump thinks he is above the law...even when he obstructs justice by getting his henchmen to lie for him. THAT, once again, is witness tampering. Trump will get as many people as he can to lie for him because a pardon dangles in front of them.
You actually want me to "backup" that Trump "allegedly paid off people." Michael Cohen lied for Trump...time and time again. Cohen was paid by Trump for that illegal activity. That's a pay-off. Cohen has admitted to it under oath in federal court. Also through Cohen, Trump paid Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal to keep them quiet during a presidential campaign and election season. He paid them off. What do you think hush money is? And there are reports going back many years that Trump has allegedly acted in similar ways with other people.
Wayne, Wayne, Wayne...please don't tell me to read the Constitution when you clearly don't know what you're talking about. Trump cannot pardon anyone when agreeing to do so is obstruction of justice. Trump cannot obstruct justice...tell people to lie for him...and tell them not to worry because he will pardon them. THAT is obstruction of justice. Once again...Trump is NOT above the law. Oh I know you and Trump think that he can do what he wants, but the Constitution that you want to refer to all the time does not make Trump "dictator of the United States."
GBD
END OF PART ONE OF THREE
PART TWO OF THREE
DeleteOnce again Wayne you are clueless to what is legal and what is illegal. I already explained in my column that "It is against the law - the campaign finance law - to receive any 'thing of value' from a 'foreign national' in order to influence an election. It doesn't have to be money. Getting 'dirt' on Donald Trump's Democratic opponent - former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - is considered a 'thing of value.' Meeting with an enemy of the United States - especially one that was attacking our democracy - is inexcusable and unforgivable." And...it is illegal. THAT is conspiring to collude with Russia. Plus...as I noted in an earlier comment to you and as I have written in other columns from the past..."no matter what you may think, nothing in Trumpworld is ever done without 'Daddy Donald' knowing about it." That infamous Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr. is all part of the conspiracy.
Wayne, even though I disagree agree with you, I do read the remarks that you write. It's apparent that you only skim what I write because you continue to repeat yourself. In my column I wrote..."...on November 29th, 2018 Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in New York that he lied when he previously stated that a Trump Tower Moscow project had come to an end in January 2016, prior to the Republican caucus in Iowa. 'I made these statements to be consistent with Individual-1's political messaging and out of loyalty to Individual-1.' Cohen says he had conversations with Trump about the Russian government's willingness to assist in building the Trump real estate complex. Cohen also insists that in 2017 - while Trump was already president - he spoke with Trump's lawyers and members of The White House staff at a time when Cohen designed a falsehood to tell Congress. All of this was part of a cover-up about Trump's participation in the Moscow project and his involvement with Vladimir Putin's Russia."
GBD
END OF PART TWO OF THREE
PART THREE OF THREE
DeleteI really don't want to copy and paste from my earlier response, but I suppose I have to do it in order to get you to understand the FACTS. But here's more.
Donald Trump for more than two years - almost three years - has said he had "NOTHING to do with Russia." The Washington Post Fact Checker reports that Trump has repeatedly used those words and that Trump has done so with regards to his business affairs and the 2016 campaign. We know that is a lie. But as The Post reports...Trump stated during a 2017 press conference that three days after Michael Flynn resigned as national security adviser, Trump told reporters..."to the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with" has anything to do with Russia. That, of course, was not true. Trump's own son had dealings with Russia...and no matter what you may think, nothing in Trumpworld is ever done without "Daddy Donald" knowing about it. The Post also reports the following timeline of facts. On January 11th, 2017, Trump tweeted..."Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA - NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!" In a news conference that day, Trump said... "I tweeted out that I have no dealings with Russia. I have no deals that could happen in Russia because we've stayed away. And I have no loans with Russia." On May 11th, 2017, in that interview with Lester Holt, Trump said again..."I am not involved in Russia. No loans. No nothing." On August 27th, 2017, "The Washington Post reports for the first time that when Trump was running for president, his company pursued a plan to develop a massive Trump Tower in Moscow. But on November 29th, 2018, after the announcement of Michael Cohen's guilty plea, Trump told reporters about Cohen..."He's lying about a project that everybody knew about. I mean, we were very open with it. This deal was a very public deal. Everybody knows about this deal. I wasn't trying to hide anything." That is also a lie. Not "everybody" knew about the deal until it was revealed by The Washington Post on August 27th, 2017. That's nearly one year after the election. These are FACTS, Wayne. You cannot dispute them. And you cannot dispute that Donald Trump has lied. Over and over again...Trump has lied.
Trump lied during the 2016 campaign about his involvement with Russia. He did so to influence the election. Trump knew that if Independents knew about Trump having deals with Vladimir Putin that most of those Independents who were supporting him would have run so far away from him and they would have voted for Hillary Clinton. Influencing an election in such ways is against the law.
Michael Cohen is no saint. But remember, Cohen once said he would "take a bullet" for Trump. But when push came to shove, Trump turned against Cohen. So it's now Cohen's turn to turn against Trump by TELLING THE TRUTH.
As for Robert Mueller and your accusation that he has "crossed to the dark side"...all I can do is laugh at your ludicrous comment.
Wayne, Wayne, Wayne...for you to say that you don't "hate Hillary" after the comments you have made over many, many years...is a joke. As for me...I do not "spew hate in every column." I merely tell the truth.
GBD
END OF PART THREE OF THREE