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You are here: Home / Politics / America / Michael Cohen’s House Oversight Committee Testimony Live Stream

Reader Interactions

308Comments

  1. 1.

    Steeplejack

    (Bumped up from downstairs.)

    I don’t think I’ve got the stomach to watch the hearing live. The Republicans have started their cloud of obstruction literally within the first minute. Mark Meadows moved to postpone the hearing because Cohen’s transcript was released improperly (according to him).

    Elijah Cummings is acting phlegmatic and imperturbable, but I don’t know if he’s got the kung fu grip on the situation.

    . . . Okay, he started slow, but he’s building up a head of steam. Still not sure I can watch. Might have to check in later.

  2. 2.

    Yarrow

    Predictably, Republican try to derail the hearing before it starts. Rep. Cummings was having none of that.

  4. 4.

    catclub

    @Steeplejack:

    Mark Meadows moved to postpone the hearing because Cohen’s transcript was released improperly (according to him).

    Kind of like insulting the Judge in your case, then demanding the Judge recuse himself, because he is biased against you.

  5. 5.

    Yarrow

    Ooooh…Cummings is now saying they’re NOT restricting questions related to his testimony. So they can ask about Russia. Heh.

  8. 8.

    Elizabelle

    Jim Jordan is such a dick. You can hear it when he first opens his mouth. Might mute this and skim it later.

    Fuck him. I hope he goes down in flames with Trump etc.

  12. 12.

    germy

    The republicans are masters of the sound byte.

    The video editors over at Fox are saying “Good! We can use this! and this! And this!”

  15. 15.

    Yarrow

    Gym Jordan can’t be removed soon enough. He’s appalling. It’s all Clintons, Lanny Davis, somehow Tom Steyer came up in his rant too. I can’t follow all the conspiracy theorizing.

  20. 20.

    Yarrow

    Gym Jordan talking down to Rep. Cummings. It’s not a good look. White man shouting at older black man.

  21. 21.

    The Midnight Lurker

    Jordan yields, then wants to make a motion. Cummings says he yielded. Jordan starts whining:

    “You got seven minutes! I only got four! Is this how you’re got to operate?!”

    FUCKING AWESOME!

  22. 22.

    Ivan X

    (Jordan, at the four minute mark, said he yielded, then he changed his mind, and Cummings told him to eat a dick, as Jordan tried to talk over him, crying unfairness. Breaks my heart. Cummings: “The gentleman yielded back.”)

  25. 25.

    M31

    LOL bringing up Clinton in the opening remarks.

    They have at least figured out they can’t mention Obama — everyone would go “yeah remember when we had a real President?”

  26. 26.

    Ivan X

    Here’s what I don’t get: Jordan is ostensibly defending Trump by talking about what a lying piece of garbage Cohen is. What does that say about POTUS’s judgment? Doesn’t seem like much of a defense, of character, anyway.

  27. 27.

    Yarrow

    Cohen is straight out of central casting for mob movies. Trump loves “central casting.” No wonder he hired him. He looks and sounds like a fixer.

  33. 33.

    M31

    just was reminded that Jordan is the guy who knew about sexual abuse when he was a high school wrestling coach and didn’t do anything about it

    so yeah, typical Republican

  35. 35.

    la caterina

    I just love me a jackal-sourced hearing liveblog. Will contribute when I get back to my desk where I can watch the livestream.

  37. 37.

    germy

    Here's Trump's public schedule for tomorrow at the summit, which starts today Washington time. It includes more than three hours with Kim, including 45 minutes solo; a signing ceremony with Kim, details to be determined; and a solo press conference. pic.twitter.com/yLQlj189xF— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 27, 2019

    Press conference should be… interesting.

  40. 40.

    Leto

    I still can’t listen to Cohen speak without hearing Ben Stiller’s imitation of him on Saturday Night Live. Also Gym Jordan talking about sticking to a playbook and then going, “CLINTON CLINTON CLINTON, FAKE DOSSIER, CLINTON CLINTON CLINTON“. A hundred years from now both the Clintons and Obamas will be used as Republican boogie people, scaring children with their promises of “affordable healthcare” and “fair and equitable wages”. The horror, the horror!!!

  41. 41.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Yarrow:

    It’s not a good look. White man shouting at older black man.

    Republicans love it. I’m being completely serious, here. A lot of what we think is terrible optics they think is “Hell, yeah! Teach that ______ some respect!” It’s one of the keys to Trump’s election.

  43. 43.

    germy

    When Cohen said “Trump is good and bad”

    For the briefest of moments I thought he’d said “Trump is good in bed.”

  44. 44.

    Yarrow

    Just an update for those following our jackal liveblog, Cohen is still reading his prepared statement so if you read it last night you already know all of it. Interesting to hear him say it though.

  46. 46.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Cohen says trump’s personal attorneys reviewed his testimony…. are they in trouble, or can they claim they didn’t know he was lying?

  48. 48.

    Elizabelle

    “Mr. Trump is a racist.

    The country has seen Mr. Trump court racists and bigots …. in private he is even worse ….”

    Trump supporters: we see those of you who support him for those reasons.

  50. 50.

    Barbara

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Well, it depends on what they knew, but it would probably merit an in camera review by the judge to determine whether there is a valid argument to waive privilege based on crime fraud exception.

  52. 52.

    Yarrow

    Cohen keeps saying in his statement “And yet I kept working for him.” I wrote this last night:

    The Hoarse Whisperer on Twitter has written about dealing with narcissists. As we watched Cohen go from a Trump loyalist to openly signaling that he was wavering and open to negotiating to finally flipping, the HW wrote about how it works when the scales finally fall from the eyes of someone who has been under the spell of a narcissist. When they finally see they cannot believe they did what they did. Much of this statement reminds me of that. Maybe it’s all bs or maybe it’s Cohen finally seeing what he did because he was under Trump’s spell.

  54. 54.

    Elizabelle

    Reading it is one thing.

    Hearing this read aloud is stunning. Stunning. A feast of soundbites for the news today.

  55. 55.

    The Midnight Lurker

    @Yarrow:

    Cohen is straight out of central casting for mob movies. Trump loves “central casting.” No wonder he hired him. He looks and sounds like a fixer.

    Is it me, or does it sound like his attorneys had him take ‘diction lessons’ so he wouldn’t sound like a Godfather stereotype?

  56. 56.

    Barbara

    “If I knew I’d win that I would have had the victory party at one of my properties.”

    Now that statement sounds totally credible!

  61. 61.

    Kay

    Maggie Haberman
    ‏
    Verified account

    @maggieNYT
    1h1 hour ago
    More
    “Mr. Cohen’s statement is untrue,” Stone tells me by phone. Won’t say more. Stone had been asked about an alleged conversation months ago by me and others, said it was untrue then.

    The NYTimes riding in to give the Team Trump take. Because they haven’t afforded these people a big enough uncritical platform over the last three years to speak. God forbid we should go 3 hours without hearing from Stone.

    They’re so bad at their jobs. No one even knows what their job is anymore. They all need a one paragraph refresher to paste on their desks.

  62. 62.

    Marcopolo

    @Brachiator: Yep, this actually has my attention a lot more than the Cohen hearing.

    Caution, this link is to an article but will open up a crappy autoplay thing.

    Pakistan says it shot down two Indian jets as Kashmir border crisis deepens

    Pakistan says its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets over the disputed border region of Kashmir, in a significant escalation of the crisis between the two nuclear-armed powers.

    India confirmed the loss of one plane and said it shot down a Pakistani jet as it responded to the incident.
    The confrontation came a day after India said it launched airstrikes in Pakistan territory in the first such incursion by Indian Air Force planes since the India-Pakistan war of 1971.
    Pakistan’s chief military spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, claimed two Indian jets were downed in Wednesday’s operation. One fell inside Pakistan-administered Kashmir, while another went down in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir, he said on Twitter.
    Ghafoor initially claimed two Indian pilots were arrested and said one was being treated for injuries in a military hospital. But on Twitter later Wednesday, he said only one was in military custody.

    In a normal world the President of the United States would working hard to calm things down & throwing all of our diplomatic resources into this effort. A lot of nuclear war scenarios start with these two countries getting stupid with each other. Instead we get this ridiculousness in Vietnam.

  65. 65.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @zhena gogolia: I’ve been wondering if Cohen would have some kind of reality-show appeal for the kind of people who still think trump is a successful businessman etc because they saw him play one on a reality show, and thus break through with at least a few (percentage wise) of the the lumpenmittel who think it’s all ‘just politics’

    trump’s latest sexual assault accuser said at least three times she signed on to his campaign because she thought we could use a businessman in the White House

  67. 67.

    Barbara

    @Kay: It is striking how Haberman has nothing interesting to say, no independent ideas of what to report on, except to be a mouthpiece for Trump and his fellow travelers. It’s easy to dump on Haberman in particular because she is such an obvious stenographer, but in reality, a lot of journalism works this way. If you think about the way Democratic candidates are being treated, a lot of it is just journalists looking for or being contacted by malcontents and somehow ginning that up into a news story without doing much more than regurgitating what they have been told. But yes, Haberman takes the prize in the category of Ventriloquist Journalism.

  68. 68.

    Yarrow

    Trump having Cohen threaten the schools, college board etc. not to release his scores is just priceless. So petty.

  71. 71.

    SFAW

    @Elizabelle:

    Fuck him. I hope he goes down in flames with Trump etc.

    Much though I’d love to see this — and I absolutely defer to Kay’s wisdom regarding Ohio races, if she says I’m wrong — I think you’re dreaming. Despite the revelations regarding his sick behavior vis-a-vis the college wrestlers, and despite the Traitor-in-Chief being a drag on all red candidates, Jordan got 65 percent of the vote in 2018. In other words: if John Wayne Gacy, or Hitler, or Jeffrey Dahmer ran as a Rethug in the Ohio 4th, he’d win. And if Jesus ran as a Dem, he’d be “a liberal squish,” and lose.

    I would love to be wrong about this.

  72. 72.

    Barbara

    @Steeplejack (phone): He is not tweeting the written statement because you can read it yourself. Katy Tur is tweeting the highlights. This is the only value I find in Twitter, to follow specific people for events like this.

  77. 77.

    Elizabelle

    All of Cohen’s testimony is both entirely believable — comports with what we already know of the situation and that jackass perching in the White House — and devastating.

    Don Jr. going down.

    And I love how Cohen tied Trump’s present visit to Vietnam with his avoiding the war on [bone] spurious reasons.

    In Trump’s view: “Don Jr. has the worst judgment of anyone in the world.”

    That stings. It is mean, probably accurate, and so awful coming from a parent.

  78. 78.

    Yarrow

    @SFAW: He won’t be voted out. He’s caught up in Trump’s illegal actions. That’s what will get him out. Same as Gaetz.

  79. 79.

    SFAW

    @Kay:

    They’re so bad at their jobs.

    Actually, they’re quite good at their jobs. It’s just that their jobs are not to be journalists, but rather to carry water or be uncritical stenographers for the Maladministration.

  80. 80.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    that obsequious little speech about Melania — O how I regret lying to our lovely first lady about her husband’s cheating with a porn star, because she’s such a fine person who shouldn’t be so humiliated in public by this story I’m reminding everyone of– is real twist of the knife

    (I’m a bit behind because I paused it for a phone call)

  83. 83.

    The Moar You Know

    “Mr. Cohen’s statement is untrue,” Stone tells me by phone. Won’t say more. Stone had been asked about an alleged conversation months ago by me and others, said it was untrue then.

    @Kay: Not 24 hours after the fact and that fucker is violating his goddamn gag order AGAIN. Can we get some jail time, Judge?

  84. 84.

    Yarrow

    From Cohen’s testimony, this is something they can’t make go away:

    The President of the United States thus wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws. You can find the details of that scheme, directed by Mr. Trump, in the pleadings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District New York.

    Tick tock, motherfuckers.

  87. 87.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @A Ghost To Most: always so telling to me that when Junior told Daddy the Russians wanted to help and wanted him, Junior!, to help them help, Daddy said, “Yeah, that’s great, bring Jared along to make sure you don’t fuck it up”. The son he wishes he’d had.

    The Large Adult Children never had a chance. Not that it excuses what miserable adults they are.

  89. 89.

    Yarrow

    Cummings asking Cohen if he recognizes the gravity of the moment.

    Cohen has been disbarred as of yesterday.

  91. 91.

    JMG

    @SFAW: Access journalism is how the White House beat has worked since Kennedy (first President to actively manipulate reporters through it as far as I can remember. FDR manipulated them en masse). But when the President is someone who’d lie about the weather just for practice, access to his words is of no value. Media is like any other business or organization. Tried and true formulas are not easily abandoned when circumstances change dramatically and suddenly.

  92. 92.

    Fair Economist

    @Kay: Note: standard opinion manipulation tactics. She doesn’t claim Cohen is lying (because she herself knows he’s telling the truth) so she reports that one of Trump’s co-conspirators *says* Cohen is lying.

    Selective reporting of irrelevant facts.

  93. 93.

    The Moar You Know

    In Trump’s view: “Don Jr. has the worst judgment of anyone in the world.”

    That stings. It is mean, probably accurate, and so awful coming from a parent.

    @Elizabelle: Is accurate mean? So far as I can see, it is accurate.

    It is awful coming from a parent, but not even the most brainwashed GOPer is going to be nominating Donald Trump as “Parent of the Year”.

  94. 94.

    rikyrah

    @Barbara:

    @Steeplejack: I am following Daniel Dale on Twitter. He is reliable and I like his “Canada Dry” approach to the subject matter.

    If I ever meet Mr. Dale, I’m going to offer to buy him dinner. That he covers these folks with such clarity astonishes me.

  95. 95.

    A Ghost To Most

    I haven’t had or wanted a drink in months, but today I think I may have one. A monumental day.

  96. 96.

    germy

    Mark Meadows opens by asking the hearing be postponed because #Cohen gave them testimony late.

    I'm old enough to remember when Brett Kavanaugh dumped thousands of documents on Senate Judiciary right before the confirmation hearing, and no Republican gave a damn.— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) February 27, 2019

  97. 97.

    Brickley Paiste

    @Yarrow:

    This sounds morbid in a way, but I am so happy that Cummings is still alive, still sharp, and has the opportunity to act once again as the conscience of this country.

  100. 100.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Kay:

    “Mr. Cohen’s statement is untrue,” Stone tells me by phone. Won’t say more.

    As @Plato says, isn’t this violating Stone’s gag order? Stone is obviously shooting for ‘I said three words, that’s it!’ workaround, but does that work?

  101. 101.

    Fair Economist

    @JMG: Haberman is not access journalism. That taints most coverage these days, but Haberman herself is much worse. She’s a friend of Roger Stone and in on the whole conspiracy. Note that even though she has connections to many people involved and *could* choose to mention real facts or information she has learned behind the scene, she *chooses* to tweet obvious lies from a co-conspirator.

  102. 102.

    Yarrow

    They’re talking about Alan Weisselberg who was the CFO of the Trump Org. He goes all the back with that company to Trump’s dad’s days. He knows EVERYTHING and he flipped a long time ago. Mueller has everything from him.

  104. 104.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay:
    @Fair Economist:

    Maggie Haberman

    I hate that fucker. I hope she gets scathed, and hard, by carrying water for the Trumps and all the terrible, terrible people in their circle. She is Judith Miller [lack of] quality.

  107. 107.

    Elizabelle

    Is this the first time Ivanka’s name has come up? And Eric’s? Have missed most of this.

    ETA: Oh. It’s Jim Jordan again. But in a normal tone of voice.

  109. 109.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Elizabelle:

    In Trump’s view: “Don Jr. has the worst judgment of anyone in the world.”

    I said in a previous thread that as abusive as Trump is to them, his children may be the only people who don’t think he’ll pardon them. That’s kind of the opposite of what people have been expecting.

  111. 111.

    Yarrow

    Gym Jordan is trying to paint Cohen as a habitual liar and cheat. Cohen is owning his bad actions pretty well. Except now something about a Twitter account.

  112. 112.

    Elizabelle

    Jim Jordan is getting after someone about having a history of lying?

    Irony. Here are your smelling salts. Off that couch!

  113. 113.

    different-church-lady

    @germy:

    The only thing more dangerous than someone who has nothing to lose is someone with receipts cancelled checks who has nothing to lose.

  114. 114.

    The Midnight Lurker

    If I’m going to watch all these hearings, I’m going to have to order some of them NASA diapers off Amazon. I’m afraid to go to the bathroom!

  117. 117.

    geg6

    @rikyrah:

    Not just clarity. But he does it so relentlessly and doggedly. I could not listen to Dolt 45 for hours on end like he does. It’s quite heroic, IMHO.

  119. 119.

    Elizabelle

    And now Jim Jordan, who has been with the most repugnant of the Republicans for years upon years, is lecturing Cohen for working so long for Trump?

    Ten years. What was Jim Jordan doing ten years ago? Now he is smearing Andy McCabe and Jim Comey.

    Jordan is a pool of shit. A black hole with no soul.

  120. 120.

    Brickley Paiste

    @Leto:
    I think you’re technically right but the fact that Stone would only say 3 words indicates he thinks he was speaking on a subject related to his trial.

    Because why not speak volumes if he’s on solid ground?

    Like many things before a federal judge, it’s up to Berman and her mood.

  121. 121.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Yarrow: Gym Jordan is a creep. Would not let him near kids. That leer on his face. Yuck.

    One more gooper who sets my “that boy ain’t right” meter spinning like a top

  124. 124.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    again, I’m a bit behind, but Jordan is bringing up the threats Cohen made to the reporter who broke the story that Ivana said trump raped her in a fit of rage over a bad baldness cure…. does he really want to bring that up in this hearing? somebody’s gonna follow up on that, right?

  125. 125.

    Elizabelle

    WaPost website banner headline right now:

    Cohen calls Trump a ‘cheat,’ says his loyalty was misplaced

    Former lawyer says Trump repaid him for hush money payments, presents checks

  126. 126.

    A Ghost To Most

    The only thing Jordan accomplished was showing the whole country what a full-service asshole he is.

  129. 129.

    Elizabelle

    NY Times is more shrill. Its banner headline:

    In Testimony to Congress, Cohen Calls Trump a ‘Con Man’

  130. 130.

    Yarrow

    Wasserman-Schultz says the Trump org and Trump campaign appear to be “filthy with Russian contacts.” Heh.

  131. 131.

    Elizabelle

    Debbie Wasserman-Schultz:

    “Trump campaign appeared to be filthy with Russian contacts.”

    I love her wording.

  132. 132.

    Barbara

    @germy: I am also old enough to remember when Republican members couldn’t give two twinkies over receiving the testimony of Elliot Abrams, also convicted for lying to Congress.

  134. 134.

    The Midnight Lurker

    Oh, fuck Mark Green!

    Bitches about gag orders and limited scope of questioning.

    Not even asking questions. Just smearing Cohen.

    Dick.

  136. 136.

    Yarrow

    Next up is TN Rep Mark Green. He’s doing nothing but reading a statement. I guess Republicans are going with ranting about how awful Cohen is and how terrible Democrats are as their strategy.

  137. 137.

    Elizabelle

    GOP Tool Mark Green of Tennessee up now.

    Says Democrats should have an honest person up here testifying.

    Is there one associated with the Trump Organization? Or administration?

    I want all these GOP Trump defenders disgraced and to jail.

    They’re just impugning the witness’s character. They cannot impugn his testimony, because it is very likely honest. No benefit to Cohen for lying.

    No benefit to the GOP for telling the truth.

  139. 139.

    Rommie

    Well, we know what every Elephant is going to trumpet. Not unexpected, but going full asshat is not the best look outside the cult.

  142. 142.

    Elizabelle

    @Yarrow: Makes it more clear than ever that they cannot go after Cohen’s actual statements and testimony. Just his character and legal problems.

    I would love to see footage of Americans watching this thing.

  144. 144.

    Yarrow

    …and Cohen provided multiple corroborating witnesses: Priebus, McGahn, and attorneys he brought in to inform Trump that his joining of the White House staff would sever his attorney-client privilege.J

    ordan just had his attempted grenade shoved down his own question-hole.
    — The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) February 27, 2019

    Yep. Priebus sure has been quiet. Heh.

  148. 148.

    Elizabelle

    Green is giving the remainder of his time to Jim Jordan. Lucky us.

    But time is up, and Cohen didn’t understand the question and cannot answer. LOL.

    Carolyn Maloney up now.

  149. 149.

    Yarrow

    Cohen: “There was nothing that happened at the Trump Org…that didn’t go through Mr. Trump for his approval and sign offs.”

  150. 150.

    Yarrow

    Cohen mentions Weisselberg again. It’s amazing how little coverage Weisselberg’s flipping has received. He knows EVERYTHING. Going back decades.

  151. 151.

    Elizabelle

    Andy Borowitz, satire from The New Yorker:

    Sarah Huckabee Sanders Warns Michael Cohen to Leave Lying to Professionals

    WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—As he prepared to testify to Congress on Wednesday, the former Trump lawyer Michael D. Cohen received a thorough scolding from the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who warned Cohen to “leave lying to the professionals.”

    “You probably think you can step up to the microphone and lie like it’s the easiest thing in the world,” she said. “Well, you should try doing it each and every day, and then tell me how easy it is.”

    Sanders drew a sharp distinction between professional liars who take pride in their work and liars like Cohen, whom she called “strictly amateur.”

    “Michael Cohen has never demonstrated that he is willing to put in the hard work, practice, and sheer drudgery of becoming a great liar,” she said. “This is definitely one of those ten-thousand-hours things.” ….

  153. 153.

    Barbara

    @Yarrow: This is why it really helps to have legal training when you question people. Asking questions you don’t know the answer to is always dangerous and no doubt that’s why many of the Republican House members are limiting themselves to impugning Cohen’s character without risking any questions that would elicit facts. They have enough background to know that could be a problem.

  156. 156.

    Elizabelle

    “Catch and Kill.”

    Aha. Good work, Rep. Maloney. About purchasing rights to unfavorable stories.

  157. 157.

    eric

    If only there were an industry with people on payroll to look into these sorts of things before the election.

  158. 158.

    Elizabelle

    David Pecker and Trump had Catch and Kill arrangements long before Cohen began working for Trump in 2007.

    Maloney calls Cohen’s testimony an act (?) of redemption.

    Comer, GOP rep from Kentucky up now. Never heard of him before.

  159. 159.

    Yarrow

    Rep. James Comer (R-KY) now. He says Cohen bought a summer home. Cohen says he doesn’t have one.

    Now discussing Cohen’s “bank fraud.”

  162. 162.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @eric: instead of going to dinner at the White House to plead with trump to stop calling journalists “the enemy of the people”, Paunch Sulzberger or whatever the latest one is should hire back Margaret Sullivan to do a deep report on the NYT’s ’16 coverage, from their complicity with “Clinton Cash” to the infamous “FBI finds no link between trump and Russia” headline, to their current practice of retweeting trump lies as simple, uncommented headlines

  163. 163.

    Yarrow

    Oh, Comer’s line of questioning didn’t work so well for him. Now he’s saying they can’t trust him because he doesn’t tell the truth. Heh.

  164. 164.

    Elizabelle

    Yeah, this is the first GOP who seems to have landed an actual blow on Cohen. Makes me curious.

    Comer gets Cohen to admit to being a fool for his association with Trump. Gives up his time to Jordan.

  165. 165.

    The Midnight Lurker

    Cohen and Jordan in it!

    All they want to do is discredit Cohen’s testimony. It’s all they got.

    Sad.

  166. 166.

    bemused

    I was sent an article entitled “God help us-Cohen is the John Dean of Trump Russia”. As long as Cohen spills everything but he is no John Dean and never will be. Cohen seems to be very determined to spill all and not a bit intimidated by shouty, frantic Republicans. As Rick Wilson said of Cohen, a loser with nothing to lose.

  169. 169.

    Yarrow

    Eleanor Holmes Norton up now. She wants to know what Trump’s reaction to the Access Hollywood video release was.

  171. 171.

    Yarrow

    Republican Kentucky Rep. James Comer: You called Trump "a cheat. What would you call yourself?" Cohen: "A fool."— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) February 27, 2019

    Yep. So far he’s fitting the Hoarse Whisperer’s assessment of how someone who has got out from under a narcissist feels and acts. He can’t believe what he did for Trump. He was a fool.

  174. 174.

    Elizabelle

    FTF NY Times has expanded its banner headline:

    Testifying to Congress, Cohen Calls Trump a ‘Racist,’ a ‘Con Man’ and a ‘Cheat’

    And all these Republicans in Congress cannot defend Trump enough. We see you, GOP.

  177. 177.

    Yarrow

    Mark Meadows has brought in Lynn Patton who works for the Trump org. She’s a black woman and claims she wouldn’t work for a racist. Cohen responds he shouldn’t work for him as a Holocaust survivor.

  179. 179.

    Elizabelle

    Mark Meadows is dragging in a young black woman who works for the Trump Organization to deny Trump is racist.

    Meadows asks for proof that Trump has made racist statements. Implies he does not have proof despite 200 plus tape recordings.

    Now going after his fees from Novartis.

  180. 180.

    Yarrow

    Mark Meadows body language is weird. He’s leaning on his hand and half covering his face. He’s telegraphing that he’s hiding something.

    Now he’s yelling at Cohen.

  181. 181.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Lynne Patton is the NY/NJ wedding planner trump hired to work at HUD because “Urban” means black, just like brain surgeon (and suspected brain donor) Ben Carson is Secretary of HUD because “urban”. But how can people suggest trump is racist?

  185. 185.

    Plato

    Pathetic to see every rethug is a totus toady now. Not one thug amidst these traitors even with a minuscule of principle.

  189. 189.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Jeffro: I’ve never been a Lanny Davis fan but I suspect a lot of Cohen’s best lines were crafted and coached by Lanny.

    Was LD the one whose exclusion the Obama people made a condition of HRC being SoS?

  193. 193.

    rk

    They literally had a black woman stand behind them to prove Trump is not a racist. These are cartoons characters. I can’t believe the country votes for them.

  194. 194.

    Kay

    @Elizabelle:

    We would have had the racist on tape if the disgusting venal cowards on that other stupid show had released it.

    Trump is a team effort. It took a lot of horrible people to make this happen. And they’re all still around, raking in the cash.

  197. 197.

    Yarrow

    @Gin & Tonic: I may have misquoted him. I think he said the child of Holocaust survivors or descendant of Holocaust survivors or something like that. Apologies.

  200. 200.

    The Midnight Lurker

    Meadows: Put this guy in jail twice!!

    Rice: You’re a lying liar! Lanny Davis blah-blah… LIAR!!

  201. 201.

    germy

    @rk:

    They literally had a black woman stand behind them to prove Trump is not a racist. These are cartoons characters. I can’t believe the country votes for them.

    She has now returned to The Sunken Place.

  202. 202.

    Wapiti

    @germy: I expect, at some level, Cohen is looking at these Republicans and seeing himself, the Trump toady he was. He probably wants to puke right there.

    The only difference between him-that-was and them, is they haven’t repeated Trump’s lies under oath or to the FBI.

  206. 206.

    germy

    Cohen is having trouble cutting through all these thick southern Republican accents.

    “Can you repeat? I don’t understand”

  207. 207.

    Elizabelle

    Jody Hice: Did you prepare for this hearing with the Democrat majority?

    Tiring of these goobers and their lack of class. Cohen keeps asking him to repeat himself. Good tactic. Like they’re not speaking English.

    Now asking about Tom Steyer. Can George Soros be far behind?

  212. 212.

    Kay

    Stormy Daniels did this, folks. She’s the one and only reason this was pursued. It would have been buried. They simply weren’t interesting in pursuing it, because the witness and whistleblower is a low status person.

    It’s delicious in a way. A kind of revenge.

  216. 216.

    Yarrow

    Who’s the Rep. Lynch. I like him! He’s going after Republicans’ hypocrisy and lack of patriotism.

  217. 217.

    germy

    This truly is a continuation of the war between the states.

    One side has southern accents. One side has new york accents.

  218. 218.

    Leto

    Not only are the GoPers just grandstanding, but it seems that they’re trying to spin another conspiracy with Lanny Davis and CLINTONS CLINTONS CLINTONS!!! It’s transparent and pathetic.

  219. 219.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay: Yes. Praise be to Stormy Daniels.

    She had an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times a few weeks back. About strippers, and how they should remain independent contractors and NOT employees of the strip clubs they appear at. It was well reasoned.

  222. 222.

    debit

    @Leto: I’m waiting for the GOP bench to slowly empty until there are only Democrats left. They have to know this isn’t going well for them.

  223. 223.

    Jeffro

    If the GOP reps in attendance are any indication, the hard core of the trumpublicans really are willing to go down fighting for their man…I would not have believed it if I had not been seeing it happen real-time this past hour…

  225. 225.

    germy

    Michael Cohen was RNC deputy finance chair JUST THIS LAST CYCLE. Every Republican that's gonna attack him as a lying tax cheat criminal tomorrow got elected/re-elected in part because that lying tax cheat criminal spent a year raising money for them.— Zeddy (@Zeddary) February 26, 2019

  226. 226.

    The Midnight Lurker

    @Yarrow:

    Who’s the Rep. Lynch?

    MA-08. South Boston. Harvard, I think. He was MA-9th but something happened, I don’t remember.

    Jordan is pushing back by listing all the FBI guys fired by Trump.

    What a dick.

  227. 227.

    misterpuff

    Hice asks if Cohen had a liaison with Democratic committee heads and Cohen confirmed they communicated. Immediately Fox puts up cryron “I spoke with Democrat party”. They are working hard.

  228. 228.

    Elizabelle

    Love this.

    Cohen points out that the lies to Congress were in protection of Donald Trump. It’s the stairway comment WRT deplorable Meadows and Hice attacks.

  229. 229.

    Elizabelle

    The Democrat questioning Cohen concludes with:

    “I don’t think my colleagues (?) are afraid you are going to lie. I think they are afraid you are going to tell the truth.”

  231. 231.

    Yarrow

    Cohen, about Lanny Davis waiting three years to be paid: “I guess he thinks it’s important.” LOL!

  232. 232.

    debit

    Can I also say that I have gone from utterly despising Cohen to finding him sad. I hope he makes it out of prison okay and has a good rest of his life. He surely is paying for what he’s done.

  233. 233.

    plato

    Mark Meadows brings out HUD official Lynne Patton and says that she says, as a black woman, she'd never work for a racist. Cohen: "Neither should I, as the son of a Holocaust survivor." Cohen says to ask Patton how many black executives are at the Trump Org. "The answer is zero."— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 27, 2019

  234. 234.

    Elizabelle

    Paul Gosar lecturing on duty of loyalty. Duty of confidentiality.

    I think of Gosars’ siblings’ loyalty to his political views. Not.

    These Republicans are pathological liars. Gosar just supplied that description, attacking Cohen. But. they. are. pathological.

  236. 236.

    Kay

    @Elizabelle:

    and how they should remain independent contractors and NOT employees of the strip clubs they appear at. It was well reasoned.

    They refer to themselves as “dancers” here so I do too. Before debit cards were popular they always paid with wads of cash, which cracks me up :)

    Not hundreds of singles. but almost. They looked like bookkeepers busily counting and stacking it up.

  237. 237.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Gosar said last fall that he’s an expert in body language because he’s a dentist, right? The one his six siblings made ads against?

  240. 240.

    Gin & Tonic

    @The Midnight Lurker: No Harvard. He’s Southie born and bred, used to be a union ironworker like his Dad. Conservadem by Mass standards. Was redistricted in 2010-2012, whenever the last redistricting was, but ran and won in the new district anyway.

  241. 241.

    Leto

    @debit: Gym Jordan going back to the FBI angle. They’re simply playing to the base and the same playbook they’ve used since early 2017. They know it’s a farce and they’re going to keep going with it. They’re all in on the Trump train. Doesn’t matter what damage they do to the republic, they’re goinf to do it.

    Also this Gosar fuck just now saying, “liar liar pants on fire”. I’m surprised the motherucker didn’t implode.

  242. 242.

    joel hanes

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Such a shame, because her father was a really good writer and reporter.

    A good editor would guide her toward being better.

    Unfortunately, the politics desk at the FTFNYT does not employ a good editor.

  244. 244.

    JoeyJoeJoe

    Hice’s predecessor, Paul Broun, was a nut too. In 2009, he put holy water on the door in the capitol that Obama was going to pass through on the way to be inaugurated. To win the seat, Broun beat a guy who suggested bombing the university of Georgia (minus the football team) for being liberal.

  247. 247.

    Elizabelle

    @debit: Cohen does seem sad. Sad eyes. Ashamed of being disbarred.

    But maybe prison will be easier than dealing with these lying liar Republicans, attacking him for behavior they have on display themselves.

  248. 248.

    plato

    Someone should ask the GOP why, given Cohen's long history of criminal ties and behavior — which was in the public domain before 2016 — they made him the deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2017 #CohenTestimony— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) February 27, 2019

  249. 249.

    Elizabelle

    Cohen is going to come out of these hearings more credible than the Republican pissants trying to tear his flesh off.

  250. 250.

    Yarrow

    Rep Jim Cooper – D-Tenn up now. Points out the refrain of “And yet I continued to work for him.” Asks what the breaking point was. Cohen says there were several things. Says he’s “responsible for your silliness. I did the same thing you’re doing now. I protected Mr. Trump for ten years.”

    “The more people that follow Mr. Trump blindly, the more people that will suffer the consequences that I’m suffering.”

  251. 251.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Cohen to GOP reps: “I did what you’re doing for ten years”, i.e. covering up for and defending trump. I am your future, look upon my works, you oafs, and change your ways before it’s too late.

  252. 252.

    joel hanes

    @JMG:

    Access journalism is how the White House beat has worked since Kennedy

    Helen Thomas.
    So #notallwhitehousereporters

  253. 253.

    Jeffro

    Oh
    My
    God

    …this is just devastating. He just told the GOP to its collective face that they are going to go down for following trumpov.

  255. 255.

    Yarrow

    @debit: He’s doing a good job of looking like he’s owning his actions. Let us not forget his uncle was in the mob and his father-in-law is also connected to the mob.

  256. 256.

    Yarrow

    Cohen talking about Trump saying he could shoot someone on 5th Ave and get away with it. Says it’s true. He meant it. “You don’t know him. I do.”

  258. 258.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    @plato:
    Wow. Cohen utterly slayed her and Meadows. Is it bad that I’m beginning to get a bit of grudging respect for Cohen?

  260. 260.

    Yarrow

    @Jeffro: It’s history. Cohen is amazing. Now saying he would use others to threaten physical harm. Rep: “He’d hire them?” Cohen: “No, they were already working there.”

  265. 265.

    The Midnight Lurker

    Cohen: TRUMP HAS GOONS EVERYWHERE!!! Can we take a break? Gotta whizz.

    PS – Wolf Blitzer sucks.

  266. 266.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I always wonder what this stuff looks like to non-political-junkies

    @ JohnJHarwood
    has a single one of these GOP haymakers landed on Cohen?

    Harwood a Villager in good standing, one of the good ones, IMHO

  267. 267.

    Elizabelle

    “Everybody’s job at the Trump Organization is to protect Mr. Trump.”

    Every day they lied to protect him. “And it is what is happening in government.” Cohen is clear-eyed and telling the truth, whether the GOP wants to give him credit for it or not.

    They take a break. (Was it Cohen’s request?)

  268. 268.

    Jeffro

    @Yarrow: I have been kidding around our house with my wife and kids for well over two years now, “ain’t it amazing, living through truly historic times?”

    It’s just not funny anymore and never really was.

    This is it folks. Mueller’s next, and soon. I can’t believe it, we are finally here.

  269. 269.

    misterpuff

    The GOP gets visited by Jacob Marley’s oops Micheal Cohen’s ghost. But the happy ending in this Carol will be the headstone proclaiming the GOP RIP.

  270. 270.

    Leto

    @plato: All of that is down the memory hole. The only thing that matters now is that he turned on the family. And you never turn on the family. They’re all penny ante crooks and 48% of the country is perfectly ok with that.

  272. 272.

    plato

    Gosar: "You're a pathological liar. You don't know truth from falsehood."Cohen: "Sir, I'm sorry, are you referring to me or the president?"— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 27, 2019

    LOL.

  274. 274.

    HalfAssedHomesteader

    Is it my imagination or was Cohen giving Jordan a knowing look when he was talking just before the break? Saying in effect everything we did at Trump Org was to protect DT and the same is going on here in govt.

  276. 276.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    TVLawyerHat @ Popehat
    It is 100% possible for a cross-examination to help rehabilitate a sleazy witness. As you can see.

    I’m going to need to hit the ol’ thesaurus for alternatives to “flailed ineffectually” for my column.

  280. 280.

    germy

    Vintage 2013 tweet:

    Just found out that at a charity auction of celebrity portraits in E. Hampton, my portrait by artist William Quigley topped list at $60K— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2013

  282. 282.

    Betty Cracker

    This has been pretty amazing. I think some of the most valuable tidbits are atmospheric — Cohen providing color about the pervasive corruption and goonishness in the Trump Org and how that’s now transferred to the country. That’s some powerful stuff.

  286. 286.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Mona Charen @ monacharenEPPC
    Cohen said he presided over several “catch and kill” efforts. Someone should ask him to list them.

    I wonder how much of this is planned for the last Dem questioners, just before the evening news cycle starts, when trump is drowsy and huffing minibar toblerones, like say a high-profile, media-savvy freshman whose questions are bound to attract eyeballs in any case? Is AOC the one who’s going to ask about NDAs, mistresses and abortions?

  288. 288.

    Yarrow

    @Jeffro: You’re right. It hasn’t been funny. But there have been funny moments. Or at least, you have to laugh from time to time to get through.

    But you’re right. It’s Mueller time. Bring it on. Traitors gonna pay.

  289. 289.

    satby

    @eric: @Gelfling 545: seriously thinking of putting eric’s comment on Twitter and tweeting it at my newsreader former friend.
    The one who kept kvetching about Clinton’s lack of press conferences and her screech lady voice.

  294. 294.

    hilts

    @misterpuff:

    The happy ending in this Carol will be the headstone proclaiming the GOP RIP.

    Also too, Don Jr and Jared getting indicted and Trump being evicted from the White House.

  296. 296.

    Elizabelle

    Gerry Connolly. Used to be my congressman.

    Talks about GOP tactics against Cohen.

    Discredit. Slander.

  297. 297.

    Leto

    @Gin & Tonic: “Mr Chairman, Mr Cohen apparently tripped and fell 32 times in the bathroom. We don’t understand what happened but we move to adjourn this hearing immediately.”

  298. 298.

    Jeffro

    Just ran into one of the secretaries here in the break room and while waiting for my soup to heat up remarked, “Isn’t it amazing, living through history? Did you see that testimony this morning?” She said “yeah…wild…it’s like when my husband and I were watching the Lewinsky documentary the other night and couldn’t believe a president could act like that.”

    (jaw drop)

    Me: “Sure…kind of a difference between covering up an affair and covering up a decades-long criminal organization, though, hmm? Hmm?”

    (silence)

    I am just not playing around with crazy people any more…

  301. 301.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Renie: seniority, and he’s very popular with the base, the Freedom Caucus, etc. Even Gowdy and Chaffetz walked away from that gig

  303. 303.

    cmorenc

    @A Ghost To Most:

    The only thing Jordan accomplished was showing the whole country what a full-service asshole he is.

    Too many of Jordan’s constituents in OH-4 are full-service assholes or else the sort who deeply admire full-service assholes, else Jordan wouldn’t have coasted to re-election in 2018 with 65% of the vote. The really horrible truth Trump has brought to the surface about contemporary American society is what a formidable portion of our citizenry are full-service assholes or deeply admire same. Thank our lucky stars that Trump is a less competent would-be Mussolini than Mussolini himself was.

  305. 305.

    Mike in NC

    Whoa, I go out to refill a prescription and suddenly there are 300 comments when I get home. I plan to read them all for the Schadenfreude.

  306. 306.

    Leto

    This Massie Guy has a masters in mechanical engineering from MIT? Maybe they need to revise their white man admissions standards.

  307. 307.

    Miss Bianca

    @Elizabelle: I think the thing that astounds me the most…Trump wrote a *check*? To repay *hush money*?

    Jeez, he may not have much regard for his eldest’s mental acuity – and in that, if in nothing else, I wholeheartedly agree with him – but jeez…looks like the horse apple didn’t fall too far from the horse’s ass, if that’s the case.

  308. 308.

    J R in WV

    @Miss Bianca:

    Trump wrote a *check*? To repay *hush money*?

    So I wrote a check at my Dr’s office for the checkup appointment. On the little bottom left line I wrote “Dr Apptment”.

    What did Trump write on the cost line for that check Cohen brought? Curious mind wants to know!

Comments are closed.