• 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.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

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

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

People are complicated. Love is not.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

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 / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Breaking News: Michael Cohen to Plead Guilty at 4:00 PM EDT Today

Breaking News: Michael Cohen to Plead Guilty at 4:00 PM EDT Today

by Adam L Silverman|  August 21, 20183:02 pm| 250 Comments

This post is in: 2020 Elections, America, Domestic Politics, Election 2016, Election 2018, Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Politics, Popular Culture, Post-racial America

FacebookTweetEmail

BREAKING: Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, will plead guilty to charges stemming from a federal investigation in New York. pic.twitter.com/qSe2LLJVIO

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 21, 2018

According to the reporting, which is changing and updating as new details emerge, Cohen will plead guilty this afternoon to bank fraud, tax fraud, and campaign finance violations. The New York Times is reporting that this will be a straight guilty plea – there is no cooperation agreement at this time.

Michael Cohen's plea deal with prosecutors does not include cooperation, two people familiar with the matter said https://t.co/QWBd5gUeUT

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 21, 2018

The Manafort jury is still out in Virginia, apparently they’re having trouble reaching a verdict on one of the multiple counts.

The Manafort jury has submitted this question to the judge: What if we cannot come to a consensus for a single count? @MSNBC reports

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 21, 2018

Judge Ellis has instructed them to continue deliberating.

And there is always a tweet!

https://twitter.com/MichaelCohen212/status/678410436774141956?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Open thread.

 

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Cool, Maybe Now We Will Do Something
Next Post: Breaking News Part II: The Manafort Jury Has Returned Some Verdicts »

Reader Interactions

250Comments

  1. 1.

    eemom

    August 21, 2018 at 3:12 pm

    sweeeeeeeeet. #snoopyhappydance

  2. 2.

    Betty Cracker

    August 21, 2018 at 3:14 pm

    Helluva day for the blog to be borked!

  3. 3.

    Mike in NC

    August 21, 2018 at 3:14 pm

    Upcoming tweet from Trump: “I never even met this person called Micheal Cohann! Fake news!!!”

  4. 4.

    MattF

    August 21, 2018 at 3:15 pm

    I do realize it’s pointless to ask what Hillary Clinton has to do with any of this… But it still irks me.

  5. 5.

    LAO

    August 21, 2018 at 3:16 pm

    You know, it’s infrastructure week, again.

  6. 6.

    burnspbesq

    August 21, 2018 at 3:16 pm

    I can’t wait to hear Cohen describe the sources of his unreported income.

    This could be when the dominoes really start to fall.

  7. 7.

    LAO

    August 21, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Amen! Must be a Russian bot attack.

  8. 8.

    TaMara (HFG)

    August 21, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    Does this mean he’s awaiting a Trump pardon in exchange for not cooperating?

  9. 9.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2018 at 3:20 pm

    Tick tock, motherfuckers!

  10. 10.

    lollipopguild

    August 21, 2018 at 3:22 pm

    @MattF: Projection. All of these people know how guilty they are so they have to find someone that they can blame as a way of taking attention away from themselves. Also “everybody is guilty”. Yeah I am bad but Bill and Hillary are just as bad or even worse.

  11. 11.

    jl

    August 21, 2018 at 3:22 pm

    I’d like to hear from any of the BJ legal flying wedge what it means that Cohen was allowed to enter into a plea deal without cooperating. Why would the prosecutor accept it? Does it mean maybe that the guilty pleas themselves provide the evidence that the prosecution needs? Or a failure and the prosecutor got whatever it could? Did Cohen do is ‘cooperation’ through the plea deal, so the statement that he is not cooperating doesn’t mean much.

    Hard to tell with Cohen, who is so unreliable that he seems more like Trump every day. The two deserved each other.

  12. 12.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    August 21, 2018 at 3:23 pm

    @MattF: Surely even the Trumpsters are getting bored with talking about her emails.

  13. 13.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Fox news will ask why Hillary is not in jail for her emails.

  14. 14.

    zhena gogolia

    August 21, 2018 at 3:33 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    FRUSTRATING!!!!!

  15. 15.

    Roger Moore

    August 21, 2018 at 3:33 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Helluva day for the blog to be borked!

    It’s not borked; it’s under attack. Those of us who are naturally suspicious wonder if there’s a connection.

  16. 16.

    Frankensteinbeck

    August 21, 2018 at 3:34 pm

    What if we cannot come to a consensus for a single count?

    It wouldn’t make very much sense for Manafort’s jury to find him innocent on all other counts but be undecided on one. Not from the descriptions I’ve heard of the trial. I’m taking this as a good sign.

  17. 17.

    schrodingers_cat

    August 21, 2018 at 3:34 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Is the server is too close to the willow?

  18. 18.

    Gin & Tonic

    August 21, 2018 at 3:36 pm

    @TaMara (HFG):

    Does this mean he’s awaiting a Trump pardon in exchange for not cooperating?

    I’ve got a picture of Andrew Jackson in my pocket on “yes.”

  19. 19.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    @LAO:

    You know, it’s infrastructure week, again.

    Russian weasels chasing the BJ hamsters powering the site through a failing intertubes of pipes while Orange Julius the First melts down.

  20. 20.

    The Midnight Lurker

    August 21, 2018 at 3:39 pm

    HA-HA!

  21. 21.

    LAO

    August 21, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    @jl: It’s not a matter of “Cohen was allowed to plead guilty without cooperating” — most defendants’ plead guilty to avoid trial without becoming cooperators — that is an incredibly common outcome. For all we know, (1) Cohen is actively seeking a cooperation agreement or (2) the government rejected him as a cooperator because of his credibility problems or (3) he doesn’t want to cooperate.

    When some one becomes a cooperator, he/she doesn’t control the cooperation — you can pick and choose what you tell the government; you have an obligation to disclose every ounce of criminal conduct you committed and with whom you committed the criminal conduct.

  22. 22.

    Gemina13

    August 21, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    Welp. And Trump’s going to a rally tonight? Pass the popcorn. The batshit will be at maximum strength tonight.

  23. 23.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 3:41 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Surely even the Trumpsters are getting bored with talking about her emails.

    Hope springs eternal. And is doomed to be disappointed.

  24. 24.

    LAO

    August 21, 2018 at 3:42 pm

    @LAO: I’m lost without an edit button — you can’t pick or choose what you tell the government!

  25. 25.

    Yutsano

    August 21, 2018 at 3:42 pm

    @jl: It’s also possible Lanny Davis got the discovery from the prosecution and laid it out for Cohen. Basically that he can go up the river the easy way or the hard way. It’s not totally unusual for that to happen especially when the defence is so weak.

  26. 26.

    Gin & Tonic

    August 21, 2018 at 3:44 pm

    @LAO:

    you can pick and choose what you tell

    Surely you mean “can’t”.

    And look, I didn’t even go to law school.

  27. 27.

    Hitlesswonder

    August 21, 2018 at 3:44 pm

    That’s pretty dispiriting – no cooperation and a probable pardon waiting in the wings and the governing 40% of Americans will accept the pardon as a legitimate response to a rigged witch hunt.

  28. 28.

    Alain the site fixer

    August 21, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    And I see my comment was eaten.
    Folks, we’re working on things. Sorry for the issues, hopefully we’ll get through this soon.

  29. 29.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 21, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    @burnspbesq: Yep.

  30. 30.

    Mnemosyne

    August 21, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    I am likewise suspicious that the blog would suddenly come under bot attack on the day that the Manafort verdict is expected and Cohen pleads guilty. Just a little too convenient.

  31. 31.

    jl

    August 21, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    @LAO: Thanks. Is the requirement for total cooperation a matter of law, or at the discretion of the prosecutor? It if always has to be total cooperation, then I can see a problem for Cohen, who seems to have a huge amount of the stuff to totally cooperate about, much of including hie immediate family, which would put them in jeopardy.

    How much of the material seized in the raid on Cohen’s residence and work can be used for other cases, apart from his plea deal and/or without his cooperation?

  32. 32.

    Chyron HR

    August 21, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    @Gemina13:

    The batshit will be at maximum strength tonight every night.

  33. 33.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    Britain’s foreign secretary calls on Europe to be more like Trump in dealing with Russia
    Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt praised Trump’s approach and pressed for more sanctions against Russia.

    Via Wapo. Getting praised by Hunt, the UK’s version of Scott Pruitt (just healthcare instead of EPA) is one of those sure signs you’re in very shitty company.

  34. 34.

    MCA1

    August 21, 2018 at 3:47 pm

    @LAO: Agreed. Rumor has it the Special Counsel’s office told SDNY they didn’t need his cooperation, which could very well be true, given the orgy of evidence in his files and electronic devices. It’s possible the prosecutors here said “Look, you’re dead to rights here, and we have no use of you flipping because we’ve got it all already, so best to avoid the public shame of a trial where all your laundry’s aired and you can’t control sentencing.”

    Either way, MICHAEL COHEN IS PLEADING GUILTY TO (apparently MULTIPLE) FEDERAL CRIMES. He will likely be going to prison unless Dotard pardons him, handing the Democrats another 5-10 seats in Congress in a couple months.

    It’s schadenfreudalicious.

    Oh, and Yarrow: I think you need to change the mantra today. It’s not tick tock, it’s BOOM.

  35. 35.

    Yutsano

    August 21, 2018 at 3:48 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Are you saying our top 10,000 blog matters to the Russian troll machinery? LOOKS LIKE WE MADE IT BABY!

  36. 36.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 21, 2018 at 3:49 pm

    @Roger Moore: No one has heard from Doug! or MisterMix in a while. I always knew there was something dodgy about those two…//

  37. 37.

    Alain the site fixer

    August 21, 2018 at 3:49 pm

    @Mnemosyne: It’s pretty nasty stuff, too. Our hosts are hard at work and they will succeed, eventually. Sorry it’s so bumpy, but I can’t imagine if I was hosting this myself – I’m thankful we’ve got a good, skilled hosting team behind the site!

  38. 38.

    smintheus

    August 21, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    Meanwhile, Flynn’s sentencing hearing has been delayed again for at least another month.

    “Due to the status of its investigation, the Special Counsel’s Office does not believe that this matter is ready to be scheduled for a sentencing hearing at this time,” read a joint status report released Tuesday.

    Tuesday’s delay is the fourth time prosecutors have asked to delay Flynn’s sentencing.

    And Donald Jr. is already being squeezed by Mueller, according to a source cited by Vanity Fair.

    Another theory for what’s motivating Trump’s increasingly unhinged tweets is that Mueller may be closing in on his son Don Jr. “A lot of what Trump is doing is based on the fact [that] Mueller is going after Don Jr.,” a person close to the Trump family told me. “They’re squeezing Don Jr. right now.”

    Don Jr.’s lawyer said, “I’m not going to comment.” Another person briefed on the investigation disputed the term “squeeze,” but said the Mueller team continues to ask for documents.

    It’s hard keeping track of one’s own lies, but even harder keeping track of all the lies of every other crook you associate with.

  39. 39.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    I am likewise suspicious that the blog would suddenly come under bot attack on the day that the Manafort verdict is expected and Cohen pleads guilty. Just a little too convenient.

    Though it does seem like an awful lot of trouble to go after a blog which only has minor fundraising and voter awareness activities in the political arena.

    Maybe its one of our old trolls deciding to just be a pain in the ass with some easily available tools?

  40. 40.

    Mnemosyne

    August 21, 2018 at 3:51 pm

    IANAL, especially not a prosecutor, but it would make sense to me that Mueller and his team would roll up all of the little fish before they even try to prosecute the Giant Cheeto.

    Manafort and Cohen are little fish, relatively speaking. The Large Adult Children go next, IMO.

  41. 41.

    MCA1

    August 21, 2018 at 3:51 pm

    @burnspbesq: And it’ll be interesting to see whether there’s a direct naming or unnamed co-conspirator mentioned in the plea on campaign finance violations. ‘Cause everyone knows who that person is likely to be.

  42. 42.

    Frankensteinbeck

    August 21, 2018 at 3:53 pm

    @Hitlesswonder:

    a probable pardon waiting in the wings

    I doubt it. Trump went from ‘my good friend’ to ‘that liar I barely know’ when Cohen got in trouble. Trump is a disloyal asshole famous for welshing on deals, and he hasn’t pardoned a single one of the people who know his secrets and whose fat he could have pulled out of the fire to protect himself. By pleading guilty without cooperation, Cohen has just removed any value he might have had to Trump, who is only interested in what you’re going to do for him tomorrow.

  43. 43.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 3:54 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I can’t wait until he says Don Jr. I hardly know him, but he’s a nice boy.

  44. 44.

    Mnemosyne

    August 21, 2018 at 3:55 pm

    @Alain the site fixer:

    Might be worth asking Cole to tweet that the blog is having issues since people sometimes check there to see what’s up. Fight the bots! ?

  45. 45.

    satby

    August 21, 2018 at 3:57 pm

    @Roger Moore: but why this blog and not say, TPM?

  46. 46.

    oldgold

    August 21, 2018 at 3:57 pm

    Is there a daily hunting limit on witches?

  47. 47.

    Roger Moore

    August 21, 2018 at 3:57 pm

    @jl:

    I’d like to hear from any of the BJ legal flying wedge what it means that Cohen was allowed to enter into a plea deal without cooperating.

    Prosecutors cut plea deals all the time without expecting the defendant to cooperate on something else. IIRC, more prosecutions result in guilty pleas than trials, and by a wide margin. As long as the prosecutor thinks the defendant will get an acceptable sentence, it’s considered a good outcome because it spares the effort and expense of a trial. IANAL, but my reading of them accepting a plea without an agreement to testify is that they think they’ve already gotten everything of value from Cohen they’re going to get. My guess is that his recordings of Trump are at least as good as any testimony would be.

  48. 48.

    LAO

    August 21, 2018 at 3:58 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: I did, indeed mean “can’t”

    @jl: It is always up to the prosecution — which is why proffering in the hopes of getting a cooperation agreement is risky. (Proffer = meeting with the government) Also, anything seized from Cohen can be used in other prosecutions.

  49. 49.

    Mnemosyne

    August 21, 2018 at 3:59 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    I don’t think it’s that hard to sic some bots onto a blog, or a series of blogs. The Russians were helping Republicans at the House level in 2016, so they seem willing to work pretty small.

  50. 50.

    Leto

    August 21, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    Author of Trump-Russia dossier wins libel case in US court

    TLDR:

    The former MI6 officer Christopher Steele has won a legal battle in the United States against three Russian oligarchs who sued him over allegations made in his famous dossier about the Trump campaign and its links with Moscow.

    “The ruling is a piece of good news for Steele, who has maintained silence in the face of a mountain of abuse from the president and his enraged supporters. Earlier this month, Trump called Steele a”lowlife” on Twitter and described the dossier as “phony”, discredited” and paid for by “Crooked Hillary”.

    He wrote: “The Steele dossier generated so much interest and attention in the US precisely because its contents relate to active public debates here.”

  51. 51.

    Chyron HR

    August 21, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Trump is a disloyal asshole famous for welshing on deals

    Well, actually, the phrase is “welching on deals”, a reference to Fleetwood Mac cheating Bob Welch out of his royalties.

    (P.S. This is a lie.)

  52. 52.

    Doug R

    August 21, 2018 at 4:01 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): Yeah, that’s my take.
    He’s taking a deal to get a shorter sentence, hoping trump pardons him in the next year or two. He can always flip for real if trump forgets about him.

  53. 53.

    smintheus

    August 21, 2018 at 4:02 pm

    Melania strikes me as a hard-boiled, film noir type “dame”. I wonder if it has ever occurred to her – assuming she thinks her sugar daddy has a fortune worth inheriting – that there could be a bigger share of the estate left for Barron if some or all of his half-siblings ended up having to cut deals with Mueller to testify against her husband?

  54. 54.

    A Ghost To Most

    August 21, 2018 at 4:02 pm

    @TenguPhule:
    Are other similar blogs being botted?

  55. 55.

    randy khan

    August 21, 2018 at 4:03 pm

    @jl:

    I’d like to hear from any of the BJ legal flying wedge what it means that Cohen was allowed to enter into a plea deal without cooperating. Why would the prosecutor accept it?

    I think this is clear from other comments, but in case it’s not, the prosecution has no say in how a defendant pleads. If you want to admit you’re guilty, you can admit you’re guilty. The judge generally will ask a defendant some questions to make sure the plea is voluntary, and generally the defendant is required to say specifically what he or she did, but the prosecution can’t object. It’s actually more or less what you used to see occasionally on Law and Order.

  56. 56.

    satby

    August 21, 2018 at 4:03 pm

    @Mnemosyne: higher profile blogs that have also been on the Russian interference chorus aren’t having any apparent problems.
    That said, I don’t doubt that people are working hard. The server guys in my company worked like dogs the day someone applied unscheduled patches to one server and basically took the entire country of Italy offline on one of our accounts.

  57. 57.

    Just One More Canuck

    August 21, 2018 at 4:03 pm

    @JPL: he was just a coffee boy

  58. 58.

    A Ghost To Most

    August 21, 2018 at 4:04 pm

    @oldgold: Yes. Firewood is a finite resource.

  59. 59.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    @Mnemosyne: If that were the case I’d expect to see more widespread attacks. This one seems more directed. Almost personal.

  60. 60.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 21, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I was never here…

  61. 61.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:06 pm

    @A Ghost To Most:

    Yes. Firewood is a finite resource.

    We now have an overstock of coal. I hear it burns quite nicely.

  62. 62.

    smintheus

    August 21, 2018 at 4:06 pm

    @Chyron HR: Is that a tongue-in-cheek derivation? The term of abuse is the English (UK) equivalent of ‘gyp’. Southern residents of England enjoy mocking the Welsh for various qualities that none of the Welsh I’ve known have ever exhibited – generally, the stereotype that they’re nasty, mean, and unreliable.

  63. 63.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2018 at 4:06 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    IANAL, especially not a prosecutor, but it would make sense to me that Mueller and his team would roll up all of the little fish before they even try to prosecute the Giant Cheeto.

    Manafort and Cohen are little fish, relatively speaking. The Large Adult Children go next, IMO.

    You are exactly right. It’s how the mob is rolled up and the Trump crime family is mob. It’s going to be one of the kids next or possibly Jared.

  64. 64.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:06 pm

    @Just One More Canuck:

    he was just a coffee boy

    Has anyone actually seen Trump drink actual coffee?

  65. 65.

    MattF

    August 21, 2018 at 4:06 pm

    @smintheus: I think Melania intends to survive the next few years. And I think she will, which is more than you can say for most people who are within Trump’s sphere of influence.

  66. 66.

    PaulWartenberg

    August 21, 2018 at 4:08 pm

    serious question:

    so many of the people who helped trump’s 2016 campaign lie and cheat his way into the White House are going to jail right now.

    WHO is going to be left to run his 2020 campaign? WHO would WANT to, when the career result is a JAIL CELL?

  67. 67.

    burnspbesq

    August 21, 2018 at 4:08 pm

    What “MAGA” stands for today.

    https://twitter.com/standup2p/status/1031967682336378881

  68. 68.

    Leto

    August 21, 2018 at 4:08 pm

    @satby: That was a spicy meatball…

    I’ll see myself out…

  69. 69.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    August 21, 2018 at 4:09 pm

    @Yutsano: Russian trolls regularly sign up for my author newsletter. That suggests they’re not fussy about how big the score is.

  70. 70.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:09 pm

    @A Ghost To Most:

    Are other similar blogs being botted?

    Not that I can see. Site performance for the linked blogrolls seem to be normal. Nobody making any announcements either. Seems to be just us that are unfortunate today. And Baud knows we have attracted our fair share of nuts and dolts over the years who have had anger management issues against POC and people of insufficient philisophical purity.

  71. 71.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:11 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    welshing on deals

    Welshing usually refers to betting, wagers and promises.

  72. 72.

    Frankensteinbeck

    August 21, 2018 at 4:11 pm

    @smintheus:
    And ‘gyp’ of course is an ethnic slur of the Romani. I was hoping that the Welsh at least are long past being the victims of systemic racism, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it. And of course the only other term I can think of with just that shade of meaning is ‘Jew’, which is even worse. ‘Renege!’ I’ll make a note to use ‘renege.’ That covers it.

  73. 73.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:11 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Aren’t those the ones just interested in Russia’s traditional crimes of stealing money and identities?

  74. 74.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:12 pm

    @Gemina13: Rally will be in by god West Virginia. I am hoping that our Blogfather will attend and report, but realistically not expecting it.

  75. 75.

    Damon Runyon

    August 21, 2018 at 4:12 pm

    @Chyron HR: Wow, I did not know that. Man, that Damon Runyon guy sure could predict the future:

    Welch/Welsh: To go back on one’s word, or to break a promise.

    https://guysanddollsbsu.weebly.com/useful-terms.html

  76. 76.

    eemom

    August 21, 2018 at 4:12 pm

    Even if the orange shitsack were to pardon Cohen, all that evidence that’s been gathered in the case would still be available to Mueller, right? IAAL though not a criminal one, but that does seem right to me.

  77. 77.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2018 at 4:12 pm

    @PaulWartenberg: Brad Parscale is his already-appointed campaign manager for 2020. Of course Parscale’s guilty from the 2016 campaign so he may not be available long.

  78. 78.

    Anne Laurie

    August 21, 2018 at 4:13 pm

    Worth reminding folks, Michael Cohen also served as Deputy Finance Chairman for the RNC. And, he's about to plead guilty to campaign finance crimes.

    — Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) August 21, 2018

  79. 79.

    randy khan

    August 21, 2018 at 4:13 pm

    Josh Marshall is saying that he’s got sources who believe that the plea is something like a prelude to cooperation – he’s going to talk and that will affect the sentencing recommendations. That makes more sense to me than a straight guilty-plea-send-me-to-jail scenario.

  80. 80.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 4:13 pm

    Southpaw is saying note from the jury.

  81. 81.

    Doug R

    August 21, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    On the topic of bots, maybe #BeBest is a misspelling of beep boop beep boop which we all know is our robot overlords “secret” way of talking to each other.
    I don’t care. Do U? Sounds like a decision tree dead end. Gotta release the program sometime, just gotta wait on the patch.

  82. 82.

    burnspbesq

    August 21, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    NYT is reporting that the charges relate to payments of hush money to Clifford and McDougal.

  83. 83.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    I am hoping that our Blogfather will attend and report, but realistically not expecting it.

    All evidence to the contrary aside, John Cole is not a habitual masochist.

  84. 84.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Cole and I both tweeted that there are problems. Things seem to be running pretty smoothly now, though, for me anyway.

  85. 85.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    LAO, Be on standby to help us through these times.

  86. 86.

    Corner Stone

    August 21, 2018 at 4:15 pm

    @satby:

    The server guys in my company worked like dogs the day someone applied unscheduled patches to one server and basically took the entire country of Italy offline on one of our accounts.

    “I don’t feel like waiting until the security team signs off on this. It’s just a printer driver patch.”
    *Millions of voices screaming out in unison*
    “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

  87. 87.

    Calouste

    August 21, 2018 at 4:15 pm

    @TenguPhule: Keep in mind that Jeremy Hunt was the second choice for May after Boris fucking Johnson. There’s not even a barrel left to scrape for the Tories. They’re so lucky that the Wilmer clone is leading Labour, otherwise they would be polling below 30%.

  88. 88.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    Just in case anyone missed my previous comment, there is another note from the Manafort jury.

  89. 89.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    @Anne Laurie: IOKIYAR.

    Republicans would be calling on the national Democratic party to disband if the shoe were on the other foot.

  90. 90.

    Just One More Canuck

    August 21, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    @burnspbesq: or Make Alcatraz Great Again

  91. 91.

    Mike in NC

    August 21, 2018 at 4:17 pm

    @Yarrow: By Friday we can expect to read that Donnie the Lesser and brother Eric are flying to central Africa for an indefinite period of time. They will be there to indulge in their favorite activity: slaughtering endangered mammal species

  92. 92.

    randy khan

    August 21, 2018 at 4:17 pm

    There’s another note to the judge in the Manafort trial. No word on what it says yet.

    In the movie, the cross-cuts for today’s events will be amazing.

  93. 93.

    Tim C.

    August 21, 2018 at 4:18 pm

    Some possible Cohen scenarios, going from what I believe are the less-desired outcomes to the most.

    1) He’s pleading guilty to all the crimes associated with his actions in the belief he will get a pardon.

    2) Hes pleading guilty to all the crimes associated with his actions and expecting a maximum sentence but has decided to stay loyal (for now) and not testify to other people’s guilt.

    2a) Same as 2, but he’s staying quiet to avoid being killed by others (rhymes with Butin)

    3) This is prelude to a deal, they just haven’t announced all the details and/or he doesn’t get any consideration until after his provided information is found to be useful and relevant to other investigations (most likely to me)

  94. 94.

    Mnemosyne

    August 21, 2018 at 4:18 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Twitter hasn’t been loading for me for the past couple of days. ?

  95. 95.

    MisterForkbeard

    August 21, 2018 at 4:19 pm

    @Anne Laurie: Three of the four RNC Deputy Finance Chairs have either been arrested or left in disgrace. So that’s, uh. Novel.

  96. 96.

    randy khan

    August 21, 2018 at 4:19 pm

    @JPL:

    Well, apparently at least one of us missed it . . .

  97. 97.

    Gravenstone

    August 21, 2018 at 4:20 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): If it can be shown Cohen or others have been promised pardons for specific behavior … bad juju for the Trumpster.

  98. 98.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:21 pm

    Here’s an ongoing live thread.

    Plea agreement is regarding 8 counts.

    — Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 21, 2018

  99. 99.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:21 pm

    @Calouste:

    They’re so lucky that the Wilmer clone is leading Labour, otherwise they would be polling below 30%.

    The other Jeremy is no Sanders. Remember, he’s beaten all of the other nominees who ran against him because when it came time to fish or cut bait, he brought out the pole and cast the reel in defiance of the Labour Whip.

    He’s got a shitty media environment and his party’s infighting makes ours look positively civil. He’s not a saint, but don’t label him as a crook.

  100. 100.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:22 pm

    @Mike in NC:

    By Friday we can expect to read that Donnie the Lesser and brother Eric are flying to central Africa for an indefinite period of time. They will be there to indulge in their favorite activity: slaughtering endangered mammal species

    And sometimes the lions win.

  101. 101.

    MisterForkbeard

    August 21, 2018 at 4:22 pm

    @Tim C.: Josh Marshall/TPM is saying his most likely scenario after hearing from lawyers is that Cohen doesn’t get a deal because there’s no reason to give him on. The case on him is so slam-dunk that there’s not much point in going to trial, and his sentencing will be bad enough that he has every incentive to co-operate to get a better sentence… but that the prosecution doesn’t need to guarantee anything. Therefore, no “cooperation” deal, but Cohen is definitely cooperating in the technical sense because that’s the only thing he can do to help himself.

  102. 102.

    Wapiti

    August 21, 2018 at 4:23 pm

    @Yarrow: Broidy, and perhaps Wynn, may be before the kids. I’ve no idea what they might have on Wynn, but if 2 of 3 of the RNC deputy finance chairment are crooked, I’d bet the third might be.

  103. 103.

    westyny

    August 21, 2018 at 4:23 pm

    The best people . . .

  104. 104.

    Tim C.

    August 21, 2018 at 4:24 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: From your keyboard the FSM’s noodly ears.

  105. 105.

    Corner Stone

    August 21, 2018 at 4:24 pm

    8 of 18 counts?! WTF?!

  106. 106.

    Gravenstone

    August 21, 2018 at 4:24 pm

    @Alain the site fixer: We understand and appreciate it. But complaining is sort of in the jackal DNA.

  107. 107.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2018 at 4:24 pm

    Standby for Manafort news— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) August 21, 2018

    Maybe real news this time?

  108. 108.

    burnspbesq

    August 21, 2018 at 4:25 pm

    Cohen is pleading to eight counts, per Andrew Denney of NYLJ.

  109. 109.

    jacy

    August 21, 2018 at 4:25 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    I thought Trump said coal was indestructible……

    MSNBC saying this minute that Manafort Jury has reached a verdict on 8 of the 18 counts.

  110. 110.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2018 at 4:25 pm

    Manafort jury has reached verdict on 8 counts, can't reach consensus on 10 counts— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) August 21, 2018

    Ugh. Wonder what that means.

  111. 111.

    MattF

    August 21, 2018 at 4:25 pm

    @Yarrow: I’d guess that indictments of any of those would lead directly to a pardon-in-advance.

  112. 112.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:25 pm

    In other news,

    NBC News: Manafort jury has reached verdict on 8 of 18 counts.

    — Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) August 21, 2018

  113. 113.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 4:25 pm

    @Corner Stone: Crap..

  114. 114.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    August 21, 2018 at 4:26 pm

    Someone on Nicole Wallace is saying the Manafort jury has reached a verdict on 8 counts. That’s way lower than I hoped.

  115. 115.

    satby

    August 21, 2018 at 4:26 pm

    @Corner Stone: wow, it’s like you were there!

  116. 116.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:27 pm

    8 counts of gulty for Paul Manafort.

    — Darrell Williams (@WillDarrell) August 21, 2018

  117. 117.

    trnc

    August 21, 2018 at 4:28 pm

    @Roger Moore: I’m sure that any of the several possible reasons for a non-cooperation deal already bandied about are plausible, but I can’t help but wonder if there is ever a cooperation deal where the prosecutor agrees to hide the cooperation due to a defendant having a giant bullseye on his back.

  118. 118.

    burnspbesq

    August 21, 2018 at 4:28 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    Not surprising. He goes down on the tax and FBAR charges and jury deadlocks on loan fraud.

  119. 119.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2018 at 4:29 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Who is that person and how do they know?

  120. 120.

    smintheus

    August 21, 2018 at 4:29 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck: My experience with English attitudes dates back to the late ’80s, when it was mostly middle aged and older voters who would sneer at the Welsh … and ‘Pakis’. The English (mostly wealthier) undergrads I knew at the time at Oxford didn’t seem to be racist in that way, so I’d hope the anti-Welsh bias is less pronounced now. The leader of the Labour Party at the time was from Wales, but even he was stereotyped by Tories.

  121. 121.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 4:29 pm

    Does anyone know how many charges of tax fraud compared to bank fraud?

  122. 122.

    zhena gogolia

    August 21, 2018 at 4:30 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    Because of the judge saying that thing about talk about a loan he did get?

  123. 123.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:30 pm

    For Cohen

    Counts 1-5. Tax evasion 2012-2016
    Count 6 false statement to financial institution Feb 2015-April 2016
    Count 7 willful cause of unlawful corporate contribution June 2016-Oct. 2016
    Count 8 excessive campaign contribution on Oct. 27, 2016

    — Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 21, 2018

  124. 124.

    Mnemosyne

    August 21, 2018 at 4:30 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Hmm. “Couldn’t reach a consensus” is not the same as “not guilty,” so that seems like a small plus.

  125. 125.

    Radiumgirl

    August 21, 2018 at 4:30 pm

    REport I saw was jury decided 8 counts, deadlocked on 10 — didn’t say whether they found him guilty or not.

  126. 126.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:32 pm

    @Yarrow: I agree that is doubtful. I haven’t seen it confirmed.

  127. 127.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:32 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Ugh. Wonder what that means.

    Trump supporter on the jury, most likely.

  128. 128.

    Frankensteinbeck

    August 21, 2018 at 4:32 pm

    @Tim C.:

    1) He’s pleading guilty to all the crimes associated with his actions in the belief he will get a pardon.

    While I frequently argue the unlikelihood of Trump pardoning anyone outside his immediate family – and maybe not them – I can’t deny his lackies are dumb enough they might expect one.

  129. 129.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 4:32 pm

    Trump might have his rally cry. The feds are holding a possible illegal immigrant in the murder of Mollie Tibbetts.

  130. 130.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 4:33 pm

    @TenguPhule: Or anti tax person.

  131. 131.

    James E Powell

    August 21, 2018 at 4:34 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Is there a source for who says the 8 verdicts are guilty?

  132. 132.

    Frankensteinbeck

    August 21, 2018 at 4:34 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    Aaaaand justice takes a bow.

  133. 133.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:34 pm

    @JPL:

    Or anti tax person.

    They convicted him on the tax charges.

  134. 134.

    cain

    August 21, 2018 at 4:34 pm

    @JPL:

    @Mnemosyne: I can’t wait until he says Don Jr. I hardly know him, but he’s a nice boy.

    “We’ve always had a distant relationship. We’ve hardly even interacted all that much over the years.”

  135. 135.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:35 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Aaaaand justice takes a bow.

    did you mean blow?

  136. 136.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:35 pm

    @James E Powell: I am not seeing that confirmed. Would delete if the control panel were still there.

  137. 137.

    burnspbesq

    August 21, 2018 at 4:36 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    Hard to say. Overall, I didn’t think the evidence on the bank fraud charges was all that great. It’s better on tax evasion and overwhelming on willful failure to file FBARs.

  138. 138.

    oldgold

    August 21, 2018 at 4:36 pm

    guilty

  139. 139.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 4:37 pm

    Guilty of tax fraud

  140. 140.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:38 pm

    @JPL:

    The feds are holding a possible illegal immigrant in the murder of Mollie Tibbetts.

    Possible suspect. Not that Trump will care about the niceities.

    Central Park V: Part II.

  141. 141.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2018 at 4:38 pm

    Manafort guilty on eight counts!

  142. 142.

    Mnemosyne

    August 21, 2018 at 4:38 pm

    Interesting — I just got an email from Joann.com (yes, the craft store) asking me to sign their petition against the Trump tariffs without ever using his name.

    If Republicans think they can fuck with knitters, they’ve got another think coming up real fast.

  143. 143.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 4:38 pm

    Not an anti-tax person.. . five charges of tax fraud

  144. 144.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 4:39 pm

    guilty on 8 counts .. Not sure why not the rest.

  145. 145.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:40 pm

    And a little more news…

    Woah! Something I hadn't noticed before: The Treasury Dept sanctioned additional Russian entities today linked to the FSB, including more individuals and companies linked to DiveTechnoServices – which is a ~diving technology company~

    — Garrett Hinck (@garretthinck) August 21, 2018

  146. 146.

    randy khan

    August 21, 2018 at 4:40 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Manafort guilty on eight counts!

    You’re faster than CNN online, which was only up to one guilty verdict a few moments ago.

    The tax charges were the easiest ones in a lot of respects, so I guess I don’t find it surprising that they convicted him on them.

  147. 147.

    raven

    August 21, 2018 at 4:40 pm

    Xin Loi motherfucker!

  148. 148.

    zhena gogolia

    August 21, 2018 at 4:41 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    So you didn’t think the judge was inappropriate?

  149. 149.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:41 pm

    This seems to be real.

    Manafort guilty:
    five counts of tax fraud
    failing to file foreign bank account
    two counts of bank fraud.

    Prosecutors can decide to refile on other ten charges.

    — Gary Armstrong (@vanityman) August 21, 2018

  150. 150.

    eric

    August 21, 2018 at 4:42 pm

    Online Poll: Worse day:

    (1) Manafort
    (2) Cohen
    (3) Trump

  151. 151.

    Corner Stone

    August 21, 2018 at 4:42 pm

    Chris Matthews
    ‏Verified account @HardballChris

    Omarosa says she has video tapes. She’s going to bring one to #Hardball tonight at 7.

    …I’m sorry. Motherfucker says what?!

  152. 152.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2018 at 4:43 pm

    @randy khan: Saw it on TV!

    Goddamn motherfucking traitor! He’s going down. I don’t care if it’s for tax fraud or whatever else the charge is. This is just the first trial. Another one is happening soon. He’s going to die in prison. Tick tock, Trump crime family. Your time is coming.

  153. 153.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    @Corner Stone: I wondered what happened to her, and now we know. She likes attention also.

  154. 154.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    #BREAKING PAUL MANAFORT GUILTY ON EIGHT COUNTS, INCLUDING BANK FRAUD
    Here’s the breakdown: pic.twitter.com/LBY2O3mpeC

    — Christal Hayes (@Journo_Christal) August 21, 2018

  155. 155.

    zhena gogolia

    August 21, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    “If golden showers / Should come your way . . .” (don’t know how to do musical-note emoji)

  156. 156.

    janesays

    August 21, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    @JPL: He wasn’t acquitted on any charge, but there was a hung jury on 10 counts. If Mueller wants to retry on the remaining charges, he is free to do so.

  157. 157.

    Quinerly

    August 21, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: TPM has the details up.

  158. 158.

    dmsilev

    August 21, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    Man, I love Infrastructure Week.

  159. 159.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    August 21, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    It’s 4:44 pm. Did Cohen enter his plea of “Incredibly Guilty” yet? Do we have any news? The endless speculation about Cohen and Manafort is tiring me out a little.

  160. 160.

    Chyron HR

    August 21, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    The jury unanimously found him guilty of bank fraud, but they’re not sure he conspired to commit said fraud? Could he have been sleeping walking? Or was he on Ambien at the time?

  161. 161.

    zhena gogolia

    August 21, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    Should be “Though golden showers”

  162. 162.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 21, 2018 at 4:47 pm

    @TenguPhule: How about an overt, long term anti-Semite? Because that’s what the reporting seems to be indicating. He’s royally pissed of the Jewish community in Britain.

    ETA: And I don’t mean he has issues with Israel, the Israeli government, the behavior of the Israeli government, Israeli attitudes towards the Palestinians. Those aren’t, in and of themselves, indicators of anti-Semitism. I have issues with all of those and I’m definitely sure I’m not a self hating Jew/self directed anti-Semite. What I mean is he seems to have a long history of making insensitive comments regarding Judaism and Jews and being unable to recognize that there is a difference between opposing what Israel is doing as a country and separating that from both Jews and Judaism, which, despite Netanyahu’s attempts to conflate them, are not all the same thing.

  163. 163.

    zhena gogolia

    August 21, 2018 at 4:47 pm

    @Chyron HR:

    I thought they didn’t convict him on bank fraud, but on not revealing foreign bank account. But what do I know.

  164. 164.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2018 at 4:47 pm

    The day keeps getting better for the president.*COHEN SAYS HE VIOLATED CAMPAIGN LAW AT DIRECTION OF CANDIDATE— Alex Wayne (@aawayne) August 21, 2018

    Alex Wayne

    @aawayne
    *COHEN SAYS HE ACTED FOR PURPOSE OF INFLUENCING ELECTION

    Tick tock, motherfucker!

  165. 165.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:48 pm

    womp womp

    *COHEN PAID $130,000, WAS LATER REPAID BY CANDIDATE, HE SAYS

    — Alex Wayne (@aawayne) August 21, 2018

  166. 166.

    LAO

    August 21, 2018 at 4:48 pm

    Just remember fellow jackals, acquitted conduct can be used to enhance a sentence.

  167. 167.

    Mike in NC

    August 21, 2018 at 4:48 pm

    Trump will be on the phone tonight, asking SecDef Mattis about the disposition of our Carrier Strike Groups. Needs to find a small helpless country to bomb in order to change the news cycle.

  168. 168.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:49 pm

    Catching up to Yarrow. (No edit function)

  169. 169.

    LAO

    August 21, 2018 at 4:49 pm

    @LAO: or conduct that results in a mistrial

  170. 170.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2018 at 4:49 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Great minds!

  171. 171.

    zhena gogolia

    August 21, 2018 at 4:49 pm

    @Yarrow:

    ooooh, blya!

  172. 172.

    trollhattan

    August 21, 2018 at 4:50 pm

    Holy fvcking shyte, it’s Mueller Time!

  173. 173.

    James E Powell

    August 21, 2018 at 4:50 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Now it’s official. слава богу за это!

  174. 174.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    Bracing for incoming tweets

    Cohen admits to working “at direction of the candidate” Trump and national enquirer to silence Karen McDougal. He also admits to Stormy Daniels payment that he made “with and at direction of the same candidate.”

    — Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 21, 2018

  175. 175.

    dmsilev

    August 21, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    @Mike in NC: I thought ‘withdraw security clearance from random ex-CIA person who criticized him’ was Trump’s current distraction technique. Or is that so last week now?

  176. 176.

    MattF

    August 21, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    @Mike in NC: Maybe checking to see what small countries Roger Stone has been visiting lately.

  177. 177.

    lamh36

    August 21, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    @bpolitics
    Follow Follow @bpolitics
    More
    BREAKING: Michael Cohen says he was directed to violate campaign law at the direction of a candidate for federal office https://bloom.bg/2PubMBV
    https://twitter.com/bpolitics/status/1032006435486552069

  178. 178.

    MCA1

    August 21, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    Holy Motherforking Forkballs, Cohen just admitted he was repaid by Dotard, and acted to influence the election and violated campaign law at the direction of Drumpf. Boom goes the dynamite.

  179. 179.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    AT THE DIRECTION OF THE FEDERAL CANDIDATE!!!!

    Tick fucking tock!

  180. 180.

    Fair Economist

    August 21, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    @Chyron HR: Offhand I’d guess there’s a juror who is a stickler about “proof”. Probably watches too much TV law – I’ve heard complaints about jurors expecting more compelling and concrete evidence than is usually necessary or available because CSI: Peoria or whatever always comes up with it.

  181. 181.

    trollhattan

    August 21, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    @Mike in NC:
    Do we have any medical schools on small Caribbean islands these days? I understand the students frequently need a hand.

  182. 182.

    burnspbesq

    August 21, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    Judge Ellis was a dick. It’s impossible to know whether his antics had an effect on the verdict.

  183. 183.

    lamh36

    August 21, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    @HardballChris
    Omarosa says she has video tapes. She’s going to bring one to #Hardball tonight at 7.

    3:26 PM – Aug 21, 2018
    https://twitter.com/HardballChris/status/1032000961911422977

  184. 184.

    randy khan

    August 21, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Interesting that he was convicted of the two bank fraud counts, but that the jury hung on the two related conspiracy counts.

  185. 185.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 21, 2018 at 4:53 pm

    Breaking Fake News: Melania running around the residence putting all the TeeVees on MSNBC and giggling maniacally

    Rampant Irresponsible Speculation: That missing $20-odd million of inauguration money that went to a friend of her (an interior designer?) was the pay-off for her to not file already drafted divorce papers, and Cohen helped with that laundry.

  186. 186.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 21, 2018 at 4:54 pm

    @Yarrow: It means it was a very technical, data/evidence driven case that broke into three separate, but somewhat overlapping areas over 18 charges. It means that on 8 out of 18 of these charges the jury was able to come to agreement, but on 10 others there are one or more holdouts. Most likely because someone doesn’t understand a technical details and when the jury asked the judge for access to the evidence, the judge told them to use their memories.

  187. 187.

    Yarrow

    August 21, 2018 at 4:54 pm

    This day is fucking nuts. Love it. Guilty, guilty, guilty!

  188. 188.

    LAO

    August 21, 2018 at 4:54 pm

    @Yarrow: holy shit!

  189. 189.

    p.a.

    August 21, 2018 at 4:54 pm

    Couple more blocks removed from the Jenga Adminitration.

  190. 190.

    Anonymous At Work

    August 21, 2018 at 4:56 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Manafort holds the keys to the kingdom. He knows all the players and probably helped to coordinate them. He was also the driving force behind the sole Trump-requested change to GOP platform: weakening support for Russia’s annexation of Crimea. He was behind the change, in some way, and knows why that was the only change Trump requested.

  191. 191.

    Corner Stone

    August 21, 2018 at 4:56 pm

    Avenatti is living his best life.

  192. 192.

    Cheryl Rofer

    August 21, 2018 at 4:56 pm

    CNN: Cohen implicates Trump
    MNBC: Cohen implicates Trump
    Fox News: Is a giraffe a type of tall horse?

    — Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) August 21, 2018

  193. 193.

    Mike E

    August 21, 2018 at 4:56 pm

    How do you like Mueller now, Newt?
    https://twitter.com/newtgingrich/status/864998445244743684

  194. 194.

    zhena gogolia

    August 21, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    Chtob vse eti podonki popali v tiurmiu!!!!

  195. 195.

    Corner Stone

    August 21, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    @Yarrow: You’re missing 13 more “Guilty’s”

  196. 196.

    Caring and sensitive

    August 21, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    I usually lurk, but wanted to jump in to say how delighted I am with today’s developments

  197. 197.

    Anonymous At Work

    August 21, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    @Corner Stone: It’s a close contest between Cohen and Omorosa for “Recording Artist of the Year”

  198. 198.

    rikyrah

    August 21, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    they can retry on the mistrial counts, correct?

  199. 199.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 4:58 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Because that’s what the reporting seems to be indicating. He’s royally pissed of the Jewish community in Britain.

    Really biased media environment. I’m talking beyond FTNYT Hillary EMAILZ! bad. Take any accusations of his alleged anti-semitism with a HUGE grain of salt. The current “scandal” in Labour boils down to an argument over how strongly Labour condemns anti-semitism due to some members of the party disagreeing on the parts related to Israel. Meanwhile, the Conservatives get a free pass on every dogwhistle and fuckup that’s exploded on their watch.

    Sound familiar?

  200. 200.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 21, 2018 at 4:58 pm

    And Manafort is facing another upcoming trial on VA state charges, no ?

  201. 201.

    zhena gogolia

    August 21, 2018 at 4:58 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Yes.

  202. 202.

    randy khan

    August 21, 2018 at 4:58 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    What are a couple of felonies between friends?

  203. 203.

    zhena gogolia

    August 21, 2018 at 4:59 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    I mean tiurmu

  204. 204.

    Cermet

    August 21, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    This IS a big deal as per the Post:

    The Post is reporting that Cohen will plead guilty not just to the obviously troubling charges of bank and tax fraud, but also to a campaign finance violation stemming from hush money payments. That means that, for the first time, a Trump aide has been found guilty of an offense directly related to the campaign.

    So by saying he is guilty of campaign finance law, he has directly involved the orange fart cloud.

  205. 205.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 21, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I just did the post on that. Paulie is going to die in prison! And they haven’t even gotten to the second trial yet.

  206. 206.

    JPL

    August 21, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    There’s just too much news today. Can’t we save some for Friday, or is it possible they are.

  207. 207.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 21, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    I’m trying to catch up and lost the edit button: “Mistrial” means “hung jury” in this case?

  208. 208.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    @MCA1:

    Cohen just admitted he was repaid by Dotard, and acted to influence the election and violated campaign law at the direction of Drumpf.

    And how many divisions does the court command?

    /DOJ is not going to prosecute while Sessions rules there and Congress is neutered until a regime change takes place.

  209. 209.

    burnspbesq

    August 21, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    @LAO:

    And convictions or guilty pleas on tax evasion and willful failure to file FBARs have collateral estoppel effect in subsequent civil proceedings, where the big monetary penalties get imposed.

  210. 210.

    trollhattan

    August 21, 2018 at 5:01 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    Perfect!

  211. 211.

    Barbara

    August 21, 2018 at 5:01 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: Looking at that run down I would say that the jury had issues on those counts where Rick Gates acted directly but the evidence that he was doing so on behalf of Manafort was not strong enough; as well as, potentially, those counts where he was (in my view) conspiring with the head cheese of the bank — one might say that while Manafort knew he was supplying false information, he had no duty to the bank, and the bank employee’s conduct essentially made Manafort’s lies immaterial to whether or not he got a loan.

    So the defense strategy was not totally lacking, it just didn’t apply to every transaction.

  212. 212.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    @Mike in NC:

    Needs to find a small helpless country to bomb in order to change the news cycle.

    Failing that, he’ll attack Iran and North Korea at the same time.

  213. 213.

    zhena gogolia

    August 21, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    Avenatti: The developments of today will permit us to have the stay lifted in the civil case & should also permit us to proceed with an expedited deposition of Trump under oath about what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did about it. We will disclose it all to the public.

  214. 214.

    James E Powell

    August 21, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    Well, someone could ask the jurors. It’s not like they’re sworn to secrecy. I always tried to speak with jurors, win or lose, to get a sense of what they thought was important.

  215. 215.

    waysel

    August 21, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    Hooray!!!!!

  216. 216.

    randy khan

    August 21, 2018 at 5:03 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I don’t know about Virginia, but he’s facing a different set of federal charges in D.C., which, as they say, is a less favorable venue for him.

  217. 217.

    patroclus

    August 21, 2018 at 5:03 pm

    They’re all a bunch of treasonous Republican liars. Lock them up! Lock them up!

  218. 218.

    Jeffro

    August 21, 2018 at 5:05 pm

    @PaulWartenberg:

    serious question:

    so many of the people who helped trump’s 2016 campaign lie and cheat his way into the White House are going to jail right now.

    WHO is going to be left to run his 2020 campaign? WHO would WANT to, when the career result is a JAIL CELL?

    Serious answer: there will not be a Trumpov 2020 campaign. I’d (almost) bet my life on it.

  219. 219.

    smintheus

    August 21, 2018 at 5:05 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: All the more reason to retry Manafort on the remaining 10 charges…particularly since they should get a less obnoxious judge the second time around.

  220. 220.

    sdhays

    August 21, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    when the jury asked the judge for access to the evidence, the judge told them to use their memories.

    I missed that. Why on earth would that be the case? What’s the point of evidence if it just gets flashed in front of the jury instead of being something they can examine?

  221. 221.

    Anonymous At Work

    August 21, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    @Corner Stone: Best client-advocate model I can point to. Has developed more real estate inside Trump’s mind than Trump ever developed in the real world.

  222. 222.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    What I mean is he seems to have a long history of making insensitive comments regarding Judaism and Jews and being unable to recognize that there is a difference between opposing what Israel is doing as a country and separating that from both Jews and Judaism,

    You’d need to point me at direct quotes because like I said, the media coverage of him is beyond awful. I mean he was literally accused of not caring about the UK’s Rememberance Day despite attending the ceremony and staying to talk to the actual veterans there afterwards. There was a media scandal about his *TIE*, I shit you not.

  223. 223.

    HRA

    August 21, 2018 at 5:13 pm

    I am very glad for the verdict and the addition of the Cohen plea. {insert Yarrow famous words]
    A message to Alain: I need to change my old email address to my new email address. I tried and it would not take. Any advice will be very appreciated. Thank you in advance. PS Please respond to me on BJ,

  224. 224.

    Anonymous At Work

    August 21, 2018 at 5:14 pm

    @James E Powell: Suspicion is that the hung jurors on the bank fraud charges had an issue with the banks both knowing the applications were fraudulent AND granted Manafort the loans in hopes of political kickbacks. That’s not the worst reason to disagree and was the defense’s primary theory on those charges.

  225. 225.

    MCA1

    August 21, 2018 at 5:14 pm

    @TenguPhule: I’m not saying we live in a timeline in which this directly leads to the sort of actions that would immediately occur in a normal world. It’s nonetheless shocking to see happening in real time. A convicted felon just fingered the sitting POTUS as his co-conspirator in committing federal crimes.

  226. 226.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 21, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: David Pecker is going to be arrested in short order.

  227. 227.

    JeffH

    August 21, 2018 at 5:17 pm

    I can’t believe no one has done this yet.

    Sez Who?!?

  228. 228.

    Mary G

    August 21, 2018 at 5:19 pm

    Wow, what a day! The tweets tomorrow will be off the charts. I feel massively relieved about the election. The corruption of Jack Abramoff and crew helped get Nancy SMASH the gavel in 2006 and I am beyond excited imagining her snatching it out of Paul Ryan’s grasp.

  229. 229.

    burnspbesq

    August 21, 2018 at 5:21 pm

    @Cermet:

    It’s even better. In his allocation, Cohen said he acted AT THE DIRECTION OF a candidate for Federal office.

    Give that a minute to fully sink in.

  230. 230.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 21, 2018 at 5:22 pm

    @TenguPhule: Actually the problem is laying a wreath at the memorial to several Fatah terrorists combined with a long history of making either overtly anti-Semitic statements or statements that are insensitive regarding Jews. This can’t be handwaved away. It can’t be sugar coated. And it can’t be blamed on the British press.

  231. 231.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 21, 2018 at 5:23 pm

    @Cermet: See the next post.

  232. 232.

    HeleninEire

    August 21, 2018 at 5:24 pm

    It was so funny. My Dad texted me and said “Happy Birthday to me, [his birthday is tomorrow] go look at the news” So I text back “OMG Cohen is pleading guilty” and he texts back “WHAT? I was talking about Manafort” So they both happened at almost the same time. So double Happy Birthday 84th birthday to Dad!! ?

  233. 233.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 21, 2018 at 5:25 pm

    @sdhays: I think Judge Ellis was having some issues over the past several weeks.

  234. 234.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 21, 2018 at 5:31 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: His statement that he was surprised by the attention the trial generated, that was too cute by half, and a couple more halves. If you want to strike a pose of supercilious aloofness to a world you pretend to be detached from, go to Starbucks and say in a loud voice to whomever you’re with, “Well, I wouldn’t know, I don’t own a television” after pretending you’re confused by the menu, don’t fuck up an important trial with massive political and national security implications.

  235. 235.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 21, 2018 at 5:33 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: okay, “don’t risk fucking up an important trial” etc

  236. 236.

    Mary G

    August 21, 2018 at 5:37 pm

    Just saw the front page of the Fridge Report on Twitter:

    TRUMP HELL DAY

    In big red letters.

  237. 237.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 5:39 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Actually the problem is laying a wreath at the memorial to several Fatah terrorists combined with a long history of making either overtly anti-Semitic statements or statements that are insensitive regarding Jews.

    There were two wreath laying ceremonies at the site. One of them was not for the terrorists. Benjamin Netanyahu made the initial accusation against Corbyn. Make of that what you will.

    with a long history of making either overtly anti-Semitic statements or statements that are insensitive regarding Jews.

    Again, you have to point we to the quotes were he’s making them. Everything else I’ve read shows he’s consistently been a pacifist and made a point of condemning the violence, “both siding it” a bit too much for my taste but he’s been true to his values, which I can respect.

    Sorry, Adam, I think this is one of your few blind spots. You’ve implied a lot about Corbyn but I don’t think reasoned analysis supports your view of him.

  238. 238.

    Mary G

    August 21, 2018 at 5:39 pm

    @Mary G: Ugh, no edit. Drudge report stupid Autocorrect.

  239. 239.

    smintheus

    August 21, 2018 at 5:49 pm

    Republicans impeached Bill Clinton for lying under oath to conceal an affair. Will they impeach Donald Trump for ordering his lawyer to break the law repeatedly to conceal multiple affairs?

  240. 240.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 5:54 pm

    @smintheus:

    Republicans impeached Bill Clinton for lying under oath to conceal an affair. Will they impeach Donald Trump for ordering his lawyer to break the law repeatedly to conceal multiple affairs?

    No.

  241. 241.

    J R in WV

    August 21, 2018 at 5:58 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Tick, tock, tick tock, BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!……
    tick, tock,
    Ka-BOOM !

  242. 242.

    Robert Sneddon

    August 21, 2018 at 6:00 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: The wreath Jeremy Corbyn laid was at the memorial to the victims of a 1985 bombing attack on a PLO office in Tunisia carried out by the Israeli government which killed a bunch of people, Tunisians as well as Palestinians and which was widely condemned at the time by various governments including the US and the US (Security Council resolution 573). The memorial happens to be in a cemetery near the tombs of other Palestinians, including some Fatah operatives. Right-wingers and the Israeli government have used the photo of Corbyn laying that wreath to make out he was memorialising the Fatah operatives but like a lot of the Israeli government’s propaganda it’s an out and out lie. A lot of people have fallen for it though.

  243. 243.

    eemom

    August 21, 2018 at 6:02 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: @TenguPhule:

    Wow, what a role reversal.

  244. 244.

    cain

    August 21, 2018 at 6:03 pm

    @JPL:

    Just in case anyone missed my previous comment, there is another note from the Manafort jury.

    What is this? The Tale of Genji? They pass more notes that the medieval Japanese aristocracy.

  245. 245.

    eemom

    August 21, 2018 at 6:04 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Sorry, Adam, I think this is one of your few blind spots.

    What do you mean by “blind spot”?

  246. 246.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 21, 2018 at 6:20 pm

    @Robert Sneddon: @TenguPhule: Here. Look at the damn picture at the link – he’s holding the fucking wreath for the Black September terrorists!
    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/13/jeremy-corbyn-not-involved-munich-olympics-massacre-wreath-laying

  247. 247.

    TenguPhule

    August 21, 2018 at 7:20 pm

    @eemom:

    What do you mean by “blind spot”?

    Adam doesn’t usually get it wrong, but when he does, its a doozy.

  248. 248.

    EM

    August 21, 2018 at 11:25 pm

    He can’t be pardoned. The SDNY is charging him. It’s not federal.

  249. 249.

    Robert Sneddon

    August 22, 2018 at 7:39 am

    @Adam L Silverman:You might want to read that URL, you might notice the word “not” in there. You’ve been lied to by the Israeli government (which carried out the bombing in Tunisia, killing several of their citizens and got condemned by the UN Security Council for their actions).

  250. 250.

    SWMBO

    August 22, 2018 at 11:07 am

    @Mnemosyne: I got the same email. It’s interesting that they are signaling that the tariffs will make it more expensive to craft and there is nothing else they can do. The fact they are calling for help and are organizing opposition to the tariffs says a lot.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8

Recent Comments

  • lee on Self-Care Sickness Open Thread (Mar 27, 2023 @ 1:14pm)
  • Paul in KY on Pudd’n Boots (Open Thread) (Mar 27, 2023 @ 1:14pm)
  • Geminid on What the Hell Is Happening In Israel? (Mar 27, 2023 @ 1:10pm)
  • The Kropenhagen Interpretation on What the Hell Is Happening In Israel? (Mar 27, 2023 @ 1:09pm)
  • Ruckus on What the Hell Is Happening In Israel? (Mar 27, 2023 @ 1:08pm)

🎈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
Classified Documents: A Primer
State & Local Elections Discussion

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 Events

5/14  The Apocalypse
5/20  Home Away from Home
5/29  We’re Back, Baby
7/21  Merging!

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

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!