• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Everyone is in a bubble, but some bubbles model reality far better than others!

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Tick tock motherfuckers!

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

It’s a doggy dog world.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

White supremacy is terrorism.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Mobile Menu

  • Winnable House Races
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Balloon Juice 2023 Pet Calendar (coming soon)
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • War in Ukraine
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • 2021-22 Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Russiagate Open Thread: The Wages of (Fiscal) Sin

Russiagate Open Thread: The Wages of (Fiscal) Sin

by Anne Laurie|  February 14, 20187:01 pm| 206 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Dolt 45, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Russiagate, Trump Crime Cartel, Not Normal

FacebookTweetEmail

Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen is pitching a book to publishers about the First Family. https://t.co/29RIc53me0

— Axios (@axios) February 14, 2018

Miguel de Cervantes was supposed to have conceived the great novel Don Quixote while *he* was in jail. Machiavelli wrote The Prince while in political exile. So, there’s precedent… (/snark)

Paul Waldman, at the Washington Post, “Trump’s lawyer just made the Stormy Daniels affair much more interesting”:

… To catch you up: Back in January, the Wall Street Journal reported that Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer and all-around fixer, had set up a shell company in Delaware in the fall of 2016 for the sole purpose of passing a $130,000 payment to Daniels (whose real name is Stephanie Clifford). Soon after, In Touch magazine published an interview with Daniels in which she detailed how she and Trump had an on-again, off-again affair in 2006 that began in Lake Tahoe just after the birth of his son Barron, when his wife Melania was back home in New York.

The liberal good-government group Common Cause filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission and the Justice Department, alleging that the payment was an illegal in-kind contribution to the Trump campaign intended to quash a potentially embarrassing story and thereby help Trump get elected. Yesterday, Cohen issued a statement implying that the $130,000 was his own money…

What’s odd about this is that he doesn’t say he paid her $130,000 with his own personal funds, he says he used his own personal funds to facilitate a payment. Which could well mean that he used his personal funds to pay whatever fees were necessary to establish the Delaware shell company, but the money came from somewhere else. Like, I don’t know, from Donald Trump. For instance.

Furthermore, if we assume the second sentence is true and neither the Trump Organization nor the campaign was involved, what it leaves out is the involvement of Trump himself. Did Cohen discuss the payment with the person on whose behalf he was making it? Did Trump approve the amount? If Cohen put up the whole $130,000, did Trump personally (as opposed to the Trump organization or campaign) reimburse him?…

I would bet a store-bought cookie that the answer to that would be Like Trump ever “personally” repaid anyone except under threat. But if not Donald himself, then where would the money have come from?…

I’ll believe Cohen that Trump didn’t pay the $130K. But that still leaves the Q of how he converted the money from Russian to American.

Or maybe he paid her in Bitcoin.

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) February 14, 2018


“Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me." https://t.co/KTNr69BLPt

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 14, 2018

I feel like "My lawyer paid off the porn star I had an affair with out of his own money" raises more questions than it answers.

— Schooley (@Rschooley) February 14, 2018

Former Trump campaign official on Michael Cohen's payment to Stormy Daniels says Cohen is a "less cool version of Ray Donovan… he fixes things."

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 14, 2018

More like if those body disposal guys from John Wick had an all plexiglass work van with huge circus clown sirens on top. https://t.co/yZp8XoLoez

— Zeddy (@Zeddary) February 14, 2018

Michael Cohen is a really bad lawyer who just happened to be childhood friends with the face-stabbing mobster who got Trump SoHo financed to the tune of millions in Russian mob money but I'm sure it's nothing. https://t.co/yxfSGhD9IF

— Zeddy (@Zeddary) February 14, 2018

Duelling narratives:

Manager for Stormy Daniels told AP that Daniels believes Trump’s lawyer invalidated a non-disclosure agreement by publicly discussing the payment, so Daniels can now talk about alleged sexual encounter with Trump https://t.co/W96OIj3yVa

— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) February 14, 2018

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Cohen's a smart lawyer
Really? Says who?

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) February 14, 2018

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « REPUBS IN DISARRAY! Open Thread: “Lawmakers losing confidence in White House after Porter resignation”
Next Post: Thoughts On Today’s Shooting »

Reader Interactions

206Comments

  1. 1.

    Corner Stone

    February 14, 2018 at 7:14 pm

    Bob Mueller: Hmmmm, ok. Well in that case, Mr. Cohen. let’s just see your taxes.

  2. 2.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    February 14, 2018 at 7:15 pm

    @Corner Stone: Does FSM truly love us this much? Please let this happen.

  3. 3.

    Corner Stone

    February 14, 2018 at 7:18 pm

    @(((CassandraLeo))): Don’t you think that’s the logical counter for Mueller at this point? If he ponied up $130K then where did it come from? How or what did he declare about that amount? if it was a gift did he pay appropriate taxes? If it was a business expense how was it handled?
    I am not a tax guy thingie but methinks Mikey has a bit of a bigger problem today than he did yesterday.

  4. 4.

    Baud

    February 14, 2018 at 7:19 pm

    In Russia, lawyer pays you.

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    February 14, 2018 at 7:20 pm

    Wondering if Daniels declared it as income on her taxes.

  6. 6.

    Baud

    February 14, 2018 at 7:21 pm

    So Twitter changed their links so they now have an extension that requires you to sign up to view the tweet (or manually delete the extension).

  7. 7.

    BGinCHI

    February 14, 2018 at 7:21 pm

    @Corner Stone: Yep. Gonna need to see everyone’s taxes to follow the money, or lack of money declared.

    It’s always the accountants that get you.

  8. 8.

    debbie

    February 14, 2018 at 7:23 pm

    Is it time to name Robert Schooley a national treasure?

  9. 9.

    Miss Bianca

    February 14, 2018 at 7:23 pm

    Oh, Christ, that first Zeddy tweet had me LMAO.

  10. 10.

    debbie

    February 14, 2018 at 7:25 pm

    @Baud:

    No changes for me on my laptop. I can still view, embed, etc.

  11. 11.

    Corner Stone

    February 14, 2018 at 7:25 pm

    @Baud: They’ve been trying that off and on with me on mobile devices recently. I normally just go through the Goog and if they keep blocking me I go do something else on the interwebs.

  12. 12.

    Yutsano

    February 14, 2018 at 7:26 pm

    @BGinCHI: Remember what ultimately got Al Capone. It was the one thing he couldn’t shoot his way out of.

  13. 13.

    Thoughtful David

    February 14, 2018 at 7:26 pm

    So, I hear that Jarvanka’s personal debt has increased dramatically in the last year. I wonder how they’re planning to pay it back? In their super-sweet setup now, they’re still getting into greater debt? Really?
    I don’t think they should worry about the law catching up with them, but if I were them I would run a polonium detector over every cup of tea I was offered.

  14. 14.

    dmsilev

    February 14, 2018 at 7:27 pm

    @NotMax: There’s probably a clause buried deep inside the GOP tax bill exempting disclosure of income received by porn stars as hush money originating from NYC conmen with bad hair.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    February 14, 2018 at 7:27 pm

    @debbie: I’m on my phone. It’s been a problem for me for a couple of days now.

  16. 16.

    Roger Moore

    February 14, 2018 at 7:30 pm

    What’s odd about this is that he doesn’t say he paid her $130,000 with his own personal funds, he says he used his own personal funds to facilitate a payment. Which could well mean that he used his personal funds to pay whatever fees were necessary to establish the Delaware shell company, but the money came from somewhere else. Like, I don’t know, from Donald Trump. For instance.

    I notice that he mentions the Trump Campaign and the Trump Organization, but never mentions the Trump Foundation. I don’t believe for a moment that Donald Trump paid this with his own personal money; he never pays anyone a penny he doesn’t have to. But he has been known to use the Trump Foundation to pay for stuff that he didn’t want to pay with his own money, even stuff that a supposedly charitable foundation had no business paying for. Anyone want to take a bet that the $130,000 came from the Trump Foundation one way or another?

  17. 17.

    scottinnj

    February 14, 2018 at 7:30 pm

    Serious question if the campaign paid I can see the election law violation. But if it was out of Donald J Trump’s personal banking account, it may be crass/unseemly etc but is it illegal? Where Trump get the money is a different question.

  18. 18.

    BGinCHI

    February 14, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    @debbie: All that AND Kim Possible.

  19. 19.

    Amaranthine RBG

    February 14, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    It’s almost as if something might actually happen to push Trump out.

    I do not want to jinx this.

  20. 20.

    lamh36

    February 14, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    UGHHHHH…

    WHAT DA FUQ…did I just see an anti-abortion ad on Hallmark Channel talking bout abortions killed more Black Americans, than Heart Disease, Cancel, Diabetes and Gun Violence combined…

    Is this the game abortion advocates are playing now? Really…really…

    FUQ’N REALLY!!!

  21. 21.

    randy khan

    February 14, 2018 at 7:34 pm

    This is a very peculiar story, but mostly because it seems likely to cause more trouble for Cohen, not less. On the other hand, there’s not a lot of evidence that he’s very bright.

  22. 22.

    Wapiti

    February 14, 2018 at 7:35 pm

    @scottinnj: I think under campaign finance rules it might be treated as a donation to the campaign, since it was paid to assist Dotard becoming President.* So did the campaign declare it as a donation? Was it even from an American citizen?

    * As I understand it, that was the reasoning on the hush money John Edwards’ mistress got paid.

  23. 23.

    Miss Bianca

    February 14, 2018 at 7:36 pm

    @lamh36: Is this the same Hallmark Channel that produces those relentlessly heartwarming Christmas movies? Color me surprised, but not shocked.

  24. 24.

    Obvious Russian Troll

    February 14, 2018 at 7:36 pm

    @NotMax: She’s supposed to be good at the business end of things, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she either did pay or her taxes or is scrambling to get that taken care of now.

  25. 25.

    lamh36

    February 14, 2018 at 7:37 pm

    Sandy Hook mom to Marco Rubio and his #thoughtsandprayers

    @Nelba_MG
    Follow Follow @Nelba_MG
    More Nelba Márquez-Greene Retweeted
    Oh, please. U had a chance after Newtown & you did squat because “you were already doing immigration” and didn’t want to lose votes w/ your constituents. In your office you looked at us and said you couldn’t act. Sleep tight with that blood on your hands, Marco. #resist

  26. 26.

    Corner Stone

    February 14, 2018 at 7:37 pm

    I fucking HATE podcasts. There. I said it.

  27. 27.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 14, 2018 at 7:37 pm

    Open thread?

    Had an anxiety flare-up today, and one of the things I was anxious about was a short story submission I should hear back about today or tomorrow. I channeled my anxiety into trying to do another draft but as it turns out I think it’s actually done! So, I’ve got that going for me. I also made a list of three places to apply tomorrow when they reject me, markets that weren’t open when I looked last week.

    Now I’m only anxious about the work I didn’t do!

  28. 28.

    sdhays

    February 14, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    @scottinnj: The problem with that is that it violates Trump law: never pay for anything yourself.

  29. 29.

    cthulhu

    February 14, 2018 at 7:42 pm

    I’ll admit to scandal overload at this point. I expected it would be bad but never this level of daily bad. Can we please go back to the low simmer of the Russia investigation?

  30. 30.

    zhena gogolia

    February 14, 2018 at 7:43 pm

    @Yutsano:

    Or baseball-bat his way out of. (Sorry, watched that one through my fingers the other night. I’ve never actually seen that scene.)

  31. 31.

    jimmiraybob

    February 14, 2018 at 7:44 pm

    …Like Trump ever “personally” repaid anyone except under threat.

    A smart lawyer would have tapes.

  32. 32.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 14, 2018 at 7:45 pm

    Miguel de Cervantes was supposed to have conceived the great novel Don Quixote while *he* was in jail. Machiavelli wrote The Prince while in political exile. So, there’s precedent… (/snark)

    Letter from the Birmingham Jail … De Profundis … Pilgrim’s Progress ….

    ETA: WTF, even Jeffrey Fucking Archer managed to crank out a fairly readable trilogy while he was in prison.

  33. 33.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 7:46 pm

    @Thoughtful David:

    if I were them I would run a polonium detector over every cup of tea I was offered.

    Every bookie or loan shark knows you don’t kill the debtor; you never get your money if you do.

  34. 34.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 14, 2018 at 7:47 pm

    @Baud:

    Yeah, that’s been going on all day. What a giant pain in the gefrunsis.

  35. 35.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    February 14, 2018 at 7:47 pm

    @Corner Stone: I agree that it’s a logical follow-up question. Don’t fuck with the forensic accountants.

  36. 36.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 14, 2018 at 7:49 pm

    @Corner Stone: not a huge fan either. Prefer to read a transcript.

  37. 37.

    Baud

    February 14, 2018 at 7:50 pm

    @Corner Stone: Same here.

  38. 38.

    japa21

    February 14, 2018 at 7:54 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Mein Kampf

  39. 39.

    Roger Moore

    February 14, 2018 at 7:55 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Every bookie or loan shark knows you don’t kill the debtor; you never get your money if you do.

    You don’t kill them until you’re sure you’ll never be paid back. If you’re convinced you’ll never see your money again, you kill them in some awful way as an example for other would-be deadbeats.

    In the case of Kirshner, though, they may just decide they can’t get their money back directly, so they’ll have to take payment in kind. Which is exactly why he shouldn’t have any kind of clearance and should be kept as far away from the levers of power as possible.

  40. 40.

    zhena gogolia

    February 14, 2018 at 7:56 pm

    @Baud:

    I would have been terrible in the golden age of radio. If it’s a narrative, I want to SEE it, not hear it.

  41. 41.

    Villago Delenda Est

    February 14, 2018 at 7:56 pm

    @Thoughtful David: As has been discussed before in various threads, high personal debt is a red flag for those vetting someone seeking a security clearance.

    You know, like Jared.

  42. 42.

    Jeffro

    February 14, 2018 at 7:56 pm

    Who’s a worse lawyer: Cohen, or Saul (from Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul)?

    I already know which one is smarter …

  43. 43.

    Miss Bianca

    February 14, 2018 at 7:57 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Sorry to hear about the anxiety attack, but glad you are able to be productive thru’ it. Hope you are feeling better soon.

  44. 44.

    Baud

    February 14, 2018 at 7:57 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Me too. I can’t do talk radio. Doesn’t matter if it’s liberal or not.

  45. 45.

    Baud

    February 14, 2018 at 7:58 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: You seem to be handling things better than I usually do.

  46. 46.

    JPL

    February 14, 2018 at 8:04 pm

    @lamh36: Good for her, but unfortunately he won’t care.

  47. 47.

    Amir Khalid

    February 14, 2018 at 8:05 pm

    @Roger Moore:
    For all we know, depending on who his real creditors are that could be their real plan: investing in him as a means of ,manipulating someone powerful that he was close to. Of course, this would be a plan based on an opportunity of the moment rather than a long-term strategic one.

  48. 48.

    Mnemosyne

    February 14, 2018 at 8:08 pm

    @Baud:

    I get a pop-up window that I can close with the X in the upper left-hand corner. It’s annoying, but a relatively minor annoyance.

  49. 49.

    Baud

    February 14, 2018 at 8:09 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I don’t get the X on mobile.

  50. 50.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 14, 2018 at 8:09 pm

    @Baud: years of therapy.

  51. 51.

    Mnemosyne

    February 14, 2018 at 8:12 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    PG Wodehouse wrote The Mating Season while he was being shuttled around various German internment camps during WWII. It’s one of his best books.

  52. 52.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    February 14, 2018 at 8:12 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Sorry to hear that. I recognize the situation.

  53. 53.

    Repatriated

    February 14, 2018 at 8:13 pm

    @Baud: The X is in the top left corner, and may be off-screen, requiring scrolling to reach.

  54. 54.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    February 14, 2018 at 8:14 pm

    Air hockey should totally be an Olympic sport.

  55. 55.

    Mnemosyne

    February 14, 2018 at 8:15 pm

    @Baud:

    I still do. Weird. I’m on an iPhone running iOS 11, if that helps.

  56. 56.

    Roger Moore

    February 14, 2018 at 8:17 pm

    @Amir Khalid:
    Planning on payback in the form of political advantage rather than money would certainly help to explain why Kirshner is still getting loans today.

  57. 57.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    February 14, 2018 at 8:17 pm

    @Corner Stone:
    @Baud:
    You just haven’t been listening to the right ones.

  58. 58.

    MisterForkbeard

    February 14, 2018 at 8:18 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Are you open to letting us Juicers read your short story?

    I promise to buy a copy of whatever when it eventually gets published.

  59. 59.

    chris

    February 14, 2018 at 8:18 pm

    It’s the economic anxiety!

    One more way to consider this data: The IHME also estimates what it would expect a country’s rate of gun violence deaths to be based solely on its socioeconomic status. By that measure, the U.S. should only be seeing .79 deaths per 100,000 people — almost five times less than its actual rate of 3.85 deaths per 100,000.

    Not really, it’s all the fucking guns and no real laws at all.

  60. 60.

    Thoughtful David

    February 14, 2018 at 8:21 pm

    @efgoldman:
    You do if you want to make a clear example for others.

  61. 61.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 14, 2018 at 8:24 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    So, I’ve got that going for me.

    Love it when young folks quote “Caddyshack”!

    Now I’m only anxious about the work I didn’t do!

    Dude, get over that shit. Do the bare minimum to keep from getting fired*. F the man!

    *why yes I am bargaining right now with a union that thinks we should never be able to fire non-performers. I may possibly be the tiniest bit cynical.

  62. 62.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    February 14, 2018 at 8:24 pm

    The Iowa legislature is considering two bills. One would ban sanctuary cities. Apparently they’ve heard nasty rumors about the eggheads in Iowa City. The other would allow concealed or open carry with no permit.

    I ask myself: Which person would I fear more? One who, without screening, entered the country or one who, without screening, is carrying a gun.

  63. 63.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 14, 2018 at 8:26 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):

    I ask myself: Which person would I fear more? One who, without screening, entered the country or one who, without screening, is carrying a gun.

    That is an impressively stark contrast. You could be a writer!

  64. 64.

    lamh36

    February 14, 2018 at 8:26 pm

    @owillis
    After school shootings, Obama spoke and led. Trump hides.
    https://twitter.com/owillis/status/963944145093058561

  65. 65.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 14, 2018 at 8:26 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: opiejeanne was kind enough to beta it for me, and while I’d rather not share further at the moment (emotions and all, you understand), sure, some other time!

  66. 66.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 14, 2018 at 8:27 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    The last I heard — but it was a year ago at least, so perhaps things have changed — but last I heard, Schneiderman had the Trump Foundation under investigation so it could neither receive nor disburse during the period of legal scrutiny. No idea what the current status on that is, but regardless I would think they’d be careful about funneling *unusual* payments through the TF.

    Then again, these are not people renowned for their strategic or tactical acuity, so maybe?

  67. 67.

    Mnemosyne

    February 14, 2018 at 8:28 pm

    @lamh36:

    I will bet cash money that Trump doesn’t go to the funerals at all, much less make a speech like Obama did.

  68. 68.

    Thoughtful David

    February 14, 2018 at 8:28 pm

    @Roger Moore: True. Part of my point though was that Jarvanka have to fear more than just the law catching up with them. And if you don’t have something of sufficient value to offer up in kind, you better be careful who you accept your tea from.
    Granted, being able to wander around the White House and read the PDB could provide you with info of value. But once you no longer have that to offer…..maybe they’ll be begging to be hauled off to Sing-Sing.

  69. 69.

    lamh36

    February 14, 2018 at 8:29 pm

    @TUSK81
    Following Following @TUSK81Jackie Kennedy, on Air Force One after JFK was shot on Nov. 22, 1963, was asked to change her clothes because the sight of JFK’s blood and brains was upsetting people. She cleaned her face and discarded her pillbox hat, but kept the bloodstained suit on. “Let them see what they’ve done,” she said. Mass shootings had not yet begun.

    https://twitter.com/TUSK81/status/963942743004205056

  70. 70.

    WaterGirl

    February 14, 2018 at 8:30 pm

    @Baud: If I press escape on my computer, it also goes away. But I don’t think there’s an escape key on mobile devices, is there?

  71. 71.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    February 14, 2018 at 8:32 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: I also have the necessary amount of masochism.

  72. 72.

    oldgold

    February 14, 2018 at 8:33 pm

    Michael Cohen = Tom Hagen

  73. 73.

    No Drought No More

    February 14, 2018 at 8:33 pm

    This episode with Ms. Stormy reminds me of the story of Mitt Romney and the cop, the one who informed Romney he could not launch launch his boat from a certain spot on a lake, and would be fined $50 if he did. The cop no sooner turned his back than Romney began to launch. $50? He was more than OK with paying a lousy $50 fine (the cop wasn’t amused, and Romney did not launch there that day). Fucks like Trump and Romney figure they can buy their way out of anything- the hell of it being they usually can. But not this time.

    I’m a bleeding heart’s bleeding heart, and always have been. But I am mercilessly unsympathetic to every single individual in Trump’s orbit- including every congressional republican- and believe every blasted last one of them should be crucified after their convictions. To be perfectly candid, the very though of their ongoing treason gives me pause to regret being a life long opponent of the death penalty. They are all traitors to this country, all a virulent cancer afflicting on our democracy, and they deserve all the punishment the countrymen they’ve betrayed ultimately choose to dish out, however severe.

  74. 74.

    Amir Khalid

    February 14, 2018 at 8:33 pm

    We have no idea if Michael Cohen is being honest about merely facilitating from his own pocket the payment to Stormy Daniels. His carefully worded statement names parties who he says didn’t reimburse him, but as has been pointed out it avoids saying that no one reimbursed him. I wouldn’t put it past him, or anyone else who works for den Scheißgibbon, to lie to the public about that work. He’s trying to hide something on Trump’s behalf, and managing only to draw more attention to it. I suspect that Mueller already knows what the something is, and that it’s prosecutable.

  75. 75.

    danielx

    February 14, 2018 at 8:33 pm

    This whole explanation from Cohen sounds exceedingly unlikely, unless the word ‘facilitate’ is the operative one. IANAL, but based upon friendships with several lawyers and acquaintance with others, the idea of an attorney using his own funds on behalf of a client, barring a family relationship, is absurd.

  76. 76.

    WaterGirl

    February 14, 2018 at 8:33 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Who would even want Trump at the funeral of their child?

  77. 77.

    JPL

    February 14, 2018 at 8:34 pm

    @lamh36: Among many of his sins lets remember that George W Bush loosened the assault weapon ban.
    On Hayes show Senator Murphy wasn’t sure he wanted Trump to speak. He was concerned it wouldn’t help.

  78. 78.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 14, 2018 at 8:37 pm

    @oldgold:

    Michael Cohen = Tom Hagen

    Michael Cohen = wannabe Tom Hagen

  79. 79.

    Amir Khalid

    February 14, 2018 at 8:37 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:
    Come here and vent whenever you need to. You can always count on the support here.

  80. 80.

    Mnemosyne

    February 14, 2018 at 8:38 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    White Floridians. ?

  81. 81.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 8:39 pm

    @oldgold:

    Michael Cohen = Tom Hagen

    Hagen, while a fictional character, was much smarter.
    But then, his clients were leagues smarter than Cohen’s

  82. 82.

    Mike in NC

    February 14, 2018 at 8:42 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Fat Bastard would sooner attend another NRA fundraiser. He is 100% free of empathy.

  83. 83.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 14, 2018 at 8:43 pm

    @MisterForkbeard:

    I promise to buy a copy of whatever when it eventually gets published.

    From Thrones, Dominatons by Dorothy L. Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh:

    “I think,” said Harriet, feeling she might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, “you are behaving like a character in a book. And I think you are doing it on purpose.”

    “That’s rather shrewd of you,” said the vulture.

    “When I put you in a book,” pursued Harriet, “I shall make that aspect of your psychology quite clear.”

    “All right,” said Lady Severn. “I’ll take six copies. And I’ll promise to live till it’s published. Are you going to have any children, or only books?”

    “Well,” said Harriet, reasonably, “it’s easier to be definite about books. I mean, I know I can produce books.”

  84. 84.

    Frankensteinbeck

    February 14, 2018 at 8:44 pm

    @Thoughtful David:

    In their super-sweet setup now, they’re still getting into greater debt? Really?

    They’ve been making bank on bribes. What kind of world-class imbeci- oh, right. Jared Kushner.

  85. 85.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 8:44 pm

    @danielx:

    the idea of an attorney using his own funds on behalf of a client, barring a family relationship, is absurd.

    I believe it may also violate the canons, if not the law. Any members of the bar want to confirm, expand, or poo-poo?
    LAO? burnsie? Omnes? Steve?

  86. 86.

    Miss Bianca

    February 14, 2018 at 8:45 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Oh, I may have to give that one a re-read – I’d forgotten it had some good lines in it!

  87. 87.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 14, 2018 at 8:45 pm

    @Mnemosyne: how dare you! #notallwhites #notallfloridians #thisiswhytrumpwon

  88. 88.

    MisterForkbeard

    February 14, 2018 at 8:46 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: What a lovely passage – I’m sad to say I haven’t read this before. Time to correct that mistake. :)

  89. 89.

    Just One More Canuck

    February 14, 2018 at 8:46 pm

    @oldgold: More like Lionel Hutz

  90. 90.

    lamh36

    February 14, 2018 at 8:46 pm

    @matthewamiller
    4m4 minutes ago
    More
    It is strange that a national tragedy passed today without the president addressing the nation, and even stranger that no one seems to miss or even expect his presence.

    https://twitter.com/matthewamiller/status/963951561738215424

  91. 91.

    chris

    February 14, 2018 at 8:47 pm

    It gets better!

    BREAKING: More than 130 political appointees working in white house didn't have permanent security clearances as of November 2017, including Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Don McGahn, according to internal documents obtained by NBC News @carolelee @mikememoli @kwelkernbc— Dafna Linzer (@DafnaLinzer) 15 February 2018

  92. 92.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 14, 2018 at 8:48 pm

    @Just One More Canuck: “works on contingency? No, money down!” is one of the best gags in the history of comedy.

  93. 93.

    MisterForkbeard

    February 14, 2018 at 8:48 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Mnem is clearly Hitler. How can anyone even contest this uncontroversial fact? Only on Balloon Juice, I guess.

    /snark

    @chris: Jesus H Christ on a pogo stick, over 130? How does… who…

    Okay, my brain is working again. The important thing is that we focus on Hillary’s Email Server. How many political appointees had access to THAT, huh?

  94. 94.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 14, 2018 at 8:52 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: I’ve been unfailingly polite and she has been nothing but rude.

  95. 95.

    BroD

    February 14, 2018 at 8:52 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    “If I press escape on my computer, it also goes away.”

    I tried that but he’s still President and the kids are still dead.

  96. 96.

    Corner Stone

    February 14, 2018 at 8:53 pm

    @lamh36: I don’t want him anywhere around this. I hate his fucking guts and anything he said I would hate with the intensity of an uncertain number of suns.

  97. 97.

    chris

    February 14, 2018 at 8:53 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck: Well, if the Russians are behind Jared he’s got no worries, right? If the rumours are true Putin himself could just write a cheque.

  98. 98.

    Corner Stone

    February 14, 2018 at 8:54 pm

    @chris: Because nothing matters.

  99. 99.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 14, 2018 at 8:54 pm

    @efgoldman:

    I believe it may also violate the canons, if not the law. Any members of the bar want to confirm, expand, or poo-poo?
    LAO? burnsie? Omnes? Steve?

    Happy to explain in detail, as soon as the retainer hits my trust account!

    There was a case in Georgia 15-20 years ago where a lawyer paid the amount in dispute on behalf of his client, rendering the issue moot at the appellate court, because it was something like $200 and the client was pursuing it as a matter of principal (never take a case like that!) and the lawyer thought it was a waste of everyone’s time and resources. The client objected to the payment that had been made as he wanted to continue to make his point and sued the lawyer.

    Unfortunately, I can’t remember how that one turned out.

  100. 100.

    Amir Khalid

    February 14, 2018 at 8:55 pm

    @WaterGirl:
    After what he did to the family of Sergeant La David Johnson, Trump needs to be kept well away from any bereaved families.

  101. 101.

    Mike in NC

    February 14, 2018 at 8:56 pm

    @chris: Nobody in Trump’s orbit ever previously had a federal security clearance, except the generals, nor do I believe with so many shady things about them that they could honestly qualify for one.

  102. 102.

    Just One More Canuck

    February 14, 2018 at 8:57 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: That’s why you’re the judge and I’m the … law-talkin guy

  103. 103.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 8:57 pm

    How and/or why do they think that any of this would help anything for anyone?

  104. 104.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 14, 2018 at 8:57 pm

    @Just One More Canuck: Lionel Hutz and Steve Dallas were my inspiration for becoming a lawyer. I like to think that I have reached their level of skill.

  105. 105.

    Roger Moore

    February 14, 2018 at 8:58 pm

    @Mike in NC:

    Nobody in Trump’s orbit ever previously had a federal security clearance, except the generals, nor do I believe with so many shady things about them that they could honestly qualify for one.

    It’s point two that has most of us so upset.

  106. 106.

    Miss Bianca

    February 14, 2018 at 8:58 pm

    @chris: Well, thank God none of *them* will have any unsecured email servers!

  107. 107.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    February 14, 2018 at 8:58 pm

    @Mike in NC: I figure that’s one reason clearances for this WH are taking longer than most. In a normal administration, there must be many hires who already have clearance.

  108. 108.

    Mnemosyne

    February 14, 2018 at 8:58 pm

    @MisterForkbeard:
    @Major Major Major Major:

    Stop making me laugh at work! I need to go home! ?????

    ETA: Also, I can’t take all the credit. Different-church-lady was on fire today. ✨

  109. 109.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 8:59 pm

    @lamh36:

    even stranger that no one seems to miss or even expect his presence.

    If he did, inevitably both of his feet and at least one other end up deeply in his mouth.
    Also a person of no or negative empathy.

  110. 110.

    Mary G

    February 14, 2018 at 8:59 pm

    @Corner Stone: @Major Major Major Major: @Major Major Major Major: Me too! Every time someone says “try this one, it’s different,” it’s not.

    ETA: One of those M4’s was supposed to be Baud.

  111. 111.

    chris

    February 14, 2018 at 9:02 pm

    @Mike in NC: They’re so competent that they don’t need no stinkin’ badges!

  112. 112.

    Matt

    February 14, 2018 at 9:03 pm

    @Thoughtful David:

    In their super-sweet setup now, they’re still getting into greater debt? Really?

    You don’t worry about DTI when you’re doing a bust-out.

  113. 113.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 9:04 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    a lawyer paid the amount in dispute on behalf of his client, rendering the issue moot at the appellate court

    I was thinking more of commingling.
    But this is on point:

  114. 114.

    mad citizen

    February 14, 2018 at 9:08 pm

    @No Drought No More: I very much enjoyed (and agree with) this post. Thank you!

  115. 115.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 9:10 pm

    @efgoldman: Since I am not sure what the fuck was/is going on, I can’t even hazard a guess. What are they trying to accomplish?

  116. 116.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    @Mike in NC:

    I believe with so many shady things about them that they could honestly qualify for one.

    Herr Doktor Professor Silverman could expand on this, but based on what he’s said, Ii believe congress would specifically have to take the authority away from the “president” to grant clearances regardless.

  117. 117.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 14, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: also, you haven’t been paid

  118. 118.

    Miss Bianca

    February 14, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    There was a case in Georgia 15-20 years ago where a lawyer paid the amount in dispute on behalf of his client, rendering the issue moot at the appellate court, because it was something like $200 and the client was pursuing it as a matter of principal (never take a case like that!) and the lawyer thought it was a waste of everyone’s time and resources. The client objected to the payment that had been made as he wanted to continue to make his point and sued the lawyer.

    That’s the second lawyerly set-up I’ve heard here today that sounds like a Coen Brothers movie Right up there with the Elvis-impersonator hitman from Houston.

    smh – this wonderful world!

  119. 119.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 14, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    After what he did to the family of Sergeant La David Johnson, Trump needs to be kept well away from any bereaved families.

    “Those kids knew what they were getting in to when they went to school.”

  120. 120.

    Just One More Canuck

    February 14, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: so you prepare for your negotiations by watching Matlock?

  121. 121.

    mad citizen

    February 14, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @lamh36: We are on our own as a nation–like having a permanent substitute teacher who is the most incompetent person imaginable. I was driving home this afternoon listening to the news thinking, I wonder how it would look if Obama scheduled a new conference to do the Consoler-in-Chief thing.

  122. 122.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    I like to think that I have reached their level of skill.

    Even without meeting you (maybe next time you’re in New England) I can definitely see the resemblance.

  123. 123.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 9:13 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: I can be confused pro bono.

  124. 124.

    tobie

    February 14, 2018 at 9:14 pm

    I made the mistake of turning on the TV just now to hear Gov. Rick Scott solemnly intone that the only plausible cause for the tragedy that happened today is “pure evil.” Thank dog, I was wearing slippers so when I threw one at the TV nothing broke. The gall of these NRA cheerleaders!

  125. 125.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 9:15 pm

    @Mary G:

    One of those M4’s was supposed to be Baud.

    They look just alike, too.

  126. 126.

    Corner Stone

    February 14, 2018 at 9:16 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: “I say, let ’em crash.”

  127. 127.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    February 14, 2018 at 9:18 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: We had a case where a guy was charged with embezzlement of the funds of a local soccer club. He denied the allegations. He had receipts. The DA offered to dismiss the case if the guy paid $5K to the soccer club. Guy refused saying he was innocent. Guy’s lawyer paid the 5K because he didn’t want to spend a week in court trying the case and the case was dismissed. It was only when the guy was going after the Sheriff’s dept and the soccer club for malicious prosecution that the 5K payment from the lawyer came to light. Guy did a bar complaint and the bar basically said “meh, no harm no foul” and dismissed the complaint. I was gobsmacked to say the least.

  128. 128.

    Corner Stone

    February 14, 2018 at 9:19 pm

    @mad citizen: “Listen, people. This guy is fucked in the head. Please allow me to serve in this time of grief with some dignity, respect, and honor. Thank you.”

  129. 129.

    Baud

    February 14, 2018 at 9:19 pm

    THERE IS NO X!

  130. 130.

    Anotherlurker

    February 14, 2018 at 9:20 pm

    Please excuse the Off Topic.
    I just watched a < 10 minute Youtube video, giving the viewer the extremely easy instructions of how to convert an AK-47 from semi to full auto.
    I am very upset.

  131. 131.

    Matt McIrvin

    February 14, 2018 at 9:20 pm

    @lamh36: I don’t know about the Hallmark Channel, but that line from anti-abortion people has been around for a long time–I think I heard people pushing it decades ago.

  132. 132.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 14, 2018 at 9:21 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    My suspicion is that most of the good lines are DLS — JPW picked things up partway through — but although there are huge plot holes and chronological hiccups, it’s fairly seamless and a decent mystery (of the “howdunnit,” not “whodunnit” variety). I enjoy listening to Ian Carmichael’s audio recording — he is brilliant at giving certain characters unique voices, including the Countess of Severn-and-Thames (Lady Severn above), the Hon Freddy Arbuthnot, and a pair of petty criminal blackmailers.

  133. 133.

    chris

    February 14, 2018 at 9:23 pm

    Here is the NBC article. No worries, you’re all cleared to read it.

  134. 134.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 9:24 pm

    @tobie:

    Gov. Rick Scott solemnly intone that the only plausible cause for the tragedy that happened today is “pure evil.”

    My granddaughter starts kindergarten next year. It makes me weep (really) that she’ll be getting active shooter drills in school.
    My daughter told me tonite that they’ve been practicing shelter in place at nursery school since she was two, mandated by VA state law.
    Alternately weeping and outraged

  135. 135.

    Matt McIrvin

    February 14, 2018 at 9:24 pm

    @lamh36:

    and even stranger that no one seems to miss or even expect his presence.

    or WANT his presence.

  136. 136.

    eric

    February 14, 2018 at 9:25 pm

    @Litlebritdifrnt: so long as the payment is NOT contrary to your client’s wishes, it should not violate bar rules. if you call it a loan and expect repayment with interest, then there are other issues that come into play, and it might then be a violation. If it is a no-interest loan, i dont see the problem, other than poor business strategy.

  137. 137.

    Baud

    February 14, 2018 at 9:25 pm

    @efgoldman: Cries of joy at the epic FREEDOM, right?

  138. 138.

    TS

    February 14, 2018 at 9:27 pm

    Nothing like US media – only one thing at a time ever happens. no wonder trump wants a war to stop folks talking about what is happening inside his administration & inside the USA

  139. 139.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 9:30 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Your CV?

  140. 140.

    tobie

    February 14, 2018 at 9:31 pm

    @efgoldman: This is so wrong at so many levels. Any parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent has to worry about a kid going to school. Just awful.

  141. 141.

    lamh36

    February 14, 2018 at 9:33 pm

    @thehill
    Rubio: We shouldn’t “jump to conclusions” that gun control laws would’ve prevented Florida school shooting http://hill.cm/HDAJJrh

    Of course not lil Marco…can’t give back that flush NRA cash can ya…

  142. 142.

    Miss Bianca

    February 14, 2018 at 9:34 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Didn’t Ian Carmichael play Lord Peter in some early BBC productions? (by early I mean “Pre-Harriet Vane.”)

    I remember it was watching him in “Five Red Herrings” that convinced me to give Sayers a try. Wouldn’t you know, I started with that one – and I still can never keep all the damn railway timetable stuff straight in my head!

  143. 143.

    eric

    February 14, 2018 at 9:35 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: favorite of all time……”to my executor……”

  144. 144.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 9:35 pm

    @Baud:

    Cries of joy at the epic FREEDOM, right?

    I’m old enough to remember the first US mass shooting (Charles Whitman, U of Texas Tower, 1966). There were mass killings before, but not from firearms
    Among many things nobody thought could happen, that these events would come to be routine was near the top of the list

  145. 145.

    raven

    February 14, 2018 at 9:37 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Howard Barton Unruh (January 21, 1921 – October 19, 2009) was an American mass murderer[2] (sometimes classified as a spree killer)[3] who killed 13 people (including three children) during a 12-minute walk through his neighborhood on September 6, 1949, in Camden, New Jersey, when he was 28 years old.[4] The incident became known as the “Walk of Death”. Unruh was found to be criminally insane, and died in 2009 after a lengthy illness at the age of 88, following 60 years of confinement.[1]

  146. 146.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 9:37 pm

    @eric: No, it’s “Lionel Hutz no longer exists….”

  147. 147.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 9:38 pm

    @tobie:

    This is so wrong at so many levels.

    I worry about her getting a mediocre or incompetent teacher; about being bullied; about banging up against a subject she can’t handle – you know, normal stuff

  148. 148.

    eric

    February 14, 2018 at 9:41 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: it is tough…..i also love the matlock line

  149. 149.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 14, 2018 at 9:41 pm

    @efgoldman:

    That makes me nauseated. TWO-YEAR-OLDS do shelter-in-place drills? How Osceola this not a national outrage??

    ETA: JFC, autocorrect. Where the fuck did “Osceola” come from?? (To be clear, sentence was supposed to be “How is this not a national outrage?”)

  150. 150.

    Just One More Canuck

    February 14, 2018 at 9:43 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: So we should refer to you as Miguel Sanchez?

  151. 151.

    lamh36

    February 14, 2018 at 9:44 pm

    @ABC
    Follow Follow @ABC
    More
    Florida Gov. Scott on deadly school shooting: “How could this ever happen in this country? … You come to the conclusion that this is just absolutely pure evil.” http://abcn.ws/2ClHMQG

    Really…Rick…really

  152. 152.

    Amaranthine RBG

    February 14, 2018 at 9:44 pm

    How in the world could Cohen publish a “tell all” book without violating client confidence???

    New York Rules of Professional Conduct state “[t]he ethical obligation to maintain the ‘confidences’ and ‘secrets’ of clients and former clients is broader than the attorney-client privilege, and exists ‘without regard to the nature or source of information or the fact that others share the knowledge. …This ‘broader’ category of ‘secret’ embraces all other information ‘gained in the professional relationship that the client has requested be held inviolate or the disclosure of which would be embarrassing or would be likely to be detrimental to the client.’” This obligation, too, exists for all time.

    See here for discussion: https://www.stroock.com/siteFiles/Publications/ConfidentialityKeepingSecretNonPrivilegedInformation.pdf

  153. 153.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 9:45 pm

    @raven:

    an American mass murderer[2] (sometimes classified as a spree killer)[3] who killed 13 people

    I had just turned four. The only newspaper I read was the Sunday comics with my dad. TV news (TV period) as we know it didn’t exist.
    You, on the other hand, have too much time on your hands/

  154. 154.

    Groucho48

    February 14, 2018 at 9:46 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Here in Buffalo, a few years ago, one of the big ambulance-chasing law firms got into trouble for loaning money to their clients. A big no-no. They were fined and one of the two partners was suspended from the firm for a year or so. Apparently, the thinking is that it gives big, deep pocket law firms a big advantage over smaller firms in getting clients.

  155. 155.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 9:46 pm

    @Just One More Canuck: I think it is Steve in the ATL who cites Hutz as an idol. I am more of a Gregory Peck guy.

  156. 156.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    February 14, 2018 at 9:47 pm

    @raven: Hmmm, I was born on his 39th birthday.

  157. 157.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    February 14, 2018 at 9:49 pm

    @efgoldman: Oh, you’re here. I’m the one who has my house automated. If you have any questions, feel free.

    (I said pretty much the same last night, but you had retired for your beauty sleep.)

  158. 158.

    lamh36

    February 14, 2018 at 9:49 pm

    Wow… watching Chris Rock’s new comedy special on Netflix…2nd segment is about “Gun Control”…wow…prescient…

  159. 159.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    February 14, 2018 at 9:50 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’m more impressed with Steve in the ATL citing Steve Dallas as his career inspiration.

  160. 160.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 9:50 pm

    @lamh36: He’s always been bitterly funny and accurate on gun control.

  161. 161.

    lamh36

    February 14, 2018 at 9:53 pm

    “you can be anything you’re good at…as long as they hiring”
    Chris Rock #Tamborine

  162. 162.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 14, 2018 at 9:54 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    Yup, Carmichael played Lord Peter in five BBC productions (Edward Petherbridge played him in three other TV series, and took over the audiobook responsibilities after Carmichael’s death).

    I love Five Red Herrings, but I would never recommend it as an introduction to the LPW canon! Far too confusing with all those Scottish painters, and the persnickety railroad time-tables!

  163. 163.

    dr. bloor

    February 14, 2018 at 9:55 pm

    First Rule of Being a Fixer: If Anyone Knows Your Name, You Are Not a Fixer.

  164. 164.

    Gin & Tonic

    February 14, 2018 at 9:56 pm

    Men’s downhill looks like they’re having a great day for a race, finally. This is my favorite event of the games.

  165. 165.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 9:57 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: I am glued to it.

  166. 166.

    tobie

    February 14, 2018 at 9:58 pm

    @lamh36: Funny thing is, he won’t be accused of politicizing these murders, though that is precisely what Rick Scott is doing.

  167. 167.

    Baud

    February 14, 2018 at 9:58 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: It’s amazing how they all finish within a second of each other.

  168. 168.

    Mnemosyne

    February 14, 2018 at 9:58 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I couldn’t get through Five Red Herrings. I should probably give up and plow ahead.

  169. 169.

    lamh36

    February 14, 2018 at 10:00 pm

    “some people say young black men are an endangered species, but that’s not true, cause endagered species are protected by the government…”

    Chris Rock #Tamborine

  170. 170.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 14, 2018 at 10:03 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I think it is Steve in the ATL who cites Hutz as an idol. I am more of a Gregory Peck guy.

    Some of us are self aware, others not so much….

    @Litlebritdifrnt: lawyers protect lawyers….

    @efgoldman: zing!

  171. 171.

    Chet Murthy

    February 14, 2018 at 10:03 pm

    @NotMax: Hell, her lawyer stated today that she considers herself freed from the nondisclosure due to breach by the other party (Cohen). I gotta believe she’s got excellent representation, including on tax matters.

  172. 172.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 14, 2018 at 10:04 pm

    @efgoldman:

    I’m old enough to remember the first US mass shooting (Charles Whitman, U of Texas Tower, 1966)

    Yep, me too. That was an insane few years, the ’60s. JFK, Malcolm X, Whitman-UT, MLK, RFK, the Manson Family murders, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some.

  173. 173.

    Chet Murthy

    February 14, 2018 at 10:04 pm

    @Baud: Damn! And bugmenot refuses to help! (I have a twitter acct, but am always in favor of fucking with The Man).

  174. 174.

    Gin & Tonic

    February 14, 2018 at 10:05 pm

    @Baud: The whole event only lasts 100 seconds.

  175. 175.

    WaterGirl

    February 14, 2018 at 10:06 pm

    @lamh36: I love Chris Rock. Besides being funny, he is so smart and he tells the truth.

  176. 176.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 10:07 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Hey, I have my idols and I have my knowledge of how I fall short. TYVM

  177. 177.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 10:07 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    I’m the one who has my house automated

    I wonder if even a tech wizard like yourself.(no sarcasm) can be sure you’re protected.

    Also somebody insulted you last nite. Said Salt Lake City was the p0rn capitol. Consumption, maybe; everyone knows Glendale is the production capitol

  178. 178.

    jl

    February 14, 2018 at 10:07 pm

    ” Roses are red
    Violets are blue
    Cohen’s a smart lawyer
    Really? Says who? ”

    I thought it was ‘sezhhoo’

  179. 179.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    February 14, 2018 at 10:08 pm

    @Baud: The fix is in.

  180. 180.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 10:09 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: I have to say that I doubt anything at the Olympics will ever match Klammer in Innsbruck.*

    *I doubt anyone will ever match Klammer in general.

  181. 181.

    lamh36

    February 14, 2018 at 10:09 pm

    “We need bullies…that’s how Trump became President. We got rid of bullies… A real bully showed up…and NOBODY knew how to handle him”
    “The cast of Apprentice is running the world”
    Chris Rock #Tamborine

    His riff on Trump and even George W. Bush is good

  182. 182.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 14, 2018 at 10:10 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    It is in many ways the weakest book in the canon.

  183. 183.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 10:10 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    This is my favorite event of the games.

    Waiting to see if someone wipes out as badly as you did?

  184. 184.

    Thaddeu

    February 14, 2018 at 10:11 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    What about the Abraham Lincoln story?

  185. 185.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    February 14, 2018 at 10:12 pm

    @efgoldman: “The Agony of Defeat”.

  186. 186.

    rikyrah

    February 14, 2018 at 10:14 pm

    Maddow says that 130
    130
    People in the White House don’t have a Security Clearance

  187. 187.

    Corner Stone

    February 14, 2018 at 10:15 pm

    @lamh36: If Jeb! straightens his tie, then walks over to Trump and punches him in the fucking face this R primary is over.

  188. 188.

    efgoldman

    February 14, 2018 at 10:16 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    “The Agony of Defeat”.

    Watched every Saturday at 500pm when we were kids. Barrel jumping, lumberjack competitions, demolition derby, mixed in with real sports

  189. 189.

    Chet Murthy

    February 14, 2018 at 10:17 pm

    @Mnemosyne: After Newtown, Obama did a self-lacerating thing IIRC. He sat with each family for as long as needed, in private, let them say whatever they needed to say. I can’t imagine having the strength to do that. The Usurper? Not a chance.

  190. 190.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    February 14, 2018 at 10:17 pm

    @eric: the payment was directly against the client’s wishes. He wanted a trial, he wanted to be acquitted. He had no intention of pleading guilty. He came to us after he found out that the case had been dismissed and wanted to sue the sheriff’s dept and the soccer club for wrongfully accusing him. It was only after my boss contacted the county attorney did it come to light that the client’s lawyer had paid the soccer club off to drop the case.

  191. 191.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 14, 2018 at 10:21 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    You could do worse than reading Murder Must Advertise or The Nine Tailors to start with. They don’t include Harriet Vane, except in the most oblique way, but they are of the same period. From those, I’d pick up the four HV novels in chronological order: Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, Gaudy Night (not only my favourite DLS, but my favourite novel in the world, the one I’ve read a hundred times and still find something new to appreciate every time), and Busman’s Honeymoon. You can go back later and pick up some of the backstories.

  192. 192.

    Gin & Tonic

    February 14, 2018 at 10:21 pm

    @efgoldman: No, hoping for a clean race. At the speeds those guys go, you can die. Seriously.

    Thing is, I understand how hard and risky that event is. I have gone over 50 mph on skis a number of times, and at that speed, I feel like I’m just barely hanging on. These dudes are going 80. That’s inconceivable to me.

  193. 193.

    Corner Stone

    February 14, 2018 at 10:24 pm

    @efgoldman: Oh, that’s just catty AF.

  194. 194.

    Corner Stone

    February 14, 2018 at 10:26 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: How about 50MPH to zero?

  195. 195.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    February 14, 2018 at 10:26 pm

    Today of all days I am glad that I made the decision to move back to the UK. I might be in danger of getting stabbed, by some random idiot but my chances of getting shot are minute.

  196. 196.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 10:27 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    I have gone over 50 mph on skis a number of times, and at that speed, I feel like I’m just barely hanging on.

    OMGOMGOMGIFIFALLIWILLDIEOMGOMG!!!!!11!!!

  197. 197.

    Mnemosyne

    February 14, 2018 at 10:29 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I’ve read everything up to Five Red Herrings, plus Murder Must Advertise, which I read out of order by mistake. I should probably just jump forward to Gaudy Night.

  198. 198.

    Gin & Tonic

    February 14, 2018 at 10:30 pm

    @Corner Stone: I did about 30 or so to 0 one time. It didn’t work out so well.

  199. 199.

    SiubhanDuinne

    February 14, 2018 at 10:41 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Do read the four Harriet Vane novels in sequence.

  200. 200.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 10:43 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Arm surgery? I’ve been lucky that all of my falls have been ones where I could go rag-doll, recover my yardsale, and ski on.

  201. 201.

    Gin & Tonic

    February 14, 2018 at 10:52 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Yup. The setup was kind of like Todd Brooker at Hahnenkamm, although the finale wasn’t nearly as spectacular.

  202. 202.

    Steeplejack

    February 14, 2018 at 10:55 pm

    @Baud:

    Late to the thread, but the workaround to the Twitter problem is to erase everything from the right end of the URL back to (and including) the question mark. That gets you the “short” tweet URL that always goes through.

    Tweets posted by front-pagers at Balloon Juice add a very long “suffix” containing the post title, presumably to tell Twitter where the “referral” is coming from. Sometimes these cause me to get a message that “Twitter is taking too long to load” or “You are not permitted to see these tweets.” Erasing the suffix always fixes the problem.

    To take the first Zeddy tweet above, if you click on it you get the URL:
    https://twitter.com/Zeddary/status/963804579971420160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.balloon-juice.com%2F2018%2F02%2F14%2Frussiagate-open-thread-the-wages-of-fiscal-sin%2F

    That can be safely shortened to:
    https://twitter.com/Zeddary/status/963804579971420160

  203. 203.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 14, 2018 at 11:03 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Hey, I’ve seen two Hahnenkammrennen in person. One was in ’92 when Kitt came in 2d. I was in Germany then and Kitz was our ski resort of choice. Bad weekend to ski there.

  204. 204.

    Villago Delenda Est

    February 14, 2018 at 11:05 pm

    @oldgold: Tom Hagen was competent. There is no evidence Michael Cohen is.

  205. 205.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    February 15, 2018 at 12:16 am

    @Steeplejack:

    Sometimes these cause me to get a message that “Twitter is taking too long to load” or “You are not permitted to see these tweets.” Erasing the suffix always fixes the problem.

    FWIW, refreshing has always fixed this specific problem for me in the past, but if they changed the algorithm in the past few days, then it might not any longer. Thanks for the heads-up about URL shortening.

  206. 206.

    Corner Stone

    February 15, 2018 at 12:21 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Hey, I’ve seen Tutankhamen in person.

    Good Lordt. I knew you were an old but …damn!

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • Jeffg166 on Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Exotic Orchids (Sep 24, 2023 @ 5:14am)
  • Jeffg166 on Open Thread: Exciting News — Andy Kim Is Contesting Menedez’s Seat (Sep 24, 2023 @ 5:09am)
  • Joey Maloney on Open Thread: Exciting News — Andy Kim Is Contesting Menedez’s Seat (Sep 24, 2023 @ 4:48am)
  • Baud on Open Thread: Exciting News — Andy Kim Is Contesting Menedez’s Seat (Sep 24, 2023 @ 4:40am)
  • TheMightyTrowel on Open Thread: Exciting News — Andy Kim Is Contesting Menedez’s Seat (Sep 24, 2023 @ 3:54am)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
We All Need A Little Kindness
What Has Biden Done for You Lately?

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
TaMara
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Join the Fight!

Join the Fight Signup Form
All Join the Fight Posts

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Cole & Friends Learn Español

Introductory Post
Cole & Friends Learn Español

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!