David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Methinks many folks are beginning to realize why I have been enjoying watching this circus so much lately N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2019/01/michael-cohen-says-rigging-polls-was-at.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/giuliani-trump-mueller-collusion-1.4983035
Giuliani just made it a lot harder for Trump to cry 'witch hunt'
Comments was the tally before I refreshed the page now its 2039
Commenting is now closed for this story.
Commenting is now closed for this story.
Liam Young
We're watching the disintegration of the US right before our eyes. Welcome to the world of conservative mismanagement.
David R. Amos
@Liam Young Methinks many folks are beginning to realize why I have been enjoying watching this circus so much lately N'esy Pas?
https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Methinks its unthinkable to even consider that Trump would have to order his greedy Yankee lawyer to lie N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2019/01/michael-cohen-says-rigging-polls-was-at.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/cohen-trump-buzzfeed-1.4983384
U.S. Congress to probe BuzzFeed report that Trump directed Cohen to lie
EDITOR'S NOTE: The U.S. special counsel's office has issued a rare public statement disputing the accuracy of BuzzFeed News's report that President Donald Trump told his personal attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress.
The statement says: "BuzzFeed's description of specific statements to the Special Counsel's Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen's Congressional testimony are not accurate."
Comments
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David R. Amos
Methinks its unthinkable to even consider that Trump would have to order his greedy Yankee lawyer to lie N'esy Pas?
Elmer (Elmo) Fludd
@David R. Amos
His fibs are so far out, they MUST get his approval.
His fibs are so far out, they MUST get his approval.
David R. Amos
@Elmer (Elmo) Fludd Methinks
that Trump knows that I spoke to Cohen personally 3 times before the FBI
did their big raid and he turned coat on the Prez. Each time Mikey
played dumb about the documents I had been sending Trump and his lawyers
ever since his old boss came down the escalator in the summer of 2015.
This is just one of the files I sent pages 2 and 5 should make any US
Special Counsel or Attorney General sit up and pay attention N'esy Pas?
https://www.scribd.com/document/2619437/CROSS-BORDER
https://www.scribd.com/document/2619437/CROSS-BORDER
Bill Nest
Get rid of him before he instructs the military to march into Congress. At this point, nothing would be a surprise.
Paul Knapp
@Bill Nest the military swore
an oath to protect the constitution against all enemies, both foreign
and domestic. The military would refuse such an order.
Richard Sharp
@Paul Knapp
The US military aren’t always so honourable. Eisenhower and Kennedy had to stop them from starting a nuclear war. Remember Vietnam? The countless other countries the Americans invaded, bombed and destroyed since, killing, maiming and displacing tens of millions?
The US military aren’t always so honourable. Eisenhower and Kennedy had to stop them from starting a nuclear war. Remember Vietnam? The countless other countries the Americans invaded, bombed and destroyed since, killing, maiming and displacing tens of millions?
David R. Amos
@Richard Sharp Methinks you should read statement 83 of my lawsuit against the Crown real slow sometime N'esy Pas?
Darcy Wells
@Richard Sharp The Vietnam
war was entirely motivated by politics and fear, which at the time, the
white House's goal was to oppose the rising communist wave.
The U.S. military is a tool, I doubt it has a will of it's own. But I also believe some generals would refuse, even at the threat of a court Martial, to mount a coup.
The U.S. military is a tool, I doubt it has a will of it's own. But I also believe some generals would refuse, even at the threat of a court Martial, to mount a coup.
https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Methinks some folks must have read the emails I got from Cohen by now N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2019/01/michael-cohen-says-rigging-polls-was-at.html
#nbpoli #cdnpoli #Trump #Trudeau #FBI #RCMP
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/cohen-poll-rigging-was-at-the-direction-of-trump-1.4981747
James Fitzgibbon
Mark Sobkow
Jason James
Jason Baker
Mark Oliver
André Bérubé
Gary McGarry
Jamie Robins
Ray Boychuk
Lon Chaney
A
screengrab shows an interview between CNN host Chris Cuomo, left, and
U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani
admitted on Wednesday that collusion may have occurred between Trump
campaign associates and the Russians during the 2016 presidential
election. (CNN)
As
for what provoked his comments on CNN in the first place? It's possible
he's preparing for potential criminal charges against Trump
associates as the special counsel probe racks up more convictions and
guilty pleas, said Julie Grohovsky, a former federal prosecutor who
worked in Mueller's office at the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C.
"He's having to shift his position to deal with reality, which is [that] people on the campaign have pled guilty, or been found guilty" for various crimes, she said.
Giuliani may be expecting a cascade of damaging new evidence in the coming weeks that might point to collusion.
He has established a pattern of moving the goal posts at interesting times.
Last May, he appeared to surprise Fox News presenter Sean Hannity when he suddenly revealed that Trump had repaid his fixer Michael Cohen the $130,000 that Cohen had paid in hush money to Stormy Daniels, the pornographic actress who alleges she had an affair with Trump.
Trump had previously claimed he had no idea Cohen made the payment.
Trump
listens during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in
Washington on Dec. 13. Trump himself has tweeted dozens of times there
was 'no collusion,' including by campaign associates. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
Giuliani
might have good reason to try to change the collusion narrative, given
what's expected to come. He has reportedly said he expects Mueller's
findings to be "horrific" for Trump.
Cohen has since flipped on the president, pleading guilty last year to lying to Congress, as well as to committing campaign finance violations and financial crimes. He began co-operating with Mueller's team and is due next month to testify before Congress.
Trump's ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort, who pleaded guilty in September on financial charges, is alleged to have shared 2016 polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik, who has ties with Russian intelligence.
And Mueller's team this week filed nearly 200 pages of new material on Manafort.
The timing of Giuliani's backtrack suggests anticipation that those heavily redacted Manafort filings could document more concrete evidence of collusion, say observers.
"Certainly it's a strategy to try to lessen the blow of the information hitting the press," Grohovsky said.
He might even be girding the president in the event of impeachment, offering Republican senators more justification to vote not to convict him in the Senate, should that scenario arise.
Michael
Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, left, is due to testify before
Congress next month. Former campaign manager Paul Manafort had agreed to
co-operate, but it was recently revealed that deal had fallen through. (Craig Ruttle/Alexandria Detention Center/Associated Press )
"It
is possible that Giuliani's efforts to distance Trump from Manafort and
others is not only based on a fear of a criminal prosecution, but also
about giving GOP politicians room to avoid calling for impeachment and
removal," former Southern District of New York federal prosecutor Harry
Sandick wrote in an email.
At the same time, the decision to wall off the president from collusion accusations while leaving his associates — including his own family members — vulnerable could spell trouble for people like Manafort.
As Sandick noted: "Trump continues to say what a fine person Manafort is — a position that is hard to reconcile with a defense that blames Manafort as a greedy person who violated the law."
Insulating the president from possible inculpatory material appears to be Giuliani's ultimate strategy for now. And that may require admitting that collusion may have taken place after all.
To Litman, there's an irony there, given how the White House has attacked Mueller's mission.
"It's a real concession to the probe's overall legitimacy," he said.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
Michael
Cohen, former personal lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump, gets
into an elevator at Trump Tower in 2016 in New York City. Trump told
Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations over a real estate project
in Moscow, a BuzzFeed News report claims. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
U.S.
President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, said Thursday
that Trump directed him to pay a firm to rig polling data ahead of the
2016 election. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2019/01/michael-cohen-says-rigging-polls-was-at.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/cohen-poll-rigging-was-at-the-direction-of-trump-1.4981747
Michael Cohen says rigging polls 'was at the direction of' Trump
Comments
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Commenting is now closed for this story.
James Fitzgibbon
Trump's corruption makes Nixon look like a rank amateur.
Content disabled.
David R. Amos
@James Fitzgibbon Methinks some folks must have read the emails I got from Cohen by now N'esy Pas?
Lou Parks
@James Fitzgibbon
Cohen is a͟l͟l͟e͟g͟i͟n͟g͟ something.
There's no report of
his allegation being c̲o̲r̲r̲o̲b̲o̲r̲a̲t̲e̲d̲,
never mind p͟r͟o͟v͟e͟n͟.
Cohen is a͟l͟l͟e͟g͟i͟n͟g͟ something.
There's no report of
his allegation being c̲o̲r̲r̲o̲b̲o̲r̲a̲t̲e̲d̲,
never mind p͟r͟o͟v͟e͟n͟.
Andreas Burnett
@James Fitzgibbon
Where was the outrage when Bush hunted WMDs and opened Guantanamo? He didn't threaten the globalist pie did he?
Drain that swamp. Whether you hate DT or not, "Drain the swamp" is a good non-partisan mantra. "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance..."
Where was the outrage when Bush hunted WMDs and opened Guantanamo? He didn't threaten the globalist pie did he?
Drain that swamp. Whether you hate DT or not, "Drain the swamp" is a good non-partisan mantra. "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance..."
David R. Amos
@James Fitzgibbon Methinks some folks must have read the emails I got from Cohen by now N'esy Pas?
Mark Sobkow
Giuliani should have cut it short at "Trump has no knowledge." Of anything.
Darius Spence
@Mark Sobkow
Giuliani has zero credibility
Giuliani has zero credibility
David R. Amos
@Mark Sobkow Trust that Giuliani knows everything
David R. Amos
@Darius Spence "Giuliani has zero credibility"
Oh My My Methinks you are referring to the Yankee lawyer Rudolph Giuliani who received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II Even though his boss Mr Trump is not supposed to recognize such titles bestowed on a fellow American most Yankee lawyers call themselves Esquires anyway N'esy Pas?
Oh My My Methinks you are referring to the Yankee lawyer Rudolph Giuliani who received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II Even though his boss Mr Trump is not supposed to recognize such titles bestowed on a fellow American most Yankee lawyers call themselves Esquires anyway N'esy Pas?
Jason James
Duh, it's known (to those who
aren't blind tRump followers, that he didn't win fair and square. Heck,
he lost the popular vote (the one that SHOULD determine the winner).
Gorden Feist
@Jason James
One person, one vote. And the electoral college to declare the Republican candidate the winner.
One person, one vote. And the electoral college to declare the Republican candidate the winner.
Andreas Burnett
@Jason James
Look up the difference between a democracy and a republic. I for one am not keen to return to mob rule and witch trials. Have a nice day!
Look up the difference between a democracy and a republic. I for one am not keen to return to mob rule and witch trials. Have a nice day!
David R. Amos
@Gorden Feist True
Jason Baker
It's just a matter of time
before Rudy Giuliani ends up like Michael Cohen. Is it stupidity? Blind
loyalty? Or does Trump have something on these guys?
Andreas Burnett
@Jason Baker
No convictions for the GFC ($24 TRillion in "off balance sheet" transactions), no serious convictions for torture or the lack of finding WMDs. Yet, people are outraged about this?
So this is fake news? Kind of like fake justice?
No convictions for the GFC ($24 TRillion in "off balance sheet" transactions), no serious convictions for torture or the lack of finding WMDs. Yet, people are outraged about this?
So this is fake news? Kind of like fake justice?
David R. Amos
@Jason Baker Methinks its
none of the above but simple human greed that glues the narcissistic
power hungry sociopaths together no matter what country they play their
political games within for their benefit not ours N'esy Pas?
Mark Oliver
This would be a great smoking
gun if there's definitive proof such as a recording. I hope Mueller has
definitive, incontestable proof of Trumps illegalities that end this
charade once and for all.
David R. Amos
@Mark Oliver Methinks folks
should check out page two of this file trust that Cohen and Trump know
that Giuliani and legions of other lawyers got a copy of it about 14
years ago. Interesting N'esy Pas?
https://www.scribd.com/document/2619437/CROSS-BORDER
https://www.scribd.com/document/2619437/CROSS-BORDER
André Bérubé
I hope that Donald Trump reality show presidency hits a brick wall; the sooner the better.
Ian McCorriston
@André Bérubé When Trumph is gone the U.S. is still left with the problems that enable him to get elected in the first place.
André Bérubé
@Ian McCorriston
I agree but but at least Trump's reality TV presidential performance will be over.
I agree but but at least Trump's reality TV presidential performance will be over.
David R. Amos
@André Bérubé Methinks many folks are enjoying the circus N'esy Pas?
Gary McGarry
It's not about respecting the
institution or process of democracy it's all about winning. Only Trump
and the GOP could make politics a zero sum game. And the rest of the
world pays the price.
Gorden Feist
@Gary McGarry "Only Trump and the GOP could make politics a zero sum game. "
No, that's the global conservative mindset.
No, that's the global conservative mindset.
David R. Amos
@Gorden Feist and the liberal one as well
Jamie Robins
Those Americans who voted for Trump and continue to support him, deserve govt shutdowns, no jobs and no money!
Gryphon Hobbes
@Jamie Robins - Unfortunately a lot of good people are getting hurt by it too.
Clifton Tremblay
@Jamie Robins That's Trump-like thinking
james dougmore
@Jamie Robins ....their children too?
David R. Amos
@Jamie Robins Methinks you seem bitter N'esy Pas?
Ray Boychuk
"If you dont cheat, youre not trying"
- Republicans
- Republicans
David R. Amos
@Ray Boychuk Methinks the same could be said of your favourite politicians too N'esy Pas?
Lon Chaney
Donnie, Donnie, Donnie...You know it's time for the hammer to fall...
David R. Amos
@Lon Chaney True but on who?
Giuliani just made it a lot harder for Trump to cry 'witch hunt'
Lawyer's about-face on collusion helps legitimize Mueller probe, legal experts say
No collusion. No collusion. No collusion.
U.S. President Donald Trump's legal team had a simple, consistent message to sell for the last year and a half — only for one of Trump's lawyers to blow it up by introducing his own line this week. With a sudden pivot on the question of collusion, former federal prosecutors said, Rudy Giuliani ended up legitimizing special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling and whether Trump associates conspired.
Giuliani made his walkback on Wednesday night, telling CNN's Chris Cuomo that he "never" contested that collusion may have occurred. Rather, Giuliani insisted, he merely denied that "the president of the United States" was involved.
Cuomo looked flabbergasted. The CNN host challenged that Giuliani had indeed stated in the past there was no collusion by the Trump campaign with the Russians.
"I never said there was no collusion between the campaign or between people in the campaign," Giuliani claimed.
"Yes, you did," Cuomo said.
"No, I did not. I said the president of the United States" did not collude, Giuliani said.
The
lawyer and former New York mayor's latest attempt to recast the
narrative on the Trump-Russia affair sounded to legal scholars like a
bid to get ahead of a possible Trump impeachment in the House and
imminent developments in Mueller's investigation.
It was also perhaps the Trump legal team's biggest concession yet that Mueller's probe isn't the "witch hunt" they've claimed. The admission that collusion may have occurred in any form was a startling departure. Trump himself has tweeted dozens of times there was "no collusion" — period, including by campaign associates.
In
a widely cited July 2018 interview with Fox News contributor Guy
Benson, Giuliani was also asked directly: "Is it still the position of
you and your client that there was no collusion with the Russians
whatsoever on behalf of the Trump campaign?"
"Correct," Giuliani answered.
The sharp reversal is "very grave," said Harry Litman, a former U.S. attorney and deputy assistant attorney general.
"But it also means this whole trash-talking of the last year and a half of the Mueller probe as a 'witch hunt' has to completely fold up shop now," he said.
"Because
from this basic concession, there's certainly no 'witch hunt' now. How
can you not seriously go after what you concede is a collusion between
the highest members of the campaign — maybe just not the candidate — and
a hostile foreign nation?"
In other words, rather than try to dismiss Mueller's probe, Giuliani only served to validate it.
(In a statement issued Thursday, Giuliani rephrased his position again. "I can only speak of what I know, and that is that I have no knowledge that anyone on the campaign illegally colluded with Russia," he said.)
U.S. President Donald Trump's legal team had a simple, consistent message to sell for the last year and a half — only for one of Trump's lawyers to blow it up by introducing his own line this week. With a sudden pivot on the question of collusion, former federal prosecutors said, Rudy Giuliani ended up legitimizing special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling and whether Trump associates conspired.
Giuliani made his walkback on Wednesday night, telling CNN's Chris Cuomo that he "never" contested that collusion may have occurred. Rather, Giuliani insisted, he merely denied that "the president of the United States" was involved.
Cuomo looked flabbergasted. The CNN host challenged that Giuliani had indeed stated in the past there was no collusion by the Trump campaign with the Russians.
"I never said there was no collusion between the campaign or between people in the campaign," Giuliani claimed.
"Yes, you did," Cuomo said.
"No, I did not. I said the president of the United States" did not collude, Giuliani said.
It was also perhaps the Trump legal team's biggest concession yet that Mueller's probe isn't the "witch hunt" they've claimed. The admission that collusion may have occurred in any form was a startling departure. Trump himself has tweeted dozens of times there was "no collusion" — period, including by campaign associates.
"I never said there was no collusion between the campaign or between people in the campaign... I have not. I said the President of the United States," Pres. Trump’s attorney @RudyGiuliani tells @ChrisCuomo https://cnn.it/2FwzM5o
"Correct," Giuliani answered.
The sharp reversal is "very grave," said Harry Litman, a former U.S. attorney and deputy assistant attorney general.
"But it also means this whole trash-talking of the last year and a half of the Mueller probe as a 'witch hunt' has to completely fold up shop now," he said.
In other words, rather than try to dismiss Mueller's probe, Giuliani only served to validate it.
(In a statement issued Thursday, Giuliani rephrased his position again. "I can only speak of what I know, and that is that I have no knowledge that anyone on the campaign illegally colluded with Russia," he said.)
There is No Collusion! The Robert Mueller Rigged Witch Hunt, headed now by 17 (increased from 13, including an Obama White House lawyer) Angry Democrats, was started by a fraudulent Dossier, paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC. Therefore, the Witch Hunt is an illegal Scam!
"He's having to shift his position to deal with reality, which is [that] people on the campaign have pled guilty, or been found guilty" for various crimes, she said.
Giuliani may be expecting a cascade of damaging new evidence in the coming weeks that might point to collusion.
He has established a pattern of moving the goal posts at interesting times.
Last May, he appeared to surprise Fox News presenter Sean Hannity when he suddenly revealed that Trump had repaid his fixer Michael Cohen the $130,000 that Cohen had paid in hush money to Stormy Daniels, the pornographic actress who alleges she had an affair with Trump.
Trump had previously claimed he had no idea Cohen made the payment.
Cohen has since flipped on the president, pleading guilty last year to lying to Congress, as well as to committing campaign finance violations and financial crimes. He began co-operating with Mueller's team and is due next month to testify before Congress.
Trump's ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort, who pleaded guilty in September on financial charges, is alleged to have shared 2016 polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik, who has ties with Russian intelligence.
And Mueller's team this week filed nearly 200 pages of new material on Manafort.
The timing of Giuliani's backtrack suggests anticipation that those heavily redacted Manafort filings could document more concrete evidence of collusion, say observers.
"Certainly it's a strategy to try to lessen the blow of the information hitting the press," Grohovsky said.
He might even be girding the president in the event of impeachment, offering Republican senators more justification to vote not to convict him in the Senate, should that scenario arise.
At the same time, the decision to wall off the president from collusion accusations while leaving his associates — including his own family members — vulnerable could spell trouble for people like Manafort.
As Sandick noted: "Trump continues to say what a fine person Manafort is — a position that is hard to reconcile with a defense that blames Manafort as a greedy person who violated the law."
Insulating the president from possible inculpatory material appears to be Giuliani's ultimate strategy for now. And that may require admitting that collusion may have taken place after all.
To Litman, there's an irony there, given how the White House has attacked Mueller's mission.
"It's a real concession to the probe's overall legitimacy," he said.
About the Author
U.S. Congress to probe BuzzFeed report that Trump directed Cohen to lie
Key Democrat says he will 'do what's necessary' to confirm report
The Democratic chairs of two U.S. House
committees pledged Friday to investigate a report that President Donald
Trump directed his personal lawyer to lie to Congress about
negotiations over a real estate project in Moscow during the 2016
election.
House intelligence committee chair Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, said "we will do what's necessary to find out if it's true." He said the allegation Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie in his 2017 testimony to Congress "in an effort to curtail the investigation and cover up his business dealings with Russia is among the most serious to date."
The chair of the House judiciary committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, said directing a subordinate to lie to Congress is a federal crime.
"The @HouseJudiciary Committee's job is to get to the bottom of it, and we will do that work," Nadler tweeted.
The report by BuzzFeed News, citing two unnamed law enforcement officials, says Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress and Cohen regularly briefed Trump and his family on the Moscow project — even as Trump said he had no business dealings with Russia.
The Associated Press has not independently confirmed the BuzzFeed report.
An
adviser to Cohen, Lanny Davis, declined to comment on the substance of
the article, saying he and Cohen wouldn't answer questions out of
respect for special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.
Mueller is investigating Russia meddling in the election and contacts with the Trump campaign.
The BuzzFeed story says Cohen told Mueller that Trump personally instructed him to lie about the timing of the project in order to obscure Trump's involvement.
Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, scoffed at the report, saying in a statement, "If you believe Cohen I can get you a good all cash deal on the Brooklyn Bridge."
Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress in 2017 to cover up that he was negotiating the real estate deal in Moscow on Trump's behalf during the heat of his presidential campaign. The charge was brought by Mueller and was the result of his co-operation with that probe.
Cohen
stands behind Trump as a group of supporters lay hands on Trump in
prayer in September 2016. Cohen is scheduled to testify before the House
oversight and reform committee next month. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Cohen
was recently sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty
to tax crimes, bank fraud and campaign violations. He is scheduled to
testify before the House oversight and reform committee Feb. 7.
The report comes as House Democrats have promised a thorough look into Trump's ties to Russia.
Though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has discouraged any talk of impeachment in the early days of her new majority, some senior Democrats said that if the BuzzFeed report is true, Trump's actions could rise to that level.
"If the @BuzzFeed story is true, President Trump must resign or be impeached," tweeted Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, a member of the House intelligence panel.
Rhode
Island Rep. David Cicilline, a member of the House judiciary committee,
tweeted that if Trump directed Cohen to lie, "that is obstruction of
justice. Period. Full stop."
William Barr, Trump's nominee for attorney general, said at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday that a president or anyone else who directs a witness to lie is illegally obstructing an investigation. That statement attracted attention given Barr's expansive views of presidential powers and his belief that presidents can't be scrutinized by prosecutors for acts the Constitution allows them to take.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and PracticesHouse intelligence committee chair Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, said "we will do what's necessary to find out if it's true." He said the allegation Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie in his 2017 testimony to Congress "in an effort to curtail the investigation and cover up his business dealings with Russia is among the most serious to date."
The chair of the House judiciary committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, said directing a subordinate to lie to Congress is a federal crime.
"The @HouseJudiciary Committee's job is to get to the bottom of it, and we will do that work," Nadler tweeted.
BuzzFeed story cites 2 unnamed sources
The report by BuzzFeed News, citing two unnamed law enforcement officials, says Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress and Cohen regularly briefed Trump and his family on the Moscow project — even as Trump said he had no business dealings with Russia.
The Associated Press has not independently confirmed the BuzzFeed report.
Mueller is investigating Russia meddling in the election and contacts with the Trump campaign.
The BuzzFeed story says Cohen told Mueller that Trump personally instructed him to lie about the timing of the project in order to obscure Trump's involvement.
Giuliani scoffs at report
Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, scoffed at the report, saying in a statement, "If you believe Cohen I can get you a good all cash deal on the Brooklyn Bridge."
Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress in 2017 to cover up that he was negotiating the real estate deal in Moscow on Trump's behalf during the heat of his presidential campaign. The charge was brought by Mueller and was the result of his co-operation with that probe.
The report comes as House Democrats have promised a thorough look into Trump's ties to Russia.
Though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has discouraged any talk of impeachment in the early days of her new majority, some senior Democrats said that if the BuzzFeed report is true, Trump's actions could rise to that level.
'This is obstruction of justice'
"If the @BuzzFeed story is true, President Trump must resign or be impeached," tweeted Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, a member of the House intelligence panel.
William Barr, Trump's nominee for attorney general, said at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday that a president or anyone else who directs a witness to lie is illegally obstructing an investigation. That statement attracted attention given Barr's expansive views of presidential powers and his belief that presidents can't be scrutinized by prosecutors for acts the Constitution allows them to take.
Michael Cohen says rigging polls 'was at the direction of' Trump
Tweet follows report Cohen paid firm to manipulate pre-election polls to favour the future candidate
Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for U.S.
President Donald Trump, said on Thursday he paid a firm to manipulate
online polling data "at the direction of and for the sole benefit of"
Trump.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Cohen had paid the data firm Redfinch Solutions to manipulate two public opinion polls in favour of Trump before the 2016 presidential campaign.
"What I did was at the direction of and for the sole benefit of" Trump, Cohen later responded on Twitter after the Journal published the story. "I truly regret my blind loyalty to a man who doesn't deserve it."
The
attempts to influence the polls ultimately proved largely unsuccessful
but they shed a light on the tactics of the Trump campaign and Cohen's
role within it. On the campaign trail, Trump frequently referred to his
polling numbers to help fuel his candidacy.
Last month, Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in making illegal hush-money payments to women to help Trump's 2016 campaign and lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower project in Russia.
Cohen has said Trump had directed him to commit the campaign-finance violations, which Trump has denied.
The Journal said Cohen commissioned John Gauger, who runs RedFinch Solutions, to write a computer script to repeatedly vote for Trump in a February 2015 Drudge Report poll on potential Republican candidates. The move came as Trump was preparing to enter the 2016 presidential election race, the newspaper reported.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Cohen had paid the data firm Redfinch Solutions to manipulate two public opinion polls in favour of Trump before the 2016 presidential campaign.
"What I did was at the direction of and for the sole benefit of" Trump, Cohen later responded on Twitter after the Journal published the story. "I truly regret my blind loyalty to a man who doesn't deserve it."
As for the @WSJ article on poll rigging, what I did was at the direction of and for the sole benefit of @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. I truly regret my blind loyalty to a man who doesn’t deserve it.
Last month, Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in making illegal hush-money payments to women to help Trump's 2016 campaign and lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower project in Russia.
Cohen has said Trump had directed him to commit the campaign-finance violations, which Trump has denied.
The Journal said Cohen commissioned John Gauger, who runs RedFinch Solutions, to write a computer script to repeatedly vote for Trump in a February 2015 Drudge Report poll on potential Republican candidates. The move came as Trump was preparing to enter the 2016 presidential election race, the newspaper reported.
"The president has no knowledge of the polls being rigged," Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said in an interview with Reuters.
Blue Walmart bag of cash
Trump tweeted about the CNBC poll on business leaders after it was released in March 2014, calling it "a joke" and suggested he was removed from the list because of "politics."
Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the details of the newspaper report. Cohen did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and neither did representatives for RedFinch Solutions and the Trump Organization. Charles James, a lawyer for Gauger, declined to comment.
According to the Journal, Gauger said Cohen handed him cash out of a blue Walmart bag, although not for the total amount he was owed. Cohen also promised Gauger work on the Trump campaign that never materialized, the Journal reported.
Cohen worked for Trump for many years as his self-proclaimed fixer, and once said he would take a bullet for Trump.
But the relationship has since publicly soured. Trump has called Cohen a "rat," while Cohen has co-operated with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of links between the Trump campaign and Russia during the campaign. Both Trump and Moscow have denied any wrongdoing.
Cohen has also agreed to testify publicly in front of the House of Representatives' oversight committee in a hearing scheduled to take place next month.
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