Media, Politics

Report: Trump Met With Michael Cohen Night Before Stormy Daniels Interview

440px-Official_Portrait_of_President_Donald_TrumpI recently wrote a column that argued that President Donald Trump would be wise to accept the offer (and reported parameters) for a sit down with Special Counsel Bob Mueller. In addition, I argued for another obvious and long overdue action: severing any and all ties with his personal counsel Michael Cohen.  Cohen’s reckless and ham-handed lawyering has seriously undermined Trump’s position and he could very well find his bar license in jeopardy due to his prior actions.  Despite Cohen’s radioactive reputation and worsening legal position, Trump decided that the night before the 60 Minutes interview with Stormy Daniels was a good time to have dinner with Cohen at Mar-O-Lago.  It was a baffling decision when any competent lawyer would be insulating Trump from Cohen.

I previously discussed how Cohen’s style seems to resonate with Trump, who was influenced by the infamous lawyer, Ron Cohn. 

Trump has a number of talented lawyers in Washington.  Yet, he continues to tie himself to a lawyer who has been widely condemned for his tactics and lack of judgment. My assumption is that Trump either did not consult with his D.C. counsel or ignored them in arranging this dinner at the resort.

Cohen not only put Trump in the worst possible position but he has made himself part of the unfolding scandal.  If he was hungry last Saturday, most of Trump’s lawyer would have preferred to order him a pizza to his room and put Trump anywhere he was not.

Cohen has continued his signature for throwing out empty threats of defamation lawsuits.  In the meantime, he is fast making himself “libel-proof” due to his plummeting reputation and continued missteps.

 

129 thoughts on “Report: Trump Met With Michael Cohen Night Before Stormy Daniels Interview”

  2. “Three In The Single Night Before His Death”

    Martin Luther King
    ____________________________________

    Ralph David Abernathy`s Betrayal Of His Trusting Friend
    October 20, 1989|By William Raspberry, Copyright 1989, Washington Post Writers Group.

    WASHINGTON — For years, his enemies in the FBI sought to discredit Martin Luther King Jr. by leaking audio tapes of a supposed sexual encounter between King and an unnamed woman. No reputable newspaper took the bait.

    Now the man who was King`s most trusted friend has succeeded in doing what his bitter enemies could not accomplish. The detailed confirmation of King`s alleged sexual escapades-three in the single night before his death-has been supplied by Ralph David Abernathy, an intimate of King for virtually the whole of King`s public career and the man tapped by King himself as his successor.

    Abernathy knew about the FBI tapes, but says in his new book, “And the Walls Came Tumbling Down,“ that he saw no evidence that King himself was concerned about the attempts to have the transcripts published. “In fact, he seemed less concerned about public exposure than I was.“

  3. “It was a baffling decision …”

    Yeah, Trump’s an enigma alright. Maybe JT should update his blog photo and replace the preppy outfit he’s wearing with a tee shirt that says “Baffled by Trump.”

    1. You need two things to figure out Trump: An IQ over 85 and a dose of NYC street smarts [regardless of where you live].

      Otherwise, I guess you stay “baffled.”

  4. Ralph Abernathy –

    “Martin and I were away more often than we were at home; and while this was no excuse for extramarital relations, it was a reason. Some men are better able to bear such deprivations than others, though all of us in SCLC headquarters had our weak moments. We all understood and believed in the biblical prohibition against sex outside of marriage. It was just that he had a particularly difficult time with that temptation.

    In addition to his personal vulnerability, he was also a man who attracted women, even when he didn’t intend to, and attracted them in droves. Part of his appeal was his predominant role in the black community and part of it was personal. During the last ten years of his life, Martin Luther King was the most important black man in America. That fact alone endowed him with an aura of power and greatness that women found very appealing. He was a hero — the greatest hero of his age — and women are always attracted to a hero.

    But he also had a personal charm that ingratiated him with members of the opposite sex. He was always gracious and courteous to women, whether they were attractive to him or not. He had perfect manners. He was well educated. He was warm and friendly. He could make them laugh. He was good company, something that cannot always be said of heroes. These qualities made him even more attractive in close proximity than he was at a distance.”

  5. Jonathan. Have you heard that Trump doesn’t listen to his attorneys?!

  6. Here is a shocker for you JT, Trump is toxic. No lawyer in his or her mind would risk disbarment or their practice to even try to defend Dirtbag Donnie. He has always been a con-man and will be one till he is caught. And then he will blame others for his incompetence. That is his MO always. He will break and destroy this country and think only for himself. Put the money that the American people pay already for his golf carts..and keep it in a pool to pay his legal expenses, they are going to pay for it one way or another.

    2. Note to Cohen- lose $130,000, expect it, don’t whine, you knew your client.

      How much fun would it be if the Russian people filed a monetary claim against alleged loans made to trump from Russia, when Putin gets nothing in the transaction?

    3. Have Comey, McCabe, Strozk, Page, Rosenstein, Kadzic, Yates, Baker, Bruce Ohr, Nellie Ohr, Mueller, Steele, Simpson, Hillary, Huma, Lynch, Clapper, Power, Farkas, Rice, Obama et al. lawyered-up with competent counsel yet?

      1. Who know? But in every case, if any of them needed a lawyer, I bet they could find dozens of legal experts who would be pleased to represent them. Trump, OTOH, has sent decent lawyers running for cover.

        1. Did O.J. Simpson have “decent” lawyers? William Jefferson Clinton abused, molested and raped women. He was a lawyer and the Arkansas Attorney General. His license to practice law was suspended. Is Bill Clinton a decent lawyer? I bet President Donald J. Trump has a lawyer.

        2. Will fake blogger Jerry clone chump is clever. Dude get off of my alias. Same IP Address & location.

  7. “Reckless and ham-handed”? Empty threats? Intimidation? That describes the Dotard. BTW: contrary to your opinion, JT, the majority of people polled yesterday (well over 60%) believe Stormy and Karen, and not the Dotard.

    It’s beginning, to me at least, to look like the Dotard knows his days of stinking up the White House are numbered, and because he needs attention and publicity like a heroin addict needs a fix, does everything possible to keep stirring the pot for attention. Poll numbers are down, again, no surprise.

  8. Trump may have had sex with a prostitute, as she said-1 time. The Clintons have shown they have been and are repeatedly prostitutes. Only they end up s___wing the country. Bill is likely also a rapist.

    3. Clintons are not in the White House. What they have done or said is irrelevant. Stop watching Fox News and doing the Kellyanne Pivot every time the Dotard does something wrong, which is constantly.

      1. You wanna know why we bring up the Clintons? And the Kennedys. It’s because people like you aren’t trying to have honest conversations about sexual morality. Democrats don’t really have anything against whoring around. Because if you did, then you would have been giving Hillary hell for enabling Bill’s lies and deceits.

        Sooo, why do you jump on Trump now, for mere allegations? It’s not out of any heartfelt moral beliefs. It’s just to jump on Trump. So, that is what we are pointing out. The conversation isn’t about morality, although you guys feign moral outrage. But, you aren’t fooling anybody.

        Squeeky Fromm
        Girl Reporter

      2. I don’t believe Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, Monica Lewinsky, and Juanita Broaddrick would agree that what the Clintons did was irrelevant. The liberals never have compassion or empathy for the victims of crimes committed by liberal politicians, especially if the victim might be a conservative!

    4. It’s not the sex, it’s the threats and hush money. I imagine if her lawyer can get this NDA ruled unlawful, there will be a flood of others.

      When you all have no defense for Trump, you dredge up the Clintons which is pathetic.

  9. JT, can you honestly not put 2 and 2 together and figure out what’s going on here?

  10. Trump has a number of talented lawyers in Washington. Yet, he continues to tie himself to a lawyer who has been widely condemned for his tactics and lack of judgment. My assumption is that Trump either did not consult with his D.C. counsel or ignored them in arranging this dinner at the resort.

    This is what is wrong with the whole elitist White Collar White People Lawyer World. They think you should consult with your lawyers before you have dinner with your lawyer. I mean “how would that look” sort of people. Trump is not that sort of dweeb. Trump gets sh*t done. That is why Trump gets building off the planning stage, and into the air. Meanwhile, the lawyer class likes to insert themselves into the middle of everything, when most of the time they contribute very little of value. I am reminded of an e.e.cummings poem:

    the boys I mean

    the boys i mean are not refined
    they go with girls who buck and bite
    they do not give a f*ck for luck
    they hump them thirteen times a night

    one hangs a hat upon her tit
    one carves a cross on her behind
    they do not give a sh*t for wit
    the boys i mean are not refined

    they come with girls who bite and buck
    who cannot read and cannot write
    who laugh like they would fall apart
    and masturbate with dynamite

    the boys i mean are not refined
    they cannot chat of that and this
    they do not give a fart for art
    they kill like you would take a piss

    they speak whatever’s on their mind
    they do whatever’s in their pants
    the boys i mean are not refined
    they shake the mountains when they dance

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

  11. The topic here is not Stormy Daniels, but the President’s seeming inability to hire skilled legal counsel. The fundamental problem is that Trump doesn’t want a lawyer; he wants an ally and a bagman when he needs an advocate. His best bet would be to seek someone who disagrees with all of his policies and positions, believes in the rule of law and will be unafraid to say things that Trump does not want to hear. And he needs to be prepared to pay handsomely for the advice. That will have two immediate benefits. First, Trump will know that his lawyer is independent and that his counsel will not be compromised by a desire to placate his client. Second, he will be able to explore approaches to his legal issues based upon reality rather than reality TV.

    This will not happen, of course. And it will not happen because Trump’s personality is such that he is temperamentally unable to work with people whom he does not believe he can control. In this respect, as in many others, he is his own worst enemy.

    1. Yes, Mike, and I am sure that is why Abraham Lincoln fired general after general, too. Because he could not control them. Not because they couldn’t do the job he wanted done. Heck, Lincoln ended up keeping the sloppy drunk, Grant, because he could control him, right???

      Squeeky Fromm
      Girl Reporter

      1. “Heck, Lincoln ended up keeping the sloppy drunk, Grant, because he could control him, right???”
        ******************************
        Ah!” exclaimed Honest Old Abe, “you surprise me, gentlemen. But can you tell me where he gets his whiskey?” “We cannot, Mr. President. But why do you desire to know?” “Because, if I can only find out, I will send a barrel of this wonderful whiskey to every general in the army.”

          1. And it was Kentucky whiskey (Old Crow)! Obvious collusion with a rebel occupied state, if officially neutral. Impeach Lincoln I say!!!

            1. Wait. If half the country had seceded, who exactly voted for “Crazy Abe” and how was the 1860 election protected from vote count corruption. Lincoln, you may have noticed with his suspension of Habeas Corpus, didn’t take any backtalk. Was Der Fuhrer, “Crazy Abe” Lincoln, a legitimate and duly elected president or a despotic criminal imposter? Is history really history if it isn’t real history? If Lincoln’s “election” was “fake news” is it “fake olds” as an historical account? I’m confused.

            2. And it was Kentucky whiskey (Old Crow)!

              Mespo, I’ll trust youon this, thanks, I’m a bit of a history junkie.

              Ck Fort Defiance, an interesting little corner in the US to visit, I thought, in which in which Gen Grant launched my great grand dad under Gen Sherman to go south & Phk stuff up.

              I do not like the outcome of that war, but maybe I could find a new clue by tracing the history of the times though Gov Sam Houston down in Texas.

    2. True about inability to hire skilled counsel, but Ted Olsen–the hiring of whom would have been a game-changer– turned him down flat. Olsen is entirely too ethical to get near the day glo bozo.

    3. Control” is a bad thing? I recently viewed “Frontiersmen” which depicted Thomas Jefferson sending Lewis and Clark on an expedition across the entirety of the continent to the Pacific Ocean. It was said that Jefferson’s intent was national expansion and “control”. Jefferson also executed the Louisiana Purchase, one of the largest land deals in history. Talk about a “control freak”. Looks like a whole lot of Americans agreed with Jefferson’s deep emotional need for national expansion, economic growth for the benefit of Americans, the creation of opportunity and yes, “control”. Perhaps it’s similar to a nuclear reaction, if one can “control” it, much benefit may be derived. Jefferson may have been his own best ally.

    4. “he is his own worst enemy”.
      A reporter was on the set of “Hell is for Heroes”, an above-average WWII film.
      Steve McQueen had top billing, with a solid supporting cast.
      A reporter on the set commented that McQueen (who had the reputation of being diffficult to work with) was “his own worst enemy”.
      Co-star Bobby Darin said ” Not as long as I’m alive he isn’t”.☺😊😂
      Off topic, but that line, and Isaac’s reference to another good 1960s movie, reminded me of Darin’s remark about McQueen.
      Back on topic, you don’t recommend that “a very stable genius” go pro se, Mike?

  12. There’s a great line in an old movie, ‘High Wind in Jamaica’. The pirates have finally been captured and sentenced to hang. The crime of which they are judged guilty, they did not commit. One pirate turns to another and says, “This is not fair, hanging for something we did not do.” The other pirate responds, “Didn’t you ever do something for which you should hang?”

    This is the same situation with that scumbag Trump. Serial bankruptcies, pandering to the mega wealthy at the expense of tax payers, banks, and independent contractors, disgusting behavior, ad infinitum. Regardless of whether or not he boinked Stormy, Trump deserves to be pilloried, and then run out of town on a rail; tarring and feathering optional.

  13. The “New York Times” features this piece today noting that Trump has never been shy about attacking perceived enemies in Tweet storms. Trump has attacked Robert Mueller, Jeff Sessions, John McCain and Mitch McConnell, to name a few.

    But curiously Trump has refrained from attacking Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. How interesting! Does Trump not want a tit-for-tat with these women?

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/us/politics/trump-silent-stormy-daniels.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

    1. Here you are again, you bad person, lying and trying to deceive everybody here with your Democratic Party Lying Shilling Spinning ways!

      Let’s see. Hmmm. !!! Maybe Trump doesn’t say anything because he signed a Non Disclosure Agreement with them???

      See! An intelligent course of action. That I just bet you never ever thought of. Because I am sure you never ever heard about the Non Disclosure Agreement.

      How do you sleep at night???

      Squeeky Fromm
      Girl Reporter

          1. I’ve seen the document–including the letter attachment, and Fatso didn’t sign. Most likely, Fatso isn’t commenting because we have yet to see what evidence Stormy and Karen have on the Dotard. They may well have DNA, recorded messages, videos–who knows? He doesn’t even know for sure, but he’s scared. He avoids saying anything to avoid getting caught in yet another lie, especially one he can’t worm his way out of. At this point, he has literally no credibility anyway, but at some point even the evangelicals won’t be able to defend him any more.

            1. Jay Sekulow was described by Time magazine as one of the most influential U.S. evangelicals.
              Evangelicals shackled themselves to a Republican Presidency and there they will stay until the Kochs tell them to strap themselves to Pence. The architect of the religious right, Paul Weyrich, was the founder of the Heritage Foundation. ALEC, also, claims him as its founder. The Weyrich training manual posted at Theocracy Watch describes the strategy we see playing out, which compares to Russia’s destabilization goals for our nation. Foster Freiss was one of Bannon’s candidate picks. Ralph Reed, Jerry Falwell, Franklin Graham, and Pat Robertson have no qualms about defending Trump — calloused stomachs.

      2. Trump spent an entire week, in the summer of 2016, attacking that former Miss Universe from Venezuela. So ‘yes’, it is strange that Trump is so restrained with Daniels and McDougal.

  14. In this piece Professor Turley describes Trump’s personal counsel, Michael Cohen, as “reckless and ham-fisted”. Cohen has been widely criticized for his handling of the ‘hush money’ agreement that Stormy Daniels signed. Agreement came with a return address to Cohen’s office at The Trump Organization, Trump Tower.

    Professor Turley feels that Cohen is “toxic” at this point. And Turley suspects that Trump’s White House legal team probably advised against the meeting. But the fact that Trump met with Cohen illustrates Trump’s tendency to disregard legal advice. This tendency of Trump’s may factor large in weeks to come. Trump may act recklessly and ham-fisted with regards to the Russia Probe.

  15. Stormy Daniels The Hooker

    Stormy had other “John” clients that paid for services rendered. Who were they? What income was reported to the IRS? There’s also a rumor going around that Stormy had lots of unprotected sex & Stormy is HIV+ .

    1. Should we worry about Trump and the mental conditions associated with syphilis?

        2. Barb,
          Which campaign are you supporting at Turley’s blog, the Kochs’ or Putin’s?

            1. The listing shows reported income. The word, “intertwined” suggests the money hasn’t been disclosed like the unwillingness of Trump to show his tax returns. 60 Minutes used a similar word for the speculation about the intermingling of Putin’s finances with a childhood friend’s, who grew fabulously wealthy as a classical musician. It’s a nuance of the English language. You’re welcome for the language lesson.

        3. Linda is getting under da skin
          Of you sleazy balls Gateway Pundits. Aaron Rich is suing you.

    2. Stormy’s not the President. She is a porn star, not a hooker. There is a difference. Why attack her, anyway? Fatso invited her to his hotel room. He didn’t have or use a condom.

      1. Natacha,

        It’s a cash business. Cash or credit. Do you have a list of the other clients who Stormy had sex with?

        1. How did you come up with the notion that she is a prostitute? She is an adult performer. She also writes and directs such endeavors. That does not make her a prostitute.

          1. A person commits the crime of prostitution by engaging in (or offering or agreeing to engage in) any sex act in return for a fee. In what sense is Stormy not a prostitute bad acting aside?

        2. Fake Frank,

          I’m watching your postings. Don’t clone me! I got your IP address & location.

      2. How do you know she is not a hooker? I think the golf club they were at was in Nevada where prostitution is legal.

  16. Avenatti at one end of the chessboard and Mueller at the other end. Checkmate, t Rump and, Putin embedded in America.

    1. “Avenatti received a B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a major in Political Science in 1996. In 1999, he received a J.D. degree from George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. where he worked with Professor Jonathan Turley on constitutional issues relating to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). He graduated Order of the Coif and first in his class.” Wikipedia Stormy has a better lawyer by far.

        1. It’s possible that Michael Cohen’s admission scores raised the median LSAT scores at Cooley Law School (or, lowered them). Prof. Turley describes Cohen in a way that an alma mater would not be happy hear about. Cooley was already somewhat south of where a school would like to be.

  17. All this Storm Davis stuff has got me confused. Didn’t he used to pitch for the Orioles.

  18. From today’s Dayton Daily News, A “Republican candidate for statehouse claims her current Republican opponent in the primary, choked and kissed her 3 years ago.” Republicans are entertaining as h_ll.

    1. We Americans are a strange bunch. John Kennedy had a virtual brothel in his White House. Media knew it, left him alone. Then Clinton. Media knew it, but didn’t make a big deal out of it. But times have changed. It won’t be long before we have a program (on CNN, of course) about Presidential Frolics! The Clinton-Lewinsky saga changed our interest. I don’t think we have much interest in Stormy, but our media sure does!

      1. But times have changed.

        And Trump helped change the times regarding sexual assault, harassment, and/or trying to threaten and blackmail someone to keep her silent about a consensual encounter. He’s running headlong into the zeitgeist and deserves every bit of it.

      2. LBJ, JFK, FDR–they’re all dead. Nothing they did, said or didn’t do or say is relevant to the issue of the fat incompetent liar who stole the election. Stop doing the Kellyanne Pivot. That’s avoiding the truth and merits of a controversy.

        BTW: as to LBJ, JFK, FDR and Bill Clinton, they were all intelligent, patriotic men who were wonderful Presidents. Regardless of their private sex lives, they never bragged about their ability to assault women and get away with it.

        1. BTW: as to LBJ, JFK, FDR and Bill Clinton, they were all intelligent, patriotic men who were wonderful Presidents. Regardless of their private sex lives, they never bragged about their ability to assault women and get away with it.

          Because they were Democrats. Because being a Democrat is how you experience spiritual feelings. Because you are nuts. Because you are no different than the rube who dances with rattlesnakes and jabbers in tongues.

          Squeeky Fromm
          Girl Reporter

          1. Dear Madam Mayor: They were all patriotic, intelligent men. They did do a wonderful job as President, the benefits of which we still enjoy as Americans, especially as to FDR. You can’t seriously dispute that. You are the one who hates–you hate Democrats because in Sh’holeville, where you preside, everyone is a Red Republican to the bone. You hate black people–calling them “heathens” their children “pickanninies”, arguing that they are evil, law breakers, and so on. You think all black women breed for money. Whether there’s any grain of truth to this as to a given individual, can’t you see that there are also white women who do the same thing? You defend the Dotard. Have you looked at poll numbers? Most Americans didn’t vote for him, don’t approve of him as a person, especially as to his lack of honesty, don’t approve of the job he’s done, and want him gone. Whether he cheats on his wife is really irrelevant. Whether he lies about it IS relevant.

            BTW: you never answered my query about whether you’ve attended college. Still waiting.

            1. Of course I attended college, and graduated. I majored in Irish Poems.

              And no, not ALL black women breed for money. Just around 77.3% of them. That leaves 23% who get married first! Roughly.

              Squeeky Fromm
              Girl Reporter

            2. Yet again, Natacha breaks the oh-so-sad news to the gullible rubes and dupes. The squeeKKK will continue to show true colors, however. Those colors will definitely involve white sheets and pillowcases with eyeholes cut out.

      3. You left out some republicans. You could start with Larry “wide stance” Craig.

        When the right has no defense of Trump, they go back tgenerations to find an example to mock . LBJ left office when I was in high school and I’m on medicare.

          1. Sadly for you, normal people don’t consider who another consenting adult chooses to sleep with as a concern. So sorry for your loss.

            this is to squeeKKK

            1. I don’t object if you like to have men insert their weenies in your rear end. I encourage you to have it done more often. And don’t make your top wear a condom. That is sooo normal. . . Just go for it!

              Squeeky Fromm
              Girl Reporter

              1. Of course. Still worried about other consenting adults’ romantic interests, as if that’s something that rational people find important. Again, so sorry for your loss.

                this is to squeeKKK

                1. Personally, I don’t think sodomy has much “romance” in it. It seems kind of predatory, and nasty to me. But, since you are the expert, perhaps you can enlighten us! Does it make you feel special??? And loved??? Oh, I hope so, for your sake! Because if you ever got the old “any old port in storm” vibe from the dude, that would probably kill the moment. Just like putting on a condom.

                  Squeeky Fromm
                  Girl Reporter

                2. Uh oh! M&M got another baaad spankin’.

                  Allan’s was hard to beat, however:

                  Allan
                  March 7, 2018 at 8:29 PM
                  “Character matters. ”

                  Get over it, Mark. Your parents bought a condo when they should have bought a condom.

          2. Uh Larry Craig was a queer, so we can’t say anything bad about queers, or we will get called homophobes. Didn’t you get the Memo???

            We have that on the word of a police officer who volunteered to sit in the john at the Minneapolis airport acting as an agent provacateur. He also contends Craig propositioned him with hand signals.

            Oh, we also have the testimony of a crew of people who sent dirt to one Dan Popkey of the Boise newspaper. I don’t think Popkey decided to publish the contentions of the five least credible people who spoke to him. To give you a flavor of the sort of testimony Popkey thought probative, one of them was from a man who claimed Craig propositioned him in 1986 and that he could positively identify Craig 19 years after the fact by the sound of his voice.

    2. 360 Daily.net, “Upfront we tell our audience we approach news from a conservative/libertarian POV”, i.e. fake news. The founder of Newsmax, Christopher Ruddy gained fame with the Vincent Foster conspiracy.
      fyi Squeeky, Autumn is looking for a job to keep the Seth Rich eternal flame burning. Could you put in a word with Ruddy? She has the prerequisite- no conscience.

      1. Aaron Rich is suin a bunch of people for spreading false rumors about his brother. Maybe his will include da famous “Autumn” on da Turley blog.

        2. Aaron Rich might take an interest in why it was that his brother was killed in a ‘robbery’ but his watch, wallet, and cell phone were not taken.

          1. That’s the duct taped foundation for the cottage industry of the Rich conspiracy?

Comments are closed.