Michael Cohen accepts plea deal from Bob Mueller in regards to The Moscow Project

President Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen leaves his Park Avenue Regency Hotel the day after the US Justice Department announced that Cohen is under criminal investigation for his business dealings

Well, here’s one explanation for why Donald Trump was unhinged on Twitter this morning: his lawyer Michael Cohen has made a plea deal with Robert Mueller’s team, and Cohen is appearing in federal court in New York today. Cohen’s home and office were infamously raided by the FBI months ago, and almost immediately after the raid, Cohen made significant moves to cooperate with local New York authorities, the FBI and the Mueller investigation. Cohen was up to his neck in illegal sh-t, and he knew it too, so he flipped.

Special counsel Robert Mueller has reached a tentative deal with Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney and long-time fixer for President Donald Trump, sources told ABC News. Cohen is scheduled to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday where he is expected to enter a guilty plea for misstatements to Congress in closed-door testimony last year about his contacts with Russians during the presidential campaign.

Once among the president’s most loyal and zealous defenders in business and politics, Cohen has now promised to “put family and country first” by cooperating with prosecutors, becoming perhaps the most pivotal public witness against his former boss. Cohen’s earlier plea deal with federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York implicated President Trump in campaign finance felonies. Since then, Cohen has spent more than 70 hours in interviews with Mueller’s team. The questioning has focused on contacts with Russians by Trump associates during the campaign, Trump’s business ties to Russia, obstruction of justice and talk of possible pardons, sources familiar with the discussions have told ABC News.

[From ABC News]

According to the political peeps on Twitter, Cohen has given extensive statements and new information about the so-called Moscow Project, which was organized IN Trump Tower. Cohen said that he and other Trump associates were working on the Moscow Project as late as fall 2017. The Moscow Project and the time table is directly related to the “false statements” Cohen is now accepting a plea deal for. Wow.

Michael Cohen Court Hearing in New York City

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.

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57 Responses to “Michael Cohen accepts plea deal from Bob Mueller in regards to The Moscow Project”

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  1. Jessica says:

    Oh boy! Oh boy! Given that Trump has directed EVERY action by Cohen, I don’t think it’s a jump to presume he directed this action too. This made my day!

    • Kitten says:

      This and the Deutsche Bank investigation.

      I usually try to refrain from excitement on the subject of Trump going to jail.. but this is BIG.

      • Megan says:

        I’m not sure this is big. Cohen was pursuing a business deal, not election collusion, which isn’t a crime. His crime was lying to Congress, which doesn’t implicate Trump.

        The Deutsche Bank investigation may eventually lead to Trump, but I think there are bigger fish to fry first.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        The crime is lying before Congress, simulataneously providing information to congress (what info was a lie) and giving them reason to investigate. I think this is important and strategic.

        Also, doing business deals with Russia after being elected could be a part of a bigger picture quid pro quo situation that we don’t know about yet.

      • Kitten says:

        @ Megan-I understand that but this is still new information regarding a Russian business deal that Trump may have actively been engaged with during his presidential run. He has said over and over again that he has no dealings with Russia. And while we don’t know the extent of Trump’s knowledge yet, we DO know that negotiations for Trump Tower Moscow ended in 2016, right before the presidential primaries and before questions of Russian interference became a massive controversy in his campaign and now his presidency.

        That, my friend, is NOT nothing.

        ETA: Tiff you beat me to it 😉
        Marcy Wheeler is my gal on all things related to Mueller Investigation. She breaks it down here: https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1068167247397617669

      • Jessica says:

        Meghan, There’s always a tweet: “Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA – NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!” Why lie, unless you have something (or a lot of things) to hide.

      • Megan says:

        Actually, we know the Trump Tower Moscow talks lasted until January 2017. But it still insn’t a crime unless bribes were paid or a quid pro quo was offered and Cohen isn’t pleading guilty to violating FCPA. I feel like this is just confirming what Felix Sater told Congress ages ago.

        @Jessica Why would Trump lie? Because he lies about everything to convince his base he is the most invincible and greatest president of all time.

      • Jessica says:

        Megan, it’s a plea deal for cooperating. We don’t know what he gave up in exchange for this presumably significantly lesser guilty plea.

      • Kitten says:

        @ Megan-It hasn’t been proven that Trump was actively engaged in pursuing a Russia deal for Trump Tower in 2017, it’s only been proven thus far that Cohen was involved in the negotiations and lied to Congress about it. The official Justice Dept. documents show that Cohen admitted the negotiations continued as late as June of 2016, not into 2017.

      • Megan says:

        Heard some interesting analysis that getting Cohen to plead guilty makes him a strong witness against “a member of the Trump family.” I assume Don Jr. is the family member.

      • Kitten says:

        @Megan-If so, Christmas (AND my birthday) is coming early this year. It would be amazing to see that chinless wonder do down.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        Oooooh, damn! I just read “Federal agents have raided the City Hall office of Chicago Alderman Ed Burke this morning. Burke’s small law firm did tax work for Trump for 12 years”

        Trump has now cancelled his meeting with Putin. I think Mueller’s timing on this was brilliant.

      • Darla says:

        OH WOW Tiffany.

        I have to get to the news! I am on the road, darn darn darn

      • Isabelle says:

        This is falling to the bottom news story because of Cohen shadowing it but IMO this is the true holy sh*T story. Makes you wonder if they began investigating because of Trump?

    • B n A fan says:

      The lying Don the Con is going down, lol. We will be hearing how he spins his way out of this and blame Hillary and Obama, lol. Lordy bring on the tapes, New York has hundreds of tapes they seized from Michael Cohen, BOOM!! This makes my day, Lordy, Lordy.

      • Jessica says:

        Michael spend 70 hours cooperating! Nearly 2 work weeks. I have a feeling there is a lot more to come

  2. Starryfish29 says:

    This witch hunt has found an awful lot of witches.

  3. Eric says:

    Kaiser….you don’t say?

    💥
    💣

  4. Jenns says:

    #TBT

    “Trump has no financial relationships with any Russian oligarchs?”

    Paul Manafort: *mumbles into oblivion*

    https://twitter.com/ErickFernandez/status/1068161649000046592

  5. MrsDemarcus says:

    Yeah, I want this to be great news, but I’ll say it again – The fact that ANY prosecutor or lawmakers are still “investigating” anything says it all about what the outcome will be. In my lifetime only a short time ago a sitting president was almost impeached for a consensual affair, and the current president and his cronies have committed COUNTLESS “high crimes and misdemeanors” IN PUBLIC yet we still need to “investigate” and offer plea deals? BS. Nothing serious will happen to any of these f**kers and no one with the name Trump will even be indicted. We’re a full on dictatorship/banana republic/oligarchy/take your pick. And it’s going to get worse.

    • Jessica says:

      Don’t give up hope, yet anyway. There is hope.

    • Chaine says:

      I share your pessimism.

    • Tiny Martian says:

      I understand your pessimism, but I respectfully disagree. Knowledgeable lawyers predicted from the get-go that Mueller’s investigation would go on for at least 2 years, and a great deal has happened since then……including 1 conviction, 6 guilty pleas, and how many charges? 25? 26?

      An in-depth investigation of this magnitude involving as many crimes as Trump and Co. have committed will never move at the warp speed of a Netflix series or a Twitter war, which is the tempo at which most people are accustomed to seeing dramas play out these days.

      The timeline for Watergate was over 2 years, and that was peanuts compared to the Trump/Russia collusion scandal. Give this some time, it’s actually unfolding much quicker than expected.

    • Veronica S. says:

      For a criminal web of this size and the potential extent of the charges, I’d say the opposite is true. The more serious the crime involving public officials, the longer it can take the charges to come out in full specifically because of how delicately it requires handling. Revealing to the public that their elected figures are guilty of serious crimes against a nation has serious repercussions on several levels. There’s a reason Nixon’s confession and resignation is considered a landmark moment in history that altered the public’s perception of the presidency.

  6. hezzer19 says:

    Can someone help this ignorant Canadian?

    IF *please God* Trump is arrested, is an impeachment automatic or do they still have to go through all the hoops?

    I’m not holding out much hope for it but I’m curious. What will/could happen if he is arrested?

    • Megan says:

      The legal consensus in America is that a sitting president cannot be indicted. Given the make up of the Supreme Court, any challenge to that consensus will be unsuccessful; therefore, the path to removal is impeachment.

      Impeachment is complicated because it must pass the House with a simple majority, but it must pass the Senate with a 2/3rds majority. Given that Trump’s party holds the Senate, the only realistic path to removal is voting Trump out in 2020. Once he is returned to private citizenship he can be indicted for any crimes that have not passed the statute of limitations.

      • hezzer19 says:

        So then, what’s the point of all this? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that his perfidy is being brought to light but, if they can’t arrest and can’t impeach then what’s the point.

        I only had a tiny smidge of hope but at least it was something.

      • Megan says:

        The point is that crimes were committed and they need to be investigated so Americans know the truth and the perpetrators can be held accountable. Trump did not act alone and those conspired with him need to be brought to justice.

      • hezzer19 says:

        Yeah Megan, I get that. I really do! That’s why I said I’m thrilled… It’s just so disheartening. And I’m not even American. I can’t even imagine how you guys feel.

        I just feel like there’s no point. In much of anything.

        Thanks so much for explaining about the impeachment stuff.

      • Juls says:

        And here is where it gets murky and creates a problem. If a sitting president cannot be indicted (meaning they are above the law which is WRONG in my opinion), what happens if the statute of limitations runs out while he/she is still in office? Does this create a situation where a president can evade prosecution by staying in office? Does this not give them incentive to “fix” a re-election? Should the SOL be suspended as long as they are in office in order to avoid this conundrum?

      • The Other Katherine says:

        There is emphatically NOT a legal consensus that a sitting president cannot be indicted (i.e., that it would be unconstitutional to do so): https://www.npr.org/2018/08/22/641005331/can-the-sitting-president-of-the-united-states-be-indicted. However, what is certain is that the current DoJ is not going to do it, which renders the point effectively moot. The article I linked to also discusses the statute of limitations issue, which is one of the reasons why it is imperative that Trump not succeed in getting reelected (and why he will try like hell to do so).

        Juls, you are 100% correct that this situation gives an incentive to corrupt first-term presidents to engage in election fixing if they can. I agree that statute of limitations should be suspended while a president is in office, but there are no state or federal laws in place to make that a reality.

      • Kitten says:

        Even though he won’t be impeached because they won’t have the votes, I still think they should do it because there is a HUGE faction of his base that never hears anything bad about him, EVER. I think even Fox News would struggle to paint an impeachment trial in a good light, given how much dirt would come to the surface–would be hard for the conservative outlets to polish that turd. So if impeachment hearings lowered his base even by a smidge, it’s worth it IMO.
        There’s also something to be said about how impeachment hearings would play out historically. Like, looking back we can say that we did every possible thing we could to rid our country of this cancer, even if we knew it would only amount to a symbolic gesture. I can’t think of anything that sends a stronger message of “WE REJECT YOUR UNLAWFUL PRESIDENCY” than filing articles of impeachment. I don’t want future generations looking back and wondering why a blowjob was more of a reason for impeachment than the countless crimes this administration has committed,

        But you caught me in an optimistic mood. Maybe ask me tomorrow when all is shit again lol.

        @Juls-When Trump talked about Chinese president Xi Jinping’s limitless terms and how great that is, that was my first thought as well: he’s thinking how he can protect himself long-term. Terrifying thought.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        Perhaps impeachment will become a moot point when it is all said and done. If the massive corruption of his administration becomes too much for the GOP to ignore, then we can just elect a different president in 2020. Then he can be indicted later. 🙂

      • The Other Katherine says:

        Kitten, I have similar feelings about impeachment. Also, sometimes things should be done simply because they are the right thing to do, and 45 *deserves* to have articles of impeachment filed against him. However, I’m not opposed to House Dems taking their time with it and grinding away with committee investigations using their majority subpoena power first.

      • Kitten says:

        @ TOK-Exactly. It’s the RIGHT thing to do. I also agree that Dems should be methodical about it. No need to rush.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        Kitten, I think you make good points re: impeachment. If his actions don’t cross the line enough to impeach, then we are just letting future presidents go even further.

        Part of the thing that I enjoy about the court filings in the Mueller investigation is that they cement FACTS. Information that comes out in news articles seems to be easily dismissed by his base, because they frame it as speculation and rumor. Having information come out during impeachment proceedings or during Mueller court proceedings I hope would give it more legitimate legs to stand on. The Trump supporters on the Manafort jury seemed to have been moved by facts presented in court.

    • sassafras says:

      Trump won’t be indicted. Impeachment is difficult and politically risky. I suspect they will tighten the financial web so much (and leave one carrot dangling) that he has no choice but to resign. I really don’t think he’ll resign to save his kids but he’ll save whatever assets he can.

  7. adastraperaspera says:

    Delicious!!

  8. sassafras says:

    The fact that Cohen keeps talking about his “family” is a sure sign that Mueller used that as leverage which makes me believe that Donald Trump Jr. has to be on the target list, given all his testimony and campaign involvement. Now whether Mueller is waiting for NY state charges – that are unpardonable – is the real question.

    And why is no one still talking about all the conservative Twitter accounts that are still silent? It’s got to be because of a court order of some kind, right?

    • holly hobby says:

      Daughter wife is a target too. Apparently she worked on this project. Mueller has her in his sights as well.

  9. Agirlandherdog says:

    Entering a guilt plea for “misstatements”… come on ABC News. Let’s not do this thing where you make it sound like he made a mistake in speaking. A misstatement implies maybe he didn’t understand what he was saying wasn’t true. He lied. Purposefully. He lied. The time for mincing words or trying to be polite is over.

  10. Beth says:

    Now Trump is by the helicopter saying Cohen is stupid, weak and lying to get a shorter prison sentence. It drives me crazy the way Trump always interrupts and says “excuse me, excuse me.”
    Trump always brags about only hiring the “best people. ” If he thinks Cohen is so stupid and weak, WTF did Trump keep him as a personal lawyer for so many years?

    • B n A fan says:

      He kept MC on to do his dirty work. Don the Con is a lier, I would believe Michael Cohen before I believe anything, anything Don the Con has to say. MC has tapes, memos and telephone messages ect to prove what he’s saying. Don the Con only has his lying self.

  11. Meg says:

    Honestly, I don’t see how this couldn’t bring down trump once and for all. I know Mueller is a republican and would have bias towards someone in that party, but if trump isn’t forced to resign to avoid impeachment like Nixon based on aalll the dirt his personal lawyer must have on him or told by people in his circle to at least do not run again as they have too much on him and the spotlight would encourage Mueller to charge him and proceed further- then I have no faith in our government system at all. If he doesn’t have to resign to avoid punishment and even if he did that, still not face charges, a trail, etc. and runs again; I’ll just throw my hands up in the air-nothing matters. You can do anything as a white guy and get away with it.

    • Jaded says:

      I don’t think it will bring down Trump per se but it will start to remove a lot of Trump’s financial underpinnings one by one until the whole fabrication crumbles. And as with Cohen, Manafort and others their lies will come to light and they will be prosecuted either by federal or state jurisdiction. It’s like a big ball of wool is slowly being unraveled, possibly to the point where Trump will have to resign, especially if they indict Don Jr., Ivanka and Jared.

    • Veronica S. says:

      I’d be surprised if Trump got out of office in any way but a resignation. That’s why it’s our job as voters to make sure he’s out in 2020. But this needs to be pursued to the end, anyhow, both for what it reveals about the depth of foreign intervention in our elections, as well as the level of corruption in our higher offices of government. Knowledge is power. Let’s use it against those in power.

  12. Fluffy Princess says:

    Lesson to Trump: THIS is why you shouldn’t have s**t on your personal attorney when you won the election. All he wanted was a position in the White House, some where–not even a cabinet position–and you flipped him off and said, “See ya, Sucker!!!” And in these last couple of years you have denigrated him and called him all sorts of not so nice names. And guess what happened? Now, Cohen is crashing your party and he’s bringing 10 YEARS worth of receipts!!
    FOOL!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

    Simultaneous raids on Deutsch Bank and your Tax Guy in Chicago? Ha ha!

    Can a sitting president be charged with a crime? Maybe. But what about crimes that took place BEFORE HE WAS PRESIDENT? He didn’t have any executive privilege then, that only started once he was sworn in. . .

    • Christin says:

      When he started saying MC hardly did any work for him, I knew he was playing with fire. The only unknown was whether MC would follow through with spilling the tea, given how he seemed to regard Zero as some type of father figure.

      I guess MC isn’t as stubbornly dumb as Paulie, and is going to save his skin as best he can. And he supposedly has tapes!

      • Fluffy Princess says:

        MC is at least 20 years younger than Trump and Manafort–life in prison is a MUCH MUCH longer sentence for him. Plus, he has children in their teens/20s–MC has much more to lose sitting in jail until he dies. It’s a good reason to give it all up and testify until your blue in the face! even 10 years in prison seems better than 40. . .

      • Christin says:

        Age is likely a factor, plus I think it was reported that MC also had concerns about soiling his family’s name (think his father is still alive). I thought he might be too loyal to Zero, but I guess he’s proven me wrong.

    • sassafras says:

      Raids on Deutsch Bank, Danske Bank, Tax Guy in Chicago, Michael Cohen’s plea and… ??? who knows what else RIGHT AS Air Force One takes off for a transhemispheric flight? It’s like it’s coordinated or something!

  13. Christin says:

    I took the day off to take the three sister kitties to the vet (which is a nightmare for them). Then I went to the grocery store after getting them back home. Had no idea about the records raid or MC’s surprise court appearance until now.

    The timing is truly brilliant – to have Zero zipping off to another country to meet his true boss as this goes down. It takes a lot for Orange to suddenly cancel a boot licking opportunity with his master, so he must be rattled. Guess he’ll have his two or three big macs with the buns tonight.

    • Kitten says:

      Kitties? 😀
      Were they just getting their shots or..?

      • Christin says:

        I always call them the “kittens”, but they are actually 5. Their mama was a young stray cat who let me help her raise them – from a window well! I kept the three sisters of the litter, and mama lived as an outdoor-indoor until she passed two months ago.

        They were due to have their annual shots, and it’s very traumatizing to them. I talked to the vet today about whether a fully indoor cat (kept away from others) has to have annual shots. I think in our situation, they can now skip a year or so.

    • Jerusha says:

      Does Brazil have an extradition treaty with us? Just asking.

  14. Layla says:

    I know he’s a terrible horrible lying scumbag, but for some reason I kind a like Michael Cohen.