Patterico's Pontifications

5/3/2018

Did Giuliani Directly Contradict Trump Last Night?

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:38 am



The New York Times, in an article co-written by Clinton favorite Maggie Haberman, unequivocally says yes:

President Trump reimbursed Michael D. Cohen, his longtime personal lawyer, for a $130,000 payment that Mr. Cohen has said he made to keep a pornographic film actress from going public before the 2016 election with her story about an affair with Mr. Trump, according to Rudolph W. Giuliani, one of the president’s lawyers.

That statement, which Mr. Giuliani made Wednesday night on Fox News, contradicted the president, who has said he had no knowledge about any payment to the actress, Stephanie Clifford, to keep quiet before the election.

Asked specifically last month by reporters aboard Air Force One whether he knew about the payment, Mr. Trump said, “No,” and referred questions to Mr. Cohen. He was then asked, “Do you know where he got the money to make that payment?”

“No,” Mr. Trump responded. “I don’t know.”

In an interview with The New York Times shortly after his Fox News appearance, Mr. Giuliani, the former New York mayor and longtime Trump confidant who recently joined the president’s legal team, said that he had documentation showing that Mr. Trump had personally made the payment. Mr. Giuliani indicated that the goal was to conclusively demonstrate that there was no campaign finance violation involved.

“Some time after the campaign is over, they set up a reimbursement, $35,000 a month, out of his personal family account,” Mr. Giuliani said. He added that over all, Mr. Cohen was paid $460,000 or $470,000 from Mr. Trump through those payments, which also included money for “incidental expenses” that he had incurred on Mr. Trump’s behalf.

I’m . . . not quite sure that bolded language is accurate.

Is it a clear contradiction? Or is it just, as I called it last night, “Clintonian”? Trump saying he “didn’t know about the payment” (which, in context, means knowing about it at the time it was made) is not necessarily contradicted by a statement that he reimbursed it.

And Giuliani didn’t say that he had documentation showing Mr. Trump had personally made “the payment” but that Trump had reimbursed the payment.

Which all makes Trump’s April comments Clintonian at best. But not necessarily a lie.

It’s not my job to defend these guys. Let them explain what happened. I’ll make popcorn. I’ll go so far as to say I think they are lying about this. It appears to me that they probably are. In particular, about whether Trump knew.

I’m just not sure it has quite been proven. Yet.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]

424 Responses to “Did Giuliani Directly Contradict Trump Last Night?”

  1. Ding.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  2. even if it was a campaign finance violation big whoop did you see how the hil-pig laundered $85 million dollars??

    the dirty-butt men and women of the gestapo FBI turn a blind eye to all sorts of criminal activity that’s for sure

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  3. Trump didn’t say what he said when he said what he said.

    Dave (445e97)

  4. Trump didn’t say what he said when he said what he said.

    You’ll have to unpack that if you want me to understand it.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  5. This explains a lot.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  6. Patterico (115b1f)

  7. nobody likes a blackmailing hooker with funguses

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  8. The Constant refrain of the Never-trumpers and the Democrats since August 2015, is that “Trump is a chronic Liar”.

    So, you caught him in another lie. Yawn.

    Meanwhile NK seems to be getting rid of its Nukes and the economy is going gang-busters.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  9. And of course, we get the usual Lawyer suspects on TV. Well, if Trump did “A” and “B” and “C” then he might have violated obscure “legal statute 123” which no one really cares about.

    Whoop-di-do. But this should keep CNN going for at least another week.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  10. Spanky keeps digging:

    Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA. These agreements are very common among celebrities and people of wealth. In this case it is in full force and effect and will be used in Arbitration for damages against Ms. Clifford (Daniels). The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair, despite already having signed a detailed letter admitting that there was no affair. Prior to its violation by Ms. Clifford and her attorney, this was a private agreement. Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll [sic] in this transaction.

    Dave (445e97)

  11. 6. I really admired Kurt Schlichter. And then Trump ascended to the oval office and Schlichter himself flushed whatever respect I had for him right down the toilet, which he seems to be not only happy, but gleeful about.

    Gryph (08c844)

  12. He didn’t know about the payment nor where the payment money came from, when it was paid. He reimbursed Cohen after the payment was made, of course. Non-disclosure agreements are standard business practice, Cohen wouldn’t need permission to set one up.

    Bruce (103288)

  13. How many legal nits will be picked on CNN and MSNBC today?

    A million?

    rcocean (1a839e)

  14. So, you caught him in another lie. Yawn.

    Hey, just never complain about another politician lying again.

    Meanwhile NK seems to be getting rid of its Nukes

    Go with that.

    Patterico (05d44b)

  15. We need a list of commenters who don’t think lying matters so we know who not to believe when they comment.

    DRJ (15874d)

  16. 15. Rocean, for starters.

    Gryph (08c844)

  17. You’ll have to unpack that if you want me to understand it.

    The second question Spanky was asked was:

    “Do you know where he got the money for that payment?”

    He answered:

    “No, I don’t know.”

    That was only last month. It’s hard for me to see how this can be interpreted as anything other than a lie (assuming Rudy is telling the truth).

    Dave (445e97)

  18. So far in this thread we have seen the following things expressed by Trump fans:

    1. It is inconsequential whether the President of the United States lied.

    2. I enjoy reading reports that the President committed adultery and paid off the woman to remain silent, because it upsets his critics. Also, I will deliberately choose to express this opinion in terms degrading to women.

    I’ll just leave that there. Are we proud yet?

    Patterico (05d44b)

  19. That was only last month. It’s hard for me to see how this can be interpreted as anything other than a lie (assuming Rudy is telling the truth).

    That’s what I explained in the post.

    Patterico (05d44b)

  20. We need a list of commenters who don’t think lying matters so we know who not to believe when they comment.

    LOL! 🙂

    Dave (445e97)

  21. This is from KellyAnne’s husband’s tweet!? Haha!

    George Conway tweeted the link, which points to rules on personal loans.

    “If any person, including a relative or friend of the candidate, gives or loans the candidate money ‘for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office,’ the funds are not considered personal funds of the candidate even if they are given to the candidate directly,” the FEC rules read.
    “Instead, the gift or loan is considered a contribution from the donor to the campaign, subject to the per-election limit and reportable by the campaign. This is true even if the candidate uses the funds for personal living expenses while campaigning.”

    http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/385988-conways-husband-shares-link-to-fec-rules-on-personal-loans

    Tillman (a95660)

  22. 18. “Are we proud yet?”

    I will just say in my defense: I was noting the declining quality of the American electorate for years before Trump announced his presidential candidacy. Trump in the White House is the culmination of everything I’ve tried to warn people about.

    Gryph (08c844)

  23. It’s also interesting that he continues to deny the affair.

    Question to Mr. Hit-Back-Twice-As-Hard-And-Never-Settle-Because-I’m-the-Greatest-Negotiator-Who-Ever-Lived: Why did you decide to pay Skanky $130K to prevent her from making an accusation that you claim has no truth in it, rather than suing her for defamation and winning, if and when she did?

    I, too, am thinking about falsely claiming that I had an affair with Spanky 10+ years ago.

    If Mr. Trump and his attorneys agree to pay me a six-figure sum I will reconsider, however. Please provide your office fax number so I can transmit a draft of the proposed settlement.

    Dave (445e97)

  24. Spanky and Skanky. Title of Stormy’s next film?

    nk (dbc370)

  25. 23. “Skanky,” that’s hilarious. (Cue cheesy 60’s music) It’s the Spanky and Skanky show!

    Tillman (a95660)

  26. It’s funny how many Trump defenders were screaming about Clinton during the “it depends on what the definition of is is” saga and even during Hillary’s recent campaign that it wasn’t the sex that was the problem, it was the lies. Now that Trump has possibly been caught in several lies regarding the Stormy Daniels saga, neither the lies nor the sex matter to the same people. This is dishonest and sycophantic behavior.

    Dana (023079)

  27. Some people are so butt-hurt over Obama being President that revenge gets the better of them and all sense of propriety and ethics go out the window. That’s my theory on some of this. In their view, Obama has tainted the whole country, forever. Revenge, by any means whatsoever, is all that remains.

    Tillman (a95660)

  28. President Trump’s braving the many slings and arrows to fulfill his sacred agenda.

    He just keeps moving forward like a shark – a freedom shark!

    You gotta love how he do.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  29. What is really disgusting is the DOJ and the FBI. Talk about LIARS, those lawyers wrote the book.

    mg (9e54f8)

  30. Lawyers lie and innocent people die.

    mg (9e54f8)

  31. cringe

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  32. Lesson of the Day, Hoagie.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  33. I was a big Herman Cain fan back when he was running, and the accusations against him didn’t bother me at all. I was very disappointed they caused him to drop out.

    See, here’s the thing, they have done and will do this to every republican president. If you think they wouldn’t give Fiorina the Palin treatment or Cruz worse, you haven’t been paying attention. And don’t kid yourself Cruz is too pure to escape. No man (or woman) is.

    This is why Trump, and why this stuff is ineffective to his base. He was elected with everyone knowing who the man is, so all this crarp is baked in the cake. It’s all already been revealed, and deemed immaterial to the mission. And ever since they painted Romney as a immoral, misogynist, Nazi, it became obvious that’s the only way any conservative agenda is going to even get off the ground.

    These are the rules the left has imposed on us. You can hate the game, but if you hate the player you aren’t going to win. And I’m not tired of winning yet.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  34. DRJ

    What specifically that you know for a fact that trump lied about. And why do you think someone who has been paid before, represented by a twice disbarred lawyer and then by someone who lost a landmark HUUGE case against trump just a few years ago, so to set the stage

    We have a porn star claiming a dozen years ago she slept with someone running for office
    Who Trump denied her a role on the apprentice on numerous occasions
    Who extorted money from more than one organization
    Who is now being represented by a lawyer, a long time democrat political operative who also lost a nine figure case against trump juuust a few years ago.

    Trump knows now a payment was made. And throughout

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  35. Trump knows now the payment was made and was paid by his accountants in the normal process.

    Also this is a private matter, has nothing to do with his office, has nothing illegal to be raised as a matter to be investigated.

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  36. DRJ and Dana: I agree completely.

    I want to know what people value and believe in no matter what, not what principles they are willing to give up conditionally.

    But we already know the answers to these questions. Sadly.

    It just makes me shake my head to watch people who personally have complained about political dishonesty suddenly saying it isn’t a big deal. And these same people generally revile relativism.

    I would bet cash money folks could assemble a list of hypocrisies from many of these folks.

    All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others, it appears.

    Instead, it’s better to ask what a person believes in, and will not compromise on.

    But that doesn’t lend itself to cheerleading, trolling, or making jokes about STDs.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  37. Dana

    Clinton used the office of the presidency and tax payers money to cover up not only the affair but Monica lewinskys given a huge high salary profile job at the pentagon as a payment to keep her quiet. Then Clinton asked her to get Linda Tripp to lie to the special counsel.

    All trump did was reimburse his reputation management attorney for a weak attempt at blackmail.

    From Wikipedia

    “In April 1996, Lewinsky’s superiors transferred her from the White House to the Pentagon because they felt she was spending too much time around Clinton.[2] At the Pentagon, she worked as an assistant to chief Pentagon spokesperson Kenneth Bacon.[2] Lewinsky told co-worker Linda Tripp about her relationship with the President. Beginning in September 1997, Tripp began secretly recording their telephone conversations regarding the affair with Clinton. In December 1997, Lewinsky left the Pentagon position.[19] In January 1998, after Lewinsky had submitted an affidavit in the Paula Jones case denying any physical relationship with Clinton, and had attempted to persuade Tripp to lie under oath in that case, Tripp gave the tapes to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, adding to his ongoing investigation into the Whitewater controversy. Starr then broadened his investigation beyond the Arkansas land use deal to include Lewinsky, Clinton, and others for possible perjury and subornation of perjury in the Jones case. Tripp reported the taped conversations to literary agent Lucianne Goldberg. She also convinced Lewinsky to save the gifts that Clinton had given her during their relationship, and not to dry clean what would later become known as “the blue dress”. Under oath, Clinton denied having had “a sexual affair”, “sexual relations”, or “a sexual relationship” with Lewinsky.[20]”

    Clinton asked two people to lie and coverup his actions as president, money was exchanged, Monica was bribed by a sitting president.

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  38. Simon,

    Attacking our values, to me, is the last vestiges of the proverbial “I got nothing”

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  39. the disgustingly perverted men and women of the nazi fbi are the ones what molest American values, not President Trump

    this is obvious to anyone who is willing to do the analysis

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  40. Guys, please, we need to focus on the things that really matter, like preventing gays weddings because of the “sanctity of marriage”.

    Davethulhu (fab944)

  41. Ill tell you something else. Trump is shaking up the game. Black support for republicans has doubled in the last week. This is huge in terms of the rights agenda winning elections going forward. Also, there is growing contentment in minority communities with open borders. Another remarkable advancement for the cause.

    And that’s not even addressing the big reveal going on with the intelligence communities trying to rig our elections.

    Hate the man if you want, but he is doing exactly what those of us wanting to throw a monkey wrench into the establishments game wanted, in spades.

    I could give a rat’s patooty about Stormy Danials.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  42. Dis-contentment I meant.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  43. And that’s not even addressing the big reveal going on with the intelligence communities trying to rig our elections.

    Stormy has very large breasts. She is an American woman with very large breasts. She is a large-breasted hooker and an American woman.

    Plus she has funguses.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  44. 44- milked too many cows in my youth to be impressed. I’m more of a perky B-cup man myself.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  45. I am curious how this reimbursement happened. Did Cohen put that on his monthly legal bill? As what, a disbursement? Did he attache a vendor invoice (as many clients now demand)? The mind boggles.

    That said, it is entirely possible that Trump did not know about it at the time. Heck, my clients do not have contemporaneous knowledge of disbursements I make on their behalf (for example, paying a court reporter for a deposition). Then again, those disbursements have never included paying hush money to high-end prostitutes.

    Bored Lawyer (998177)

  46. Chapter 10 in how to nullify an election:

    John Harwood
    @JohnJHarwood
    BREAKING on MSNBC: Federal investigators tapped Michael Cohen’s phone weeks before they executed search warrant on his office. at least one call to White House was picked up on that surveillance.

    harkin (ad4321)

  47. Old Calabrian proverb:

    Before you go out seeking revenge, dig 2 graves.

    ropelight (9e309a)

  48. Allahpundit also surveys the legal minefield Rudy blithely parachuted into the middle of:

    I’m down to two theories on this. One: Rudy is playing eight-dimensional chess. So brilliantly, in fact, that most of us can’t see the board. Two: Rudy has an undiagnosed head injury.

    The question seems to be not whether the campaign finance fraud/money-laundering/tax evasion scheme violated any law, but rather how many laws:

    If Cohen’s initial payment was a loan to the campaign, it should have been reported to the FEC. If it was a loan to Trump personally, it should have been reported on Trump’s ethics disclosure. Catch-22. Even the fact that Trump reimbursed Cohen doesn’t get Cohen out of hot water with the FEC if the initial payment to Daniels is found to be a campaign contribution. You can’t make a loan to a campaign that’s higher than the federal statutory cap on donations, whether or not it’s paid back. That was pointed out today by, among other people, George Conway, Kellyanne’s husband.

    Exit question: Why would Trump accuse Daniels of “extortionist” accusations in his tweet this morning when he’s already being sued by her for defamation? All he’s doing is giving a court more reason to let Daniels and her lawyer depose him.

    Dave (445e97)

  49. That will be an interesting legal question for the SLAPP motion: Can you defame a prostitute?

    But considering the quality of lawyers Trump hires …. Good grief!

    nk (dbc370)

  50. I am curious how this reimbursement happened. Did Cohen put that on his monthly legal bill? As what, a disbursement? Did he attache a vendor invoice (as many clients now demand)? The mind boggles.

    Trump and Rudy are both claiming he was paid a retainer to reimburse him.

    Which (as Allahpundit explains in the piece I linked above) is problematic for a number of reasons:

    In practice, though, that’s not the way retainers work. The retainer is part of the lawyer’s basic fee; it’s part of his own remuneration. For Cohen to pay someone off on Trump’s behalf out of his own retainer would essentially amount to a gift to Trump: He’d effectively be deducting the Daniels payment from the amount of money to which he’s personally entitled for working for Trump. Imagine that Cohen paid off two other women for Trump in the same amount as Daniels and that those payments came out of his “retainer” too. For all intents and purposes, that would mean he worked for Trump for free for most of the year. It can’t have happened that way. I’m sure Cohen loves Trump and all, but not enough to allow his own salary to be redirected to mistress hush money instead.

    Putting two and two together:

    The idea that Trump might have somehow reimbursed Cohen for an illegal campaign contribution without realizing it makes the “retainer” arrangement seem like money laundering, with Rudy even agreeing with Hannity at one point last night that the Daniels payment had been “funneled” through Michael Cohen’s law practice. And the fact that he keeps telling interviewers that Trump paid Cohen much more than $130,000 over the course of the year via monthly “retainer” payments leads inescapably to the suspicion that he’s worried more hush-money deals will be uncovered. He said cryptically at one point in his “Fox & Friends” segment that Trump’s retainer payments to Cohen over the course of 2017 covered the Daniels deal “and probably a few other situations that might have been considered campaign expenses,” whatever that means. In case there are more hush-money payments, he’s laying the groundwork here to point to those reimbursements as part of the “retainer” arrangement too. See, Trump just shoveled cash at Cohen every month and Cohen paid people off with it with Trump none the wiser, and, ah, somehow Cohen was okay with that even though the money was supposed to be for him.

    Fraud, money-laundering, willful campaign finance violations, false ethics disclosure forms…just another day in Trump’s organized crime operation.

    Dave (445e97)

  51. she’s a hooker and a public figure with very large breasts

    Stormy Daniels, American Woman.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  52. Bill Kristol
    @BillKristol
    Emmet Flood, a serious attorney who presumably cares about his reputation, should be asked–try him at Williams & Connolly, 202-434-****–whether he agrees the investigation is a witch hunt, and if he thinks it appropriate for the White House to call a DOJ investigation that.
    — –

    Scott Greer, Free-Thinking Centrist
    @ScottMGreer
    Targeted harassment isn’t just for antifa

    harkin (ad4321)

  53. But considering the quality of lawyers Trump hires …. Good grief!

    Maybe the next plot twist will be recruiting convicted bomber and perjurer Brett Kimberlin onto the team…

    Dave (445e97)

  54. The crucial takeaway in this mess is that DJT, despite his awareness that his public reputation as to relationship fidelity is garbage, could not bring himself to publicly admit another indiscretion. Instead, he publicly goes full denial.

    We are so screwed.

    On another note…how much you wanna bet that at least one phone call with DJT as the president was captured by the DOJ wiretap? I’d bet almost anything that this is what lead the DOJ to reverse itself and to join Cohen in asking for a Special Master.

    Ed from SFV (291f4c)

  55. Black support for republicans has doubled in the last week.

    Right. Kanye signed up so now it’s two black guys who dig ’em.

    Creepy Dude (425f40)

  56. Spanky’s Hanky Panky with Skanky!

    Tillman (a95660)

  57. Another item for your lidt, Patterico, that I call the Tear It Down crowd:

    3. “Hate the man if you want, but he is doing exactly what those of us wanting to throw a monkey wrench into the establishments game wanted, in spades.”

    DRJ (15874d)

  58. 60. That’s true DRJ. But it’s as maladaptive as destroying your own house out of anger. It’s really stupid in the end and doesn’t solve a thing.

    Tillman (a95660)

  59. Other than one more bad thing about Trump that he slept with a whore, what the Hell does this have to do with firing Comey, teh Russia, dossier-gate, and wiretapping Carter Page (and we know not how much of an extended circle). Plus sharing this information with contractors who worked for the Clinton campaign?

    Anonymous (1448ff)

  60. I just do not understand why this Stormy Daniels thing amounts to a hill of beans.

    Stipulate: Trump boned her; paid her off; lied about it.

    Is ANY of that illegal?

    Is ANY of that pertinent to proper governance?

    America does NOT care if there is a lying horndog as president. We’ve had em before, we’ll have em again. History proves strong leaders are ALWAYS lying horndogs.

    Things are going OK in America right now, insofar as the economy and foreign affairs go. (Of course we still have fatal debt that will ultimately _destroy_ the nation, but that’s no more Trump’s fault than anybody elses; that resulted from a multi-decade TEAM EFFORT by politicians of ALL parties.)

    So why are elites trying to tear this down? What is this frickin puritan moral pose all these jerks are adopting? “How can you support a president who bones porn stars and lies about it?” That’s just a big fat phony POSE.

    gp (0c542c)

  61. If Cohen’s phones have been taped, I think that means that both Spanky and his “besty” attorney are two pieces of toast about now.

    Say goodnight Gracie!

    Tillman (a95660)

  62. Anyone know what Giuliani had in mind when he called Comey a “very perverted man”?

    Anon Y. Mous (6cc438)

  63. @62 – gp That is the entire point. It is NOT a big deal, but DJT couldn’t let it go.

    What is a big deal is that we have a president who simply can NOT admit weakness. That is a very, very, dangerous thing. We just had eight years of it with Obama. We now have the Deep State expending outrageous and corrupting energy to hide them.

    Watch the F out when the government moves heaven and earth to “educate” us that the Emperor’s wardrobe is fab.

    Ed from SFV (291f4c)

  64. Two words for you gp: John Edwards.

    Tillman (a95660)

  65. the house is no good

    from the fascist and lawless Rosytwat DOJ and Chris Wray’s perverted unprofessional FBI

    to the sleazy gold-plated incompetence and corruption of our tranny-trash mattis military

    to the laughingstock justice system and our sad and cowardly war hero congress

    and to the entrenched pension piggies what have exploited every imaginable niche like Stormy’s funguses

    the house is no good

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  66. Ah. Looks like Giuliani was just referring to Comey’s view of Hillary and her outlook on the rule of law, not sexual practices.

    HANNITY: He said today or yesterday, Comey, he said, Hillary deeply respects the rule of law. Comey said that.

    GIULIANI: Wow. This is a very perverted man. I feel so sorry.

    Anon Y. Mous (6cc438)

  67. Anyone know what Giuliani had in mind when he called Comey a “very perverted man”?

    “Ooh, that’s some bad gas. I shouldn’t have had a double dose of Geritol with my Ensure.”

    nk (dbc370)

  68. your dirty trannied-up mattis #resistance military at work

    Nothing ends a Washington career like being branded an unacceptable national-security risk. That’s why pentagon officials adjudicating personnel-security cases must act in a mature, objective and nonpartisan fashion. But when it comes to vetting Trump appointees, they often aren’t.

    Instead, security clearances are being weaponized against the White House by hostile career bureaucrats, thwarting the president’s agenda by holding up or blocking appointees.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  69. 26 “Now that Trump has possibly been caught in several lies regarding the Stormy Daniels saga, neither the lies nor the sex matter to the same people. This is dishonest and sycophantic behavior.”

    Isn’t it pretty dishonest to ignore one happened under oath in a court of law and the other was a public statement? Sorta common sense that would be expected on an attorney’s blog.

    Nate Ogden (223c65)

  70. 53 “In practice, though, that’s not the way retainers work. The retainer is part of the lawyer’s basic fee; it’s part of his own remuneration.”

    They must practice law different where AllahPundit is because I have been in multiple lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions and paid more retainer fees than any person should be subjected to and that’s not how they work. Retainers are a deposit to cover expenses, Attorney sends bills which are deducted from the retainer, until, all to frequently it’s gone, at which time you write more bloated checks. I’ve never experienced nor even heard of a retainer working the way AllahPundit claims.

    Nate Ogden (223c65)

  71. 61 “That’s true DRJ. But it’s as maladaptive as destroying your own house out of anger. It’s really stupid in the end and doesn’t solve a thing.”

    Or like if you don’t like your house to demolish it and build a new one that you do like.

    Or even better if you don’t like your king you revolt and form a new nation in the ideals you believe in.

    Ya what crazy talk, why would anyone ever do something like that?

    Nate Ogden (223c65)

  72. Conor Friedersdorf breaks it down pretty well, first starting with Trump’s denial.

    So on April 6, 2018, President Trump himself was asked on Air Force One, “Did you know about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels?” He flatly told the reporter, “No,” adding that he didn’t know why his attorney, Michael Cohen, paid the woman. “You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen.” The reporter asked, “Do you know where he got the money?” Trump replied, “No, I don’t know.”

    The problem is that Trump put Cohen on a repayment plan.

    What Ingraham could not have known then is that after the Hannity interview, Giuliani gave an interview to Robert Costa of The Washington Post.
    In that interview, Giuliani indeed tried to explain away Trump’s statement on Air Force One by saying the president only became aware of the matter in the last two weeks. Then Costa asked how the reimbursement payments were structured.
    “Do the arithmetic, right?” Giuliani explained. “$35,000 a month, probably starting in January or February. By the time you get to $250,000, it’s all paid off. Remember, he also paid for the taxes. Then there probably were other things of a personal nature that Michael took care of, for which the president would have always trusted him as his lawyer, as my clients do with me. And that was paid back out of the rest of the money. And Michael earned a fee out of it.”
    That would mean the reimbursement payments began long before April.

    You would think that a multi-billionaire would just write a check for the full amount instead of stretching it over seven or so months, and Trump has not shown himself to be forgetful of writing big checks. Rather, he’s the guy who has a history of chiseling down and not paying his vendors. I trust that what Giuliani said to Costa was accurate because Cohen’s records were taken by the US Attorney and easily verifiable, and Giuliani used to be a US Attorney, so he knows how these things work. It was going to come out anyway, and Giuliani was trying to get ahead of it, IMO.

    Paul Montagu (e6130e)

  73. Any time I’ve paid a retainer it’s worked the same way, Nate Ogden. I was just involved in a business dispute and the lawyer wanted $5,000 retainer to deduct his $650 per hour fees from. This, BTW, was for him to “reach out” to the person I’m fixin’ to sue. I told him I don’t pay anybody $650 an hour to “reach out” (like some leftist snowflake) to anybody. I pay them to win. Needless to say I did not hire that clown.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  74. “What is a big deal is that we have a president who simply can NOT admit weakness. That is a very, very, dangerous thing.”

    I don’t get it. America NEEDS leaders who admit weakness? We should elect puling simps who wallow publicly in their sins, the sins we ALL commit?!?!? Are we now the United Confessors of America?

    Maybe your point is that strong leaders generate strong opposition, and that tension is dangerous. I don’t know.

    What I do know is that David French and his ilk are transparent POSEURS. I really really liked French once upon a time. But he is not acting like the Christian I used to believe him to be. Now he’s just a petty moral scold, with an agenda, who doesn’t care about the _substantial_ issues that concern the nation. He and his buds are pathetic liars.

    gp (0c542c)

  75. On another note…how much you wanna bet that at least one phone call with DJT as the president was captured by the DOJ wiretap? I’d bet almost anything that this is what lead the DOJ to reverse itself and to join Cohen in asking for a Special Master.

    Somebody is reading ahead and trying to spoil the plot for the rest of us!

    NBC: Feds Wiretapped Michael Cohen, Caught At Least One Call Between Him And The White House

    Read the whole thing.

    Dave (445e97)

  76. Have you guys figured out how you’re gonna overthrow the government because Trump paid a prostitute who signed a NDA? I know all the leftists, democrats and commies are rooting for you so you best get set to the task. Which of moral, upright gentlemen will be first to pick up arms and fight for what is morally right against this immoral monster?

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  77. gp – Seriously?

    We need leaders who will acknowledge they messed up when the evidence proves they, in fact, messed up.

    More importantly, and VITAL, is that we have leaders who possess genuine humility. Man’s conceits are endless and must be bound up as much as possible. There are reasons the constitution was written as a “negative rights” document. Having presidents (and a cadre of senior elected pols) like FDR, Obama, and DJT are ruinous to our republic.

    Ed from SFV (291f4c)

  78. Mr. Giuliani is America’s Mayor

    I trust him and you should to

    cause he was there for us in our darkest hour

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  79. oopers *too* i mean

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  80. You want to see how the left and pop culture protected their lying horndog 19 years ago?

    Look back at the SNL skits where John Goodman portrayed Linda Tripp. Those were savage, hateful, despicable, SHAMEFUL attacks on a woman who tried to expose a lying horndog. The left vilified her as a fat, slobbish, overeating, loud-sh!tting, farting freak.

    They even created a group named “MoveOn” whose EXPLICIT purpose was to “move on” to forget the transgressions of the lying horndog.

    Now they, and their g_ddam Republican collaborators, pretend that lying horndogs are the WORST THING EVER! This will not stand.

    gp (0c542c)

  81. Now is not the time to go all wobbly. There’s important work to be done by Trumps enemies.
    https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IVeKdGoE4Z8/Wup5zUx6XTI/AAAAAAABc4c/iCNN8OeUlOAUkcSfAUnrr0iS34XkWN5vQCLcBGAs/s1600/1%2B1%2B1_mblr_p6n6q7v5Lk1spgwkpo1_1280.jpg

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  82. Ms. Giuliani’s song and dance on Fox & Friends this morning between Stormy tweets from you-know-who only threw more chaff into the air. Then came NBC’s report on Cohen’s office wiretap- which reportedly includes a caught call to the WH- as Sarah is challenged on camera over the veracity of information released at the WH briefings. All this within 12 hours.

    Are you not entertained?! Stay-tuned for the next exciting episode…

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  83. Ya what crazy talk, why would anyone ever do something like that?

    If you were citizens of the most prosperous, most powerful and most free country in the history of the world, it would indeed require some truly batsh!t-crazy talk to convince people that it needed to be destroyed, wouldn’t it?

    Dave (445e97)

  84. nobody likes a blackmailing hooker with funguses

    happyfeet (28a91b) — 5/3/2018 @ 8:06 am

    Well, except for Donald Trump, who really liked Stormy and others like her.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  85. on his horniest day did President Trump hold a candle to hot-to-trot FBI party girl Lisa Page

    oh hell no

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  86. “We need leaders who will acknowledge they messed up when the evidence proves they, in fact, messed up.”

    Tell me how Trump “messed up.”

    Did he do something illegal re Stormy Daniels?

    Oh, and give me a couple examples from American history where our strong leaders admitted their mess-ups. Let’s look at that.

    gp (0c542c)

  87. 80.Mr. Giuliani is America’s Mayor. I trust him and you should to…

    Have you asked Donna Hanover about that, Mr. Feet?

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  88. Well, except for Donald Trump, who really liked Stormy and others like her.

    we don’t know that for sure cause she’s an extortionate hooker who lies all the time and she has huge fake tits with underboob fungus

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  89. Have you asked Donna Hanover about that, Mr. Feet?

    i like him a lot cause he’s got pizazzle

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  90. HRC destroyed 30,000 govt emails before investigators could see them.

    She’s not even been charged!

    She may even STILL HAVE HER SECURITY CLEARANCE for all we know!!

    But yeah, let’s dethrone the president for boning a skank, buying her off, and lying about it (not under oath BTW.)

    gp (0c542c)

  91. in re the rogue slutty men and women of the Chris Wray FBI promiscuously and lawlessly tapping Mr. Cohen’s phones:

    Jeffrey Techentin • an hour ago

    Trying to be as sober as possible here, but: It is very difficult to square this revelation with the DOJ permitting Cheryl Mills to act as a lawyer, and thus enjoy privilege, in a matter as to which she was a percipient witness, if not an outright target.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  92. happy: In defense of fungus, right now I can hear the morels popping up in my county, and if you ate some, you would love em.

    gp (0c542c)

  93. we don’t know that for sure cause she’s an extortionate hooker who lies all the time and she has huge fake tits with underboob fungus

    happyfeet

    Which one are you talking about, Trump or Stormy?

    And since when did Trump fans care about lies and bizarre physical attributes? Stormy looks a lot like a barbie doll to me, very much what a guy who is sexually attracted to Ivanka and Melania would go for. I can see why Trump bashed Heidi Cruz so much. A more normal, but pretty woman, with leadership skills of her own, is really not his style given his insecurity about power.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  94. They even created a group named “MoveOn” whose EXPLICIT purpose was to “move on” to forget the transgressions of the lying horndog.

    Now they, and their g_ddam Republican collaborators, pretend that lying horndogs are the WORST THING EVER! This will not stand.

    And you and your co-religionists, today, are behaving EXACTLY like the democrats did back then.

    Congratulations on turning into the thing you most despise!

    Dave (445e97)

  95. Tell me how Trump “messed up.”

    These guys have to be pretending to support Trump. This is hilarious.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  96. Which one are you talking about, Trump or Stormy?

    i’m talking about stormy

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  97. @91. i like him a lot cause he’s got pizazzle

    Does that go with his spring Versace or the summer Dior, Mr. Feet?

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  98. gp – DJT engaged in an extra-marital affair. That’s a mess-up.

    Ike was fully prepared to accept blame for a failed Operation Torch and for an unsuccessful D-Day invasion. Carter took full responsibility for pulling a JFK “Bay of Pigs” stand down order in the rescue of the hostages in Iran.

    If your point is that such sincere admissions are relatively rare, you’ll get no argument from me. Will you acknowledge that our republic is in great peril and that we have come to expect feckless leadership and thereby do not trust a dang thing we are told? The rot is pervasive and, in my opinion, irreversible.

    With better leadership, much of it would have been avoided and our foundation would be far more sturdy.

    Ed from SFV (291f4c)

  99. i’m a sucker for “wild mushroom” anything

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  100. 100. If Trump’s own wife doesn’t care, why should anyone else? I think that’s a fair question.

    Gryph (08c844)

  101. 85. King of England use to treat us good.

    The United States has slipped to its lowest level in world rankings of economic freedom, according an annual index released Wednesday by the conservative Heritage Foundation.

    In the latest report, the U.S. ranks 17th out of 180 countries with an economic freedom score of 75.1 out of 100. Last year, the U.S. ranked number 11.

    Nate Ogden (223c65)

  102. Trumper ethics:

    1. Murder is Wrong
    2. Well, So-And-So got away with murder (we allege)!
    3. Therefore, we should murder too! We’ll show them!

    Good comments Dave, you’re on fire today.

    Tillman (a95660)

  103. 86.nobody likes a blackmailing hooker with funguses- happyfeet (28a91b) — 5/3/2018 @ 8:06 am

    Which is why our Captain can be quite the douche and make it all well for $130,000.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  104. “Well she was plantin’ her feet on the sidewalk
    Listenin’ for signs of the small talk
    Waitin’, hesitatin’, got tired of all that waitin’
    Decided to walk around – that blonde bull
    She’s been waitin’ once again on the home town
    There ain’t enough room this time ’round
    I gotta chasin’ that woman all around town
    Seems that satisfaction just can’t be found

    ‘Cause she’s a side street swinger
    She’s a side street swinger
    Got a kiss on her lips for the askin’
    Just gotta keep movin’ – She’s bear walkin –

    She’s gotta wiggle her way up them sidestreets
    Lookin’ for a ride through town
    Well I’ve been savin’ my money for a week
    Tryin’ to be somethin’ real sweet
    I can’t find the one, you know my luck is so dumb
    She’s probably walkin’ all over the street

    She’s a side street swinger
    She’s a side street swinger
    Got a kiss on her lips for the askin’
    Just gotta keep movin’ –
    She’s bear walkin all night
    She’s bare walkin’ all time

    She’s been waitin’ once again on the home town
    There ain’t enough room this time ’round
    But the woman’s too scared to try and slow down
    Those bulls will just love to take her down town – downtown

    She’s gotta wiggle her way up them sidestreets
    Lookin’ for a ride through town

    She’s a side street swinger
    She’s a side street swinger
    Got a kiss on her lips for the askin’
    Just gotta keep movin’ –
    She’s bear walkin all night
    She’s bear walkin all night
    She’s bare walkin’ all time“

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  105. Dave, the thing I most despise is what’s going to happen to the USA pretty soon if this sh!t prevails.

    Re the Linda Tripp example: No I have not portrayed David French as a fat, farting slob. I said he’s a lying poseur.

    Re the MoveOn example: No I am not starting a .org dedicated to forgetting that Trump is a vulgar, boorish, mercurial, lying horndog (I stipulate all.)

    So I haven’t quite YET become the thing I most despise.
    I could see myself getting there pretty soon.

    gp (0c542c)

  106. @100. Will you acknowledge that our republic is in great peril and that we have come to expect feckless leadership and thereby do not trust a dang thing we are told?

    On the contrary. It survived the Civil War, 1968 and Watergate. It’ll survive this. If anything these entertaining episodes only reinforce the strength and resilience of the system and the Republic. It’s comforting. Sit back and enjoy the show.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  107. Can you defame a prostitute?

    Maybe.

    But can you defame a prostitute who claims Donald Trump was her client?

    Now there…

    Dave (445e97)

  108. Good comments Dave, you’re on fire today.

    Tillman (a95660) — 5/3/2018 @ 12:47 pm

    Looks like muskrat love…

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  109. “DJT engaged in an extra-marital affair [BEFORE HE EVEN RAN FOR OFFICE.] That’s a mess-up.” That’s a mess-up? That’s piddling trivia. Who here has never committed adultery?

    “Ike was fully prepared to accept blame for a failed Operation Torch and for an unsuccessful D-Day invasion.” WHAT?? He DIDN’T mess-up, but he WOULD HAVE abased himself if he DID??

    “Carter took full responsibility for pulling a JFK “Bay of Pigs” stand down order in the rescue of the hostages in Iran.” A truly daring, but failed, military attempt to rescue our hostages was _SPUN_ as a mess-up by Carter and the press. Heroes were portrayed as f#ck-ups. YOU try flying aircraft low in the sand. When you crash, come crying about your mess-up, that sounds like a plan.

    “Will you acknowledge that our republic is in great peril and that we have come to expect feckless leadership and thereby do not trust a dang thing we are told?” Yes, absolutely. Let’s dethrone the fricking president over piddly-ass sh!t. THAT will fix the problem.

    gp (0c542c)

  110. gp – Thank you.

    Ed from SFV (291f4c)

  111. @92. She’s not even been charged!

    But she’s serving a life sentence every time she looks in the mirror.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  112. You know who probably has never committed adultery? Mike Pence.

    How do you think the left and the RINOs are going to like President Mike Pence?

    The left DESPISES Pence BECAUSE he’s NOT a swinger!! They think he’s a dangerous theocrat.

    They despise him for the EXACT OPPOSITE reason they despise Trump.

    gp (0c542c)

  113. But she’s serving a life sentence every time she looks in the mirror.


    I think you have her confused with Hillary, or Maxine Waters, The Forever First Lady, or Debra Wassername-Schultz, or basically any other ugly leftist.

    So they did tap Trump now? I can’t keep up with the changing attacks.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  114. How does Avenatti know?

    Just now on air with @kasiehunt Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti says: “I’m not speculating, that’s a fact” that text message conversations also included in wiretap of Michael Cohen

    — TheBeat w/Ari Melber (@TheBeatWithAri) May 3, 2018

    crazy (5c5b07)

  115. That’s a mess-up? That’s piddling trivia. Who here has never committed adultery?

    This is so sad. A lot of us haven’t, and it’s not a remarkable accomplishment.

    GP, stop defining yourself by what the left thinks. You’re missing the fact that Trump is the left. You are the left too, for defending an administration of immigration amnesty and enormous spending deficits.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  116. gp’s defense of cheating on your wife is that he cheats on his wife and Hillary bla bla emails bla bla ramble ramble.

    Yeah, I’m never going call myself a Republican again. Ef this party.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  117. @115. You’re the confused one, H.

    Take five, have happy meal and a blood pressure video:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08DnYRJhHks

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  118. HRC destroyed 30,000 govt emails before investigators could see them.

    She’s not even been charged!

    And you can thank Trump for not charging her!

    Chuck Bartowski (bc1c71)

  119. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on the reimbursement Trump didn’t make, for the hush money he wasn’t aware of, that wasn’t paid to the porn star he wasn’t involved with in the affair he never had, which certainly had nothing to do with the election 10 days later:

    “The first awareness I had was during the interview last night.”

    The Spanky & Skanky Show‘s plot twists are more closely guarded than Game of Thrones

    Dave (445e97)

  120. “an administration of immigration amnesty and enormous spending deficits.”

    Like EVERY administration before it. So THIS administration is _especially_ evil, because of the lying horndog, which of course we’ve never had one before.

    “This is so sad. A lot of us haven’t [committed adultery.]”

    I notice that YOU yourself are not denying it.
    You are claiming rectitude on the part of OTHER people whose predilections you could NOT _possibly_ know.
    And they call Pence a theocrat.

    gp (0c542c)

  121. @121. Her ‘sad face’ at the briefing today said all; the news her collection of Beanie Babies won’t cover the costs of potential legal fees ahead.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  122. Her ‘sad face’ at the briefing today said all; the news her collection of Beanie Babies won’t cover the costs of potential legal fees ahead.

    I think she had more fun at the White House Correspondents Dinner last weekend…

    Sanders pointedly refused to say whether Trump had falsified his financial disclosure form by omitting the $130K loan from Cohen.

    Dave (445e97)

  123. why are the dirty congressfilth spending tax money on sleazy chaplains anyway

    can’t they just take turns saying prayers or whatever

    they just like to waste money on stupid crap

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  124. didnt ted Cruz hire a porn star for his campaign?

    https://www.cnn.com/2016/02/12/politics/ted-cruz-porn-actress-campaign-ad/index.html

    Even after he said gee it was someone else in my campaign that did it

    They said they pulled it

    That was another lie….

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  125. She also said in a radio interview that The campaign was aware of her movie roles

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  126. EPWJ, thats a Damn – Damn – Damn ! (Good Times reference) decision on Cruz’ part.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  127. they just like to waste money on stupid crap

    You’re absolutely right, Mr. Feet.

    That money could instead go toward making President Trump’s military parade through Washington, D.C. even more massively awesomely bigly awesomely massive.

    Way bigger than that Macron’s guy’s surrender-monkey parade! Big like porn-star boobs, only bigger!

    Dave (445e97)

  128. parades are good for the core of the spritzer plus all the mil-trannies get to dress up and let their freak flag fly

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  129. NeverTrumpers, as a group, maintained, like most Republicans, that Clinton’s sexual dalliances were not the serious problem — not commendable behavior, to be sure (“simply reprehensible,” as Democrats looking for a half-in-half-out position would bleat), but also not really the concern of the public, at least not in any official sense.

    Personally, I wasn’t lying when I maintained that. I did not care that Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky, whether in the Oval Office or not; I knew about his history from The New Republic, which supported him but frequently alluded to the almost-certainly-true rumors of rampant infidelity in his past.

    What bothered me was the crime — he lied to a federal judge when he could easily just settle without admitting anything, just saying “I’m settling so I can focus on the job the American people elected me to do.”

    Instead, he lied. Under oath. The Chief Law Enforcement officer of the United States lied under oath.

    NeverTrumpers surely echoed this “It’s not the sex, it’s the perjury” sentiment.

    But now #MuhPrinciples demand a reversal.

    http://acecomments.mu.nu/?post=375115

    Anon Y. Mous (6cc438)

  130. thank you for the link Mr. Mous

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  131. “gp’s defense of cheating on your wife is that he cheats on his wife ”

    Yes, I’ve committed adultery. I’ve lied. I’ve stolen. I’ve committed horrible cruelties. I’m full of hatred and anger. I don’t love the unlovable and I don’t forgive the unforgivable.
    I sin EVERY dam day. I am worthy of neither forgiveness or redemption.

    Now let’s add a five minute confessional to every State of the Union address from here on out. That will fix everything.

    Or we could elect politicians who have never sinned. Please name the candidates on your sinless slate.

    gp (0c542c)

  132. Like EVERY administration before it.

    GP, no Trump’s spending is worse than his predecessors, particularly W and Clinton. Yeah, they ran deficits their entire administrations and it’s worth while to criticize that, but Trump promised us a balanced budget, only to sign into a law a much worse budget. He broke his promise, and you don’t care about lying, so obviously this argument means nothing to you.

    They said they pulled it

    That was another lie….

    EPWJ

    This is classic Trump BS. Obviously Trump knew he hired a prostitute to cheat on his pregnant wife with. They are talking circles around it, yet we know he did it.

    Cruz obviously had no idea he hired a porn star as an actress in a stupid commercial. It’s not remotely as big a deal, but it’s also clear candidates don’t typically pick their actors. You call the latter a lie in defense of the actual lying. The idea you guys even care about that is mendacious.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  133. “In practice, though, that’s not the way retainers work.” — Dave

    Hate to burst your bubble Dave, but Allahpundit is full of it. That is EXACTLY how retainers work.

    Retainers are basically a payment on account for future bills. The lawyer has not earned it yet, and it belongs to the client. (In fact, the client’s creditors can freeze and garnish it. Happened to me once.)

    When the attorney actually earns something, he takes it out of the retainer, and then provides the client with a statement showing what he did.

    Now it is true that, for the most part, attorneys bill their own time to make money. So most of the retainer ends up going to that.

    But lawyers also routinely pay certain expenses for the client out-of-pocket and then bill them for that. This is generally called “disbursements.” For example, the client pays me to draft a complaint against someone and file it. The Court has a $450 fee to file a complaint. I bill the client my time to do the work. I pay the fee to the Court, and then bill the client for that disbursement on the monthly bill.

    If the client had a retniner, then both comes off of that.

    So it is entirely possible that Trump (or some Trump entity) paid a retainer to Cohen for all kinds of future work. And then he took Clifford’s payment out of that as a disbursement.

    (I mean, heck, maybe Clifford works part-time as the Clerk of the Court! 😉 )

    Bored Lawyer (998177)

  134. Retainers are basically a payment on account for future bills. The lawyer has not earned it yet, and it belongs to the client.

    yes yes this tracks with my experience too

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  135. She also said in a radio interview that The campaign was aware of her movie roles

    Not finding any evidence of this via Google.

    How would she know what “the campaign” was aware of? They hired her through a third-party agency.

    But you’re right – admitting you made a mistake after accidentally hiring an actress who did soft-core porn ten years before (but had plenty of “mainstream” acting credits too) to appear in a routine campaign ad is JUST LIKE having unprotected sex with one months after your son is born after promising her an appearance on your TV show, committing fraud and violating campaign finance laws to cover it up, and lying about it the whole time.

    Not a scintilla of difference!

    Dave (445e97)

  136. “Trump promised us ”

    HE’S A LIAR. We ALL knew that going in!

    Like ALL politicians, he lied and will not deliver on campaign promises.

    And the remedy is to unseat him over adultery? When we have max economic output and full employment? When foreign affairs performance appears to be favorable? When there are hopeful signs of a coming rapprochement with black Americans?

    gp (0c542c)

  137. Looks like muskrat love…

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b) — 5/3/2018 @ 12:59 pm

    Two leftists sharing their love for all the world to see.

    NJRob (d585f2)

  138. unprotected sex

    he used a fungicidal foam

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  139. Clinton asked two people to lie and coverup his actions as president, money was exchanged, Monica was bribed by a sitting president.

    EPWJ (39cba9) — 5/3/2018 @ 10:05 am

    Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  140. Retainers are basically a payment on account for future bills. The lawyer has not earned it yet, and it belongs to the client.

    yes yes this tracks with my experience too

    happyfeet (28a91b) — 5/3/2018 @ 1:55 pm
    It’s like a deposit in case you watch a bunch of expensive dirty movies and drink overpriced little bottles of vodka.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  141. I really can’t understand the problem with hiring this gal to act if she did some porn many years ago. Why is this upsetting EPWJ? He’s saying Ted Cruz is a liar, but he’s not showing any reasonable basis for this view.

    Meanwhile, our first lady is a porn star too, and her husband engages in serial sexual misconduct that he brags about. It’s a little difficult to take Trump’s defense seriously on anything, but this one is hilarious.

    gp,

    It’s none of my business that you cheat on your wife, but there’s no reason to boast about your mistakes to defend Trump’s mistakes. And yeah, they are.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  142. Ted Cruz is a liar

    he looked us straight in the eye and said he was married to a beautiful woman

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  143. NBC is correcting its wiretap story on MSNBC right now, saying it was not a wiretap on Cohen phone. Says it was instead a log of phone calls known as a “pen register,” so couldn’t listen in

    so the porn lawyer had his facts messed up

    or??

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  144. Bloomberg has an article up by some Noah writer that has no clue what a retainer is. Why do so many people with no understanding of what a retainer is rush to the Internet to make assumptions based on their ignorance of what a retainer is?

    Nate Ogden (223c65)

  145. Retainers are basically a payment on account for future bills.

    I think that is Allahpundit’s point. As you say, the retainer is an advance for ongoing or future work.

    But Trump and Giuliani claim that Cohen was repaid with a “retainer” long after the Daniels work was done – and over a period of several months.

    The reason is obvious – they wanted to conceal the original payment, and conceal the repayment, and obfuscate the connection between the two. So they falsified the records to make it look like Trump was paying Cohen for subsequent, unrelated work, when in fact he was really paying him back for an earlier loan.

    If Trump had advanced Cohen the money for the payment in October 2016, as a retainer for handling the hush money payoff, the narrative would make sense. But they explicitly deny that.

    Dave (445e97)

  146. not unlike stormy’s vagina, money is fungible Mr. Dave

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  147. In contrast with Hillary Clinton, who crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s in hiding the payment to Christopher Steele?

    Samnmy Finkelman (02a146)

  148. I guess if I was a Trump supporter, my argument wouldn’t be that Cruz and Hillary are worse for emails or hiring the wrong actor. It would be that it’s incredible that a family values party was rolled over by Trump and the GOP made this possible through failures on so many things. I would not pretend Trump has done better, but I would say things were bad enough that his fans saw no reason not to try something extreme to change the course.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  149. We don’t have to guess about who first disclosed that Cohen was already subject to electronic surveillance well before the search warrants that authorized the April 9th searches and seizures from on his office, home, and hotel suite. That much was disclosed by the SDNY in their initial response, on April 13, 2018, to Cohen’s civil suit seeking a TRO against the DoJ (at page 13):

    [T]he USAO-SDNY has already obtained search warrants – covert until this point – on multiple different email accounts maintained by Cohen, and has conducted a privilege review of the materials obtained pursuant to those warrants.

    This was all part of what that response from USAO-SDNY described (at page 4) as “a months-long investigation into Cohen. So anyone who didn’t realize that Cohen’s phone lines were also part of that same data-collection effort, with authorizing warrants signed by magistrates based upon probable cause, is pretty dim-witted. I wrote about this here in comments, and I and others linked Andy McCarthy’s resulting column pointing out that because of these prior covert search warrants, USAO-SDNY had already set up and put in operation a “filter team” (aka “taint team”) even before applying for the search warrants on Cohen’s office, home, and hotel suite. I recall joking that any prospective new clients of Michael D. Cohen might first ask themselves whether they want the FBI reading their communications with Cohen in real time.

    It’s also previously been reported that the FBI seized at least sixteen cell phones, e.g., by the NY Post on April 26. Is Cohen stupid enough to save his burner phones, or has he got 16 different deals going on at the same time that he’s worried about discussing over his regular phone lines? (My guess is: Both.)

    As for the specific confirmation that yes, phones in addition to emails were being surveilled, I see no reason to assume, much less presume, that that came from Mueller, since SDNY is running the Cohen investigation, not Mueller. I see no tactical or strategic reason for SDNY to leak the specific detail about at least one surveilled phone call involving a White House phone number. On the other hand, if SDNY has disclosed the fact that such a communication was surveilled in private to Cohen’s lawyers and Trump’s lawyers — in conjunction with their on-going joint work with a special magistrate to catalog seized documents and data for purposes of the assertion and ruling upon privilege claims — then there are excellent reasons for Team Trump to have leaked it: (a) fanning the outrage flames and keeping the Trumpkins roused and outraged, and (b) laying the future PR predicate for refusing further cooperation and taking the Fifth.

    My hunch is that the phone surveillance was of the “pen register” variety rather than the “wiretap” variety, meaning what was captured was the initiating and receiving phone numbers and the length of the call, but not its contents.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  150. Dustin,

    No actually it was a Cruz video attacking Rubio. When Rubios campaign called Cruz out on it, they pulled it from media ads and put it on YouTube

    And the pornstar said Cruz picked her

    Also Heidi was arrested, just wearing a shirt, nothing else. Wandering around on a highway.

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  151. My hunch is that the phone surveillance was of the “pen register” variety rather than the “wiretap” variety, meaning what was captured was the initiating and receiving phone numbers and the length of the call, but not its contents.

    duh this was already reported

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  152. I don’t know why Dustin gets so upset to find out that Cruz hired a porn star for one of his few media spots

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  153. Ted Cruz is every bit as sleepy-snoozy as Jeffy Sesh about the corruption and perversion at his former stomping grounds

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  154. To serve as the special master in Cohen’s lawsuit (and Trump’s intervention) regarding the search warrants on Cohen, U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood appointed former SDNY district judge Barbara S. Jones, a Clinton appointee. The Hon. (but Former) Judge Jones is keeping her day job, though, as a partner at Bracewell, a national law firm long familiar to me as Houston-based Bracewell & Patterson, but more recently known, until 2016, as Bracewell & Guiliani.

    That’s right, Judge Wood appointed Rudy’s former law partner (2012-2016) to be the special master for Trump’s attorney-client privilege claims. Where are the cries of outrage, of egregious conflict of interest, from the Trumpkin Nation?

    Beldar (fa637a)

  155. As far as redstate being a national footprint, it’s star didn’t even make the market cut of the top 100 talkers

    “The highest ranked Atlanta-based host is Clark Howard at No. 46. (He’s been as high as 27.) Following him at No. 55 is Herman Cain. Both are heard on WSB. Surprisingly, local host Erick Erickson did not make the cut despite his national footprint”

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  156. And the pornstar said Cruz picked her

    Link please.

    You apparently think Cruz should have vetted the uncredited actors in a one-off, 30-second campaign ad more carefully than Trump vets his cabinet nominees and national security advisors…

    This is deflection taken to a whole new level of absurdity…

    Dave (445e97)

  157. @144. He looked us straight in the eye and said he ‘forgot’ he was also a Canadian citizen, too, eh Mr. Feet.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  158. Beldar

    Maybe woods was sending a strooooooong message to the SDNY and the mueller team?

    If they suppress evidence that there was clear collusion, that trump spent time and money to throw the election, throw him in jail

    Oh wait didn’t Hillary do that for her primary?

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  159. @144. He looked Hoosiers straight in the eye and said, ‘basketball ring’ too, Mr. Feet.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  160. @ gp, who wrote (#62):

    I just do not understand why this Stormy Daniels thing amounts to a hill of beans.

    Stipulate: Trump boned her; paid her off; lied about it.

    Is ANY of that illegal?

    Is ANY of that pertinent to proper governance?

    America does NOT care if there is a lying horndog as president. We’ve had em before, we’ll have em again. History proves strong leaders are ALWAYS lying horndogs.

    Things are going OK in America right now, insofar as the economy and foreign affairs go. (Of course we still have fatal debt that will ultimately _destroy_ the nation, but that’s no more Trump’s fault than anybody elses; that resulted from a multi-decade TEAM EFFORT by politicians of ALL parties.)

    So why are elites trying to tear this down? What is this frickin puritan moral pose all these jerks are adopting? “How can you support a president who bones porn stars and lies about it?” That’s just a big fat phony POSE.

    This is precious. Thank you. If this was written by a Trump opponent pretending to be a Trumpkin, it’s absolutely spot-on. And if this was written by a Trumpkin, you have created a modern classic, emblematic of the moral corrosion that Trump has already inflicted on American society.

    Reagan, Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln — heroes in the pantheon of Republican presidents. Are the first words that comes to your mind about any of them “lying horndog”?

    Beldar (fa637a)

  161. Beldar!

    Have you an opinion you are willing to share as to why DOJ reversed and supported a Special Master, or what “new” data may have led to such a change?

    Ed from SFV (291f4c)

  162. Where are the cries of outrage, of egregious conflict of interest, from the Trumpkin Nation?

    They will appear instantly the moment her name is associated with any act of commission or omission, however routine or reasonable, that can be spun as prejudicial to the interests of Donald Trump…

    What a silly question!

    Dave (445e97)

  163. I don’t know why Dustin gets so upset to find out that Cruz hired a porn star for one of his few media spots

    EPWJ

    doesn’t bother me a bit, and I have never brought it up once in my life. You’ve brought it up quite a bit and complained that you have proof Cruz lied about it so I think it’s reasonable to say you’re very, very upset about this sinful scandal of Cruz’s. Which is odd as you’re not seeing a problem with the stuff Trump’s doing.

    In fact, do you even have any evidence Cruz hired her? You’re claiming Cruz personally did this, and not the company he paid to make the ad. Are you sure that’s what happened? Is it possible you’re still mad about Dewhurst?

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  164. Dave,

    Hiring pornstars is a bad thing for a political campaign

    Not taking responsibility for it is worse (it’s what we make fun of Hillary doing)

    Lying about it is even worse

    Not removing it after saying you would…….

    “……………

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  165. What Guiliani calls a “retainer,” I and any state bar association would call a “slush fund” if it’s being used to fund settlement payments at the lawyer’s discretion and without his client’s knowledge. Mishandling client funds — commingling them with your own, for example, or failing to maintain timely and proper records about them — is the number one cause of disbarments, year in and year out, across the country.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  166. I not only Don’t care that Trump lied about Stormy Davis, I think it was a good thing for him to do so. Whether Trump had a NDA or sex with Stormy Davis – 12 years ago – is none of the Press Corps business. And further, I don’t care if Trump lies to the NYT/WaPo when they’re trying to destroy him.

    If Trump is lying about Building the wall or the North Korean deal or an important policy matter – then I care.

    Its like the tax returns. The MSM and Democrats want to see Trump’s tax returns to destroy him. So why should he help them? Similarly, why should he help the Press delve into his affair with Stormy Davis? Because they’re “objective” reporters out for the truth? LOL!

    rcocean (1a839e)

  167. Rudy joins the Trump legal team:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y189-69cQPs

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  168. Dustin

    Again, I’m not upset, just pointing out the verified fact that Cruz, hired a porn star, tried to deny it, when found out promised to pull the ad, let it run all weekend before the Florida primary, then moved it to YouTube, then blamed his staff.

    What I find amusing is that Heidi and ted don’t really live together, pretty much never have.

    So these attacks are not really helpful are they?

    And redstate was run by a foul mouth misogynist who said it was a sin for women to not stay at home and raise the children and be subservient to their husbands.

    Go figure

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  169. If True-Cons want to play Saint, turn-the-other-cheek, and only win “for the right reasons” (as Bob Dole stupidly put it) then go ahead. Be good losers. It seems to be the True Con goal.

    I want to win. Which is why I – and many other Republicans – voted for Trump. I don’t see politics as a “game” or a stage to strike poses.

    Just by defeating Hillary, Trump has done more for Real-life conservatism, then Jonah Goldberg, Erickson, and Kristol have done in their entire lives.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  170. @ Ed from SFV, who asked (#):

    Have you an opinion you are willing to share as to why DOJ reversed and supported a Special Master, or what “new” data may have led to such a change?

    My guess is that USAO-SDNY decided it wasn’t worth fighting over, in terms of the results to eventually be reached in terms of formal privilege assertions and objections and the resulting rulings thereupon. My further guess is that they got approval first from Rosenstein, which was readily given.

    Recall, always, that this lawsuit arose out of written demands by Cohen’s lawyers, immediately after the warrants were served, the searches conducted, and the items and data seized, that USAO-SDNY return unexamined everything they had seized, without retaining any copies at all, so that Cohen’s lawyers and the affected clients could do the initial cut for responsiveness and privilege. In other words, they wanted the deal Hillary got for her server from Loretta Lynch’s pet prosecutors in EDNY.

    But they gave up on that nonsense as they put their TRO application together, and never even asked Judge Wood for that relief. Once that happened, the rest is just argument over logistics.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  171. As you say, the retainer is an advance for ongoing or future work.

    But Trump and Giuliani claim that Cohen was repaid with a “retainer” long after the Daniels work was done – and over a period of several months.

    The reason is obvious – they wanted to conceal the original payment, and conceal the repayment, and obfuscate the connection between the two. So they falsified the records to make it look like Trump was paying Cohen for subsequent, unrelated work, when in fact he was really paying him back for an earlier loan.

    Yup. They used the retainer pretext to launder the payoff. Stupid. But that’s what happens when instead of an attorney, you have a yes-man/bagman/errand boy running around to cover up your dirty deeds.

    nk (dbc370)

  172. I think I have figured this out pretty well actually. Trump fans will faint over the tiniest things, sometimes things that never even happened. They will be the schoolmarm and shame anyone who isn’t on their side. But if Trump shot someone in the streets they would forgive it.

    They support liars and many of them are liars. I don’t take a single one of them seriously, and neither does our country. The insecurity of Trump fans, after Hillary won millions more votes, and trying to justify their decision, has caused an us vs them mentality that is beyond reason.

    There’s no need to worry about whether my arguments are helpful to you. They aren’t really intended to anything but provide a little entertainment. I am fully aware from yesterday that any Trump critic will have to ignore a lot of dumb stuff.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  173. Dustin

    Just for your edification

    “As the Iowa primary approaches, Ted Cruz is facing criticism from rivals over his lack of tithing as indicated by tax returns for 2007-2010 disclosed when he ran for Senate. The Cruz family reported donations which amounted to about 1% of their income.

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  174. Dustin

    Oh there’s more

    “Cruz has energized religious voters by preaching Christian values at campaign stops across the United States. But since Cruz has exalted himself as the most faithful candidate in the Republican field, evidence challenging that claim casts doubt on his image and trustworthiness among Christian voters. For many believers, it’s disingenuous to preach Christian values with your mouth and then deny them with your wallet.“

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  175. Teh Twitillation continues and there is no shortage of yohans and knobs around here…

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  176. @ rcocean, who wrote (#168): “I not only Don’t care that Trump lied about Stormy Dan[iels], I think it was a good thing for him to do so.”

    Trump continues to deny that he ever had any sexual relationship with the porn star. He says it himself to the American and world public from behind a podium with the Presidential Seal on the front. He sent Sarah Sanders to repeat it to the public again today.

    Do you care whether that’s a lie?

    Beldar (fa637a)

  177. 171. Believe it or not, I’m not interested in winning as most Americans understand the term. I’m interested in restoring freedom through constitutional government. Trump is not. No politician is. And here we are.

    Gryph (08c844)

  178. Dustin continues to write parodies of the definitive Dustin parody. More popcorn please!

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  179. Hiring pornstars is a bad thing for a political campaign

    She was an actress who done soft-core porn movies years in the past, as well as plenty of “mainstream” roles. She was in a Star Trek episode. Contrast this with Stormy Daniels who was, at the time Trump had unprotected sex with her by promising her an appearance on his show, one the handful of marquee hard-core porn actresses in the industry.

    Not taking responsibility for it is worse (it’s what we make fun of Hillary doing)

    This is the thing (and I realize it may be a difficult concept for a loyal Trump supporter to grasp): It matters whether Cruz did, in fact, have responsibility for the casting decision, and whether he had knowledge of the actresses work ~10 years earlier.

    You have made unsubstantiated claims to this effect three times now. I have asked for evidence, and you have provided none.

    Lying about it is even worse

    You are the one who seems to be lying about Cruz’s involvement in the casting decision.

    Not removing it after saying you would…….

    The article you linked doesn’t say they “said” they would pull it. It says they DID pull it from YouTube. It says a webpage with the Conservatives Anonymous theme “branding” (not the ad itself) was left up.

    So it appears you are being untruthful about this too.

    None of this makes a bit of difference to the topic of this post, of course. If Cruz had sodomized the woman on camera, while little midgets wearing Marco Rubio masks cheered him on, and then posted THAT as a campaign ad on YouTube, it not excuse Donald Trump’s conduct, nor his apparent violations of the law.

    Dave (445e97)

  180. Thank you, Beldar.

    I am simply pleased that there is at least one outside set of eyes ensuring legitimately privileged communication with a president be exorcised.

    Is it too much to hope DJT really did engage in conspiracy after the fact? 🙂

    Ed from SFV (291f4c)

  181. I’m glad you’re having fun, Haiku! I know I find EPWJ’s frustration with Cruz’s sleazy sleazy commercial to be one of the funniest things I’ve seen all year. I wonder why he decided to bring it up in this thread, which had nothing to do with Cruz.

    Hmmm….

    I’ll have to ponder that.

    But I appreciate EPWJ preaching about Christian values in Trump’s defense today. It’s awesome. Truly awesome.

    Meanwhile you Trump fans continue to seem very insecure. Another mystery.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  182. “Mishandling client funds — commingling them with your own, for example, or failing to maintain timely and proper records about them — is the number one cause of disbarments, year in and year out, across the country.”

    Huh… I would’ve guessed it would’ve been alcoholism, substance abuse or kiddie-diddling.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  183. i worry about whether President Trump lied about porking some prostitute with cartoon tits 15 years ago cause of

    also I’m hungry

    i want a snack

    but i can’t have carbs

    i wonder if there’s a new Expanse episode to watch

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  184. [Giuliani] that he had documentation showing that Mr. Trump had personally made the payment

    To Cohen, not to Stephanie Clifford/Stormy Daniels.

    Michael Cohen said he had not been reimbursed by either the Trump organization (Trump’s business) or the Trump campaign.

    Turns out he was reimbursed by Donald Trump himself from his personal funds, sometime after the election, although Trump may not have been alerted to what this was really for. At least the specifics.

    Trump didn’t tell this to his lawyers – Trump’s lawyers managed to figure this out by poring over his financial records.

    Rreporters are now being told (by various people, including Stormy Daniels’ lawyer) that there must be a crime here somewhere.

    They say: Fraud in legal billing!!

    Or if not, Campaign finance reporting violations! Surely the payoff was a campaign expense?

    Trump should have routed it through his campaign, they say. Of course if he did then he could have been accused of using campaign money for personal gain. Is that a legitimate campaign expense?

    Maybe it was personal. Maybe he just wanted to avoid trouble with Melania.

    Further confounding factors:

    1. Trump spent that money after the election was over.

    2. He contributed a lot of the money that his campaign had.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  185. Dave, Haiku says that argument is so terrible it’s a parody of a parody or something. It’s hard to understand Trump’s fans sometimes, but one thing is for sure: when it’s time to choose between Christianity (for example, the importance of maintaining one’s vows) and the GOP, they don’t hesitate.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  186. also I’m hungry

    i want a snack

    but i can’t have carbs

    We do need more recipes in here.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  187. bah, typos…sorry

    Dave (445e97)

  188. nice work Mr. Finkelman

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  189. 181. Dave (445e97) — 5/3/2018 @ 3:11 pm

    Contrast this with Stormy Daniels who was, at the time Trump had unprotected sex with her by promising her an appearance on his show

    He didn’t promise her an appearance on his show.

    That’s why she wouldn’t do it again.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  190. “HRC destroyed 30,000 govt emails before investigators could see them.”

    It’s different when their side does it, even if it’s a thousand times worse. Anyone who doesn’t understand that by now has not been paying attention.

    harkin (ad4321)

  191. @181. “…nor his apparent violations of the law.”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CBtPe2YxwY

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  192. “The latest addition to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team of prosecutors contributed to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, according to federal campaign records.”

    And the Never-Trumpers smile a knowing smile…..

    harkin (ad4321)

  193. yes yes helpful recipes

    mostly i just wanna rack up a bunch of low carb days so i can do my braised yellow squash with sourdough d’amato’s sourdough

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  194. let me find a link

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  195. here

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  196. Hey more redstate stuff

    “Van Susteren and fellow Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly have singled out Erickson in the past for the viciousness of his attacks on women.

    Erickson, a Macon, Georgia resident and longtime far-right agitator has been given to rhetorical extremes in the past. He famously called Supreme Court Justice David Souter a “goat-f*cking child molester.”

    In 2009, he called Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) a eunuch and an infectious “cancer” on the GOP. He called on fellow conservatives to “collectively rip off his jaw and shovel the crap back down his throat that he’s been serving u”

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  197. 143 Dustin (ba94b2) — 5/3/2018 @ 2:14 pm

    Meanwhile, our first lady is a porn star too,

    Only still pictures.

    Nobody else in the picture.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  198. our first lady’s by far the classiest first lady we’ve ever had

    her name? Melania Trump!

    (remember that name)

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  199. EPWJ lies a lot. All the time. This time is no different.

    The actress in the Cruz commercial was not a “porn star”. All her roles had been in R-rated films that featured nudity and simulated sex. Some people call it “softcore porn”. Like the opening scene in Machete.

    Cruz did not hire her. He did not find out about her past roles until after the commercial had been filmed and released. Then he had it withdrawn.

    At the time, I thought he was over-reacting. After all, she was an actress. Actresses will let you grab them by the pussy if you’re famous.

    nk (dbc370)

  200. Well it’s hard to love a man whose _______ is bent and paralyzed
    And the wants and the needs of a woman that size, Rudy they realize
    And it won’t be long before they put this topic in the ground
    Oh Rudy…… don’t take this blog to town

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  201. All this cryin’ about Hillary’s emails. Supposedly, Bush’s White House lost millions of ’em. But I guess that’s OK to Republicans, since he was, you know, a Republican.

    http://www.newsweek.com/2016/09/23/george-w-bush-white-house-lost-22-million-emails-497373.html

    Tillman (a95660)

  202. Dustin, I’m not preaching Christian values, I’m just pointing out the fact that Ted Cruz rallies were like tent revivals and he gave very little money to the poor.

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  203. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DcREgaIX0AAolfK?format=jpg

    A scorecard for those who aren’t quite sure.

    harkin (ad4321)

  204. Tillman hit the outhouse and grabbed the wipe with that one, lol.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  205. Meanwhile, our first lady is a porn star too,
    Only still pictures.

    Nobody else in the picture.

    Not so, Sammy. Your premier hometown newspaper published several photos of her nude in the arms of another nude woman. A whip was pictured too.

    nk (dbc370)

  206. @202. =Haiku!= Gesundheit!

    Nothing beats that Philco… Pops.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  207. Trump is learning today that to the extent Rudy may be a “bigger gun” than his former lawyers and TV surrogates (e.g., Jay Sekulow), Rudy’s also a looser cannon.

    The day Trump renounces golf is the day I’ll begin to take seriously Rudy’s whining about how much time he’d need to prep Trump for even a two-to-three hour interview. Rudy, Rudy, Rudy — we both know that there’s not enough time between now and the heat death of the universe to coach Trump into being a risk-free witness.

    But that’s all just public posturing. Mueller will ignore every bit of this except the “two-to-three” hour reference, which Mueller (like any lawyer or experienced negotiator) will immediately truncate in his mind to an offer of a “three hour” interview. Beldar predicts: The negotiations will in due course result in a deal based on the interview parameters used for Dubya’s interview in the Plame Affair, with a six-hour timeclock (which is turned off during objections and bathroom breaks), an opportunity for the POTUS, at his option, to also submit advance written answers on any of the topics already identified, but with no firm or binding commitment from Mueller’s team to accept those written answers without follow-up questions on them.

    They’ll prep Trump as much as he’ll let them. He’s done long depositions before, on video, some of which are on the ‘net (e.g., his depo from the Trump U litigation). He doesn’t have to be perfectly accurate for the interview to be a success from the defense standpoint. He doesn’t even have to be perfectly truthful! But he will have to avoid telling intentional lies about material subjects, and what’s “material” is going to be at least as broad as the leaked list of topics.

    Nevertheless, the fact that Mueller’s team has even read aloud a list of topics to Trump’s legal team (with Jay Sekulow as scribe; who from the WH or Trump’s legal team actually leaked Sekulow’s work product to the NYT and elsewhere isn’t yet known, but it surely wasn’t Mueller‘s team!) is a whole lot more consideration than Bubba got before being questioned by Starr’s team, or than Dubya got before being questioned by Fitzgerald’s. When interpreting the tea leaves, I see this as a big honking chunk of leaf, because it’s consistent with the notion that Mueller is on track for a prosecution declination after making a record (albeit a mostly nonpublic one, not known yet outside his team or Rosenstein) of being thorough in his inquiries.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  208. Nk,

    Nope they were porn

    And Cruz blamed his staff.

    Heh

    EPWJ (39cba9)

  209. Believe it or not, I’m not interested in winning as most Americans understand the term. I’m interested in restoring freedom through constitutional government.

    To me, Gryph, that’s winning. But the way to accomplish it is to go out and convince our fellow countrymen that our ideas are best. And falling lock-step behind some politician just because he has the letter R after his name is not the way to do that.

    It’s not about (R) vs (D). It’s about the principles this country was founded upon. It’s about restoring personal liberty and responsibility.

    Our nation survived 8 years of Obama as President, and it will survive 4 or 8 years of Trump in the same office. What it won’t survive is becoming a nation of imbeciles who continue to vote for more and more government intrusion and control in our lives. The way to combat that is to go out and change minds.

    Based on your posts, I think your mind is along those lines as well.

    Chuck Bartowski (bc1c71)

  210. Ted Cruz probably likes to watch porn cause the women are more pretty than the ones he has to make do with and you know what?

    That’s ok Ted.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  211. He didn’t promise her an appearance on his show.

    Wrong.

    Stormy: […] And he goes, “You should be on.” And I was like, “Really? No, I don’t think so.” And he just kept thinking about it, I could see his little wheels turning. He goes, “No, it would be really, really good for you. People would think you’re just this idiot with blond hair and big boobs. You would be perfect for it because you’re such a smart businesswoman. You write and you direct and you produce and obviously you’re hot and you’re beautiful.” And I was like, “Well, it’s never going to happen. NBC is never going to let a porn star on.” And he was like, “I can make it happen.” And I was like, “You can’t. I dare you.” I was totally egging him on. And that was kind of like the thing, he was like, “No, we have to work on this for you.”

    (emphasis added)

    She says shortly after that it was “100%” his idea.

    IT: Did he promise you that?

    Stormy: Yeah, absolutely. He told me that he got a wild-card choice. That he could push one person through at will.

    IT: And he said it was going to be you?

    Stormy: Absolutely. 100% he promised me.

    Obviously we only have her account of what was said, but she had little reason to lie about this in 2011 when the interview occurred, and many details she related then have since been verified.

    That’s why she wouldn’t do it again.

    No, he didn’t KEEP the promise, and THAT’S why she wouldn’t do it again.

    Dave (445e97)

  212. Oh look,

    Jim Comey comes out attacking the NRA and saying he supports “common sense restrictions” against gun ownership, but refuses to say what they are.

    But he’s a “severe Republican” who is just being honest and not political. Not at all.

    NJRob (b00189)

  213. no really why do the sleazy congressfilth spend our money on an effing chaplain

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  214. How much different would American history be if, before Bubba’s video deposition in the Paula Jones case, either Jones’ lawyers (or their volunteer helpers, including Kellyanne Conway’s husband George) or Starr’s team had given Bubba a list of topics.

    Let’s see here, item 34: Monica Who?!?

    Beldar (fa637a)

  215. Have you an opinion you are willing to share as to why DOJ reversed and supported a Special Master, or what “new” data may have led to such a change?

    IMO the Judge signaled in the first hearing that she wanted a Special Master. The prosecutors argued one wasn’t necessary until the Judge asked the parties for the names of persons they would agree to as special master. That’s when the prosecutors acquiesced. Incidently, Judge Wood did not pick the person the prosecutors wanted, Judge Maas.

    DRJ (15874d)

  216. @ Bored Lawyer (#135): I’m guessing you have a trust account, and that you’ve had occasion from time to time, during settlements, to see clients’ funds flow temporarily through your trust account, with careful accounting by you of receipts and disbursements to the clients.

    Do you commonly call those “retainers”?

    Have you ever called one of those payments a “retainer”?

    Retainers are funds held by the lawyer in trust, unmixed with his own, to bill fees & expenses against. “Expenses” don’t include settlement payoffs, even though those also go through trust accounts.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  217. So how does this retainer work? I assume it was paid at some point by Trump to Cohen’s firm for legal/other work and expenses, but apparently it wasn’t available to Cohen when he paid the settlement since he had to get a bank loan to make the settlement payment. That’s a strange “retainer” that is only available after the work is done. It sounds more like how invoices get billed and paid. Or how cover ups happen.

    DRJ (15874d)

  218. I see we are thinking alike again, Beldar.

    DRJ (15874d)

  219. Do you care whether that’s a lie?

    No, I don’t. Is Trump the Pope? Or President of the boy-scouts? Its none of our damn business whether Trump had sex with Stormy Daniels or Davis or whatever – 12 years ago. It has zero -nothing – nada – to do with Trump being POTUS. I want my President to be concerned about foreign affairs, the economy, immigration, trade deals, etc. – you know – stuff that matters.

    Did Trump break a law? Name it. Tell me that its still covered by the statute of limitations and that its not a minor league law – which is punishable by a fine. Otherwise, I don’t care.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  220. retainers are what you get after you finish your braces

    careful not to leave them at Olive Garden cause they won’t put them in the lost and found they’ll just dump them in the garbage

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  221. Lest you forget:

    ‘Giuliani is a social moderate running in a party dominated by Christian conservatives; he supports gay rights and gun control, and hopes to be his party’s first pro-choice presidential nominee since Gerald Ford more than [40] years ago. His tenure at city hall—in which he donned fishnet stockings to dance alongside the Rockettes and sauntered for the press corps as a pink-chiffon-clad Marilyn Monroe—is a case study in why no New York City mayor has gone on to higher office since 1868.’

    -source, The Real Rudy Giuliani: A Profile – Newsweek
    http://www.newsweek.com/real-rudy-giuliani-profile-95415

    It’s a reasonable profile of ‘New York’s Mayor’ before he was brand-stamped ‘America’s Mayor.’And he wasn’t exactly a popular man-about-town on September 10, 2001. But as the old refrain goes: ‘what a difference a day makes; 24 little hours…’

    ‘Giuliani’s approval ratings fell to an all-time low in April 2000, with just 37% of New Yorkers approving of his performance as mayor and 57% saying they didn’t approve. In the last poll before 9/11, taken six days before the terror attack, a whopping 49% of New Yorkers still said they didn’t approve of the job he was doing as mayor.’ – source, nydailynews

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  222. I asked this before, but didn’t see an answer. Maybe there is no simple answer.

    The $130K payment to Daniels was described as a settlement of claims in the NDA agreement.

    Are such settlements taxable?

    If the agreement was in fact payment for a service or consideration (remaining silent) and/or for transfer of sole rights to various tangible and intangible items, would it not be in effect compensation subject to taxation?

    I would be surprised if you could compensate people with six-figure sums without tax exposure by disguising them as phony “settlements of claims”.

    Dave (445e97)

  223. Annnd this is why we should wait

    No tap on cohen

    http://dailycaller.com/2018/05/03/msnbc-correct-michael-cohen-wiretap/

    EPWJ (54cbcf)

  224. 198. Hey more redstate stuff

    Actually, the hit piece was more RawStory stuff, which is solidly left-wing, complaining that Erick said mean things. Which is kind of quaint, considering the mean things being said today, just four years later.

    Paul Montagu (e6130e)

  225. I’m no tax expert, but I think only compensation for lost income due to the injury caused by the defendant is taxable. Pain and suffering and medical expenses are not.

    But you can also settle contract cases. Was the $130,000 payment due for services rendered? That would be taxable.

    nk (dbc370)

  226. I tried a case in bankruptcy court some years ago, a bench trial. It was a grudge match among neighbors. My client was technically the homeowners association, or rather, a successor to the original homeowners association, whom the neighborhood crank had literally sued into bankruptcy already. My fees were paid by the new association’s president, from his own pocket, with no promise that any of his neighbors were going to reimburse him. So it was essential that I keep my legal fees to a bare minimum.

    During pretrial proceedings, we did the bare minimum, which is to say, we filed credible responses to the plaintiff’s crackpot discovery, and took no discovery of our own from him — not a single interrogatory, not a single request for admission or documents, nada.

    At the trial, the crank, as plaintiff, went first, and called himself to the stand, and began ranting. After about five minutes of undiluted hearsay, speculation, insults, and general moonbattery, throughout which I kept my buttocks right in my chair, the judge interrupted the rant to ask, “Mr. Dyer, I’m hearing lots of hearsay and lots of speculation here. Don’t you have any objections to any of this?”

    I got to my feet and said, with as much calm reassurance as I could muster, something pretty close to this:

    In a jury trial, Your Honor, of course I would be objecting to almost every line of this testimony. But in this bench trial, in which you are sitting both as lawgiver and factfinder — with full power to ignore any testimony that you find incredible whether or not I spend the time objecting to it and getting a series of favorable rulings from you excluding almost all of it [meaningful pause & glance at the bench, not recorded in the record] — I’ve decided, after full consultation with my client, to allow most of this testimony to go without objection. It’s a tactical call, Judge, with risks for which I take full responsibility. I will, however, briefly address the subject of this witness’ credibility, and the incredibly minimal weight you should give to this testimony as factfinder, in the proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law I’ll submit to you at the end of this hearing.

    She suddenly smiled at me, fully comprehending everything between the lines in what I’d just said, which translated would be something like:

    Judge, you and I and everyone in the courtroom all know this guy is absolutely nuts, but he fights and appeals everything. Let’s let him rant. I’ll give you the findings & conclusions at the end to demonstrate that you heard him out fully and that you didn’t believe him, and my client and I are perfectly willing to run the small risks that you’d believe him anyway, on anything.

    The guy ran out of steam about 20 minutes later — objections would only have helped him keep his boilers running, probably for at least three or four hours longer — and then I put my guy on the stand for about 10 minutes of quick Q&A to reassure the judge that yes, everything she just heard was as nonsensical as she’d already intuited. She duly signed findings of fact which recited that as factfinder, she found all of the plaintiff’s factual claims to be unbelievable and entitled to zero evidentiary weight, and entered judgment for the HOA.

    Sometimes the best way to win is to get out of the way of your opponent in his rush to lose.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  227. Popehat did a twitter thread on “retainers”. Here’s a link:

    https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/992068395829944320

    tl;dr: it’s complicated and could mean different things.

    Davethulhu (fab944)

  228. DRJ (#221), we could construct an amazing full-service law firm from among the lawyer-commenters here. I’d be proud to be your partner.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  229. You’re deranged.

    You’re boring.

    TDS is deranged and boring.

    Ta-ta, loser.

    TANSTAAFL (f78cb8)

  230. Everyone’s entitled to decide for himself what moral qualities are essential for a POTUS.

    rcocean (#222) doesn’t care if the POTUS, and his representatives authorized to speak on his account, stand in front of the Presidential Seal while deliberately lying about whether the man now in that office, while his latest wife was recovering from childbirth, had a sexual encounter with a porn star, for which he later paid her $130k and then lied to the American public about that too.

    I do care. You can call this “virtue signaling” if you want. I call it plain old virtue, and I won’t be persuaded to abandon it by shrieks of outrage and scorn from the likes of you. What you are applauding, what you are trying to rationalize and normalize, is depraved and wicked. That doesn’t speak well for your own morality, but it does certainly fit the example set by your hero in the Oval Office. In fact, that fits the example set by the last two occupants of the Oval Office, and the opponent of the current occupant in the just-passed general election.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  231. @233. Pfft. Bet you voted for Reagan– and he was no saint.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  232. No campaign violation. No in-kind contribution violation.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  233. In addition, the agreement with Clifford was during the month prior to the election, and the payment was apparently made 20 days or less before the election. For those who don’t care about old news, this isn’t old news.

    DRJ (15874d)

  234. No campaign violation? Maybe. Maybe not.

    DRJ (15874d)

  235. She signed a contract. And later, knowing the slack-jawed Leftwingers and Never Trump Gimpinistas we’re primed for ANYTHING, she decided she didn’t like the contract and things went downhill from there.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  236. President Trump is a good man and an excellent president of these united states.

    I’m proud to support him.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  237. Were not we’re…

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  238. @239. ‘President Trump is a good man and an excellent president of these united states.
    I’m proud to support him.’

    So are they, Mr. Feet:

    Donald J. Trump Mens Underwear: Boxers, Briefs, Jockstraps …

    http://www.macys.com/shop/mens-clothing/mens-underwear/

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  239. tl;dr: it’s complicated and could mean different things.

    Davethulhu (fab944) — 5/3/2018 @ 4:08 pm

    Hilarious reply to Popehat’s explainer:

    I assume it’s a slush fund you are expected, as an attorney, to disburse to anyone who asks very persistently, in the name of your client but without their direct knowledge.

    Dave (445e97)

  240. Oops! We’re experiencing a technical problem.
    We’re hoping it’s just a temporary glitch. Please close this window and try again. If you continue to have this problem,please call Customer Service at 1-800-BUY-MACYS (1-800-289-6229).
    CONTINUE SHOPPING

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  241. @243. Boxers or briefs, heavy traffic, Mr. Feet.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  242. Historically, some clients paid lawyers on a “general retainer” basis, in lieu of either a flat-fee or hourly rate engagement, both on a matter by matter basis. For example, a close colleague of mine has been representing a family-owned but quite large local industrial company for twenty-plus years now on an annual retainer basis: The client pays an agreed sum each year as a flat fee for however much of my friend’s time the client may turn out to need. Some years, it’s a good deal for the client because he has lots of work; other years, the lawyer hasn’t been very busy and gets something of a windfall. That relationship works out well for them both over time because of their level of trust and mutual experience. But that’s frankly a part of the legal world that’s been destroyed by insurance companies in the 1970s, whom all other businesses have followed in trying to use hourly rate competition as the sole and exclusive basis for choosing and keeping and paying their lawyers.

    Instead of paying someone a general retainer, most clients who have that level of need for lawyers typically bring them in-house, to be paid a salary as an employee instead of a retainer. My hunch is that when Trump was paying Cohen a salary as an executive VP of the Trump Organization, that was in lieu of a traditional general retainer, making him effectively an in-house lawyer doing work both for Trump personally and for Trump businesses. You can get away with that in privately held companies, not so much in publicly traded ones.

    There is an active reevaluation of the legal ethics surrounding “retainers” nationwide, but the dispute is mostly regarding whether and when a lawyer can declare a paid-in-advance flat fee, calculated without regard to how much time he ends up spending on the matter, to be “fully earned” and thus able to go into the lawyer’s operating account like all the rest of his professional receipts, or whether it (or a portion of it) must stay in an IOLTA (interest on lawyer trust accounts) account (yes, it’s redundant, like PIN number). See, for instance, this 2011 opinion from the Professional Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Texas, in which the question presented is:

    Is it permissible under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct for a lawyer to include in an employment contract an agreement that the amount initially paid by a client with respect to a matter is a “nonrefundable retainer” that includes payment for all the lawyer’s services on the matter up to the time of trial?

    But none of that has anything to do with this.

    If the money isn’t to pay the lawyer, but to pay off claimants against the client, that’s not a retainer in any sense of that word. Period, end of paragraph, end of story.

    Rudy’s ham-handed and poorly thought through recharacterization of this deal isn’t helping his client. Rudy’s covering himself in shame here — nk’s “head injury” comment above is spot on.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  243. Ex-CIA chief says Russian bots fueled Jade Helm conspiracy theories
    National Security
    — 27m 41s ago

    wtf is this jack-off babbling about I’m not clicking

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  244. At the beginning of my practice in 1981 at Baker Botts, the firm still had some then-quite-elderly senior partners who’d represented the Southern Pacific statewide for decades previously. One of the firm’s senior partners was also general counsel for the railroad. So the firm’s trial lawyers would board a special train, and go town-to-town, county-to-county, around the state to either settle or try all sorts of claims against the railroad. When they settled, an authorized Baker Botts lawyer signed a payment check drawn against a Southern Pacific bank account created for that purpose. That money was never, ever, under any circumstances combined or commingled with any of the fees that Southern Pacific paid Baker Botts, and any suggestion that the Baker Botts lawyers spend some of their yearly retainer fees to settle a claim for the client would have been regarded then as shockingly unethical.

    Still is.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  245. 0 item in Underwear & Undershirts

    🙁

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  246. This entire shameful episode will become known as a gross violation of civil rights. I’m no lawyer, but I’m surprised those lawyers who frequent this site don’t recognize it for what it is. If this ends up being nothing but a payment to a woman who fvcks on film and who signed a contract she ended up breaking… if that’s all it is, all I can say is some of you have lost your sense of proportion and are no better than the crazed people you’ve thrown in with.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  247. “there’s no reason to boast about your mistakes to defend Trump’”

    Ha ha ha! Coming from the guy who boasted about not only his OWN rectitude, but also that of people he doesn’t even KNOW, … to attack Trump.

    Yeah I’m on the spectrum somewhere between Hester Prynne and Charlie Manson.

    gp (0c542c)

  248. I love President Trump.

    Stormy has itching and chafing where the underboob funguses have eaten into the skin.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  249. @ Dave (#255): I’m not a tax lawyers and I conspicuously disclaim any fitness on my own part to give tax advice in every one of my engagement letters, and I discuss with them before they sign me up that I’m not competent to advise them on the tax treatment of any moneys either side pays the other as the result of what I’m doing.

    Were Stormy’s CPA consulting with me for purposes of deciding how to characterize the $130k receipt for purposes of her 2016 federal income tax reporting, though, I’d suggest to him that he and any tax lawyers representing Stormy argue, as I believe the tax courts have often held, that the IRS should look to the business purposes being achieved rather than the labels attached by the party making the payout. From the standpoint of a trial lawyer advising Stormy whether to take the $130k and sign the NDA, it’s the completed results of the deal, not the future possibilities, that are key: Through the document she signed, she forever released and discharged any liability that Trump might otherwise have later been found to have as a result of any claims then in existence. There was no pre-existing contract between the parties; therefore any claims either of them potentially had against the other must have “sounded in tort” (non-contractual civil wrongs) rather than “sounding in contract.”

    The entire NDA structure is based on hypothetical future conduct with no further economic consequences to either unless there was a breach of some continuing promise of future (executory) performance. And thus, based on the nature of the conduct that led to the NDA — an alleged sexual encounter — I’d argue to the CPA that he should argue to the IRS that the entire $130k should be treated as settlement proceeds from one or more tort claims, which in general, as I dimly understand it, aren’t reportable as current taxable income.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  250. “I don’t believe in kicking in doors unless there’s a reason for it.”
    —- James Kallstrom, former FBI asst Director

    who then went on to condemn Comey and Mueller by name for their actions.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  251. You know this is all so much like the time T-Ray revealed that he was the real Wade Wilson and Deadpool had killed him and his wife and left him dead actually dead not “for dead” he was resurrected by the voodoo gods and stolen his identity and he hoped that this revelation would bring about a change in Deadpool and the readers of his comic books by appealing to their consciences and their humanity but nothing like that happened Deadpool continued to be an amoral homicidal psychopathic idiot who never shut up always spewing nonsense and his fans just shrugged because that’s the reason they liked him in the first place because he was an amoral homicidal psychopathic idiot who never shut up always spewing nonsense and the revelation that he had killed T-Ray and his wife was nothing more than just another interesting tidbit to talk about and if anything is triggered in their tiny little comic book reading minds is curiosity about what Deadpool’s real name was before he stole Wade Wilson’s identity.

    nk (dbc370)

  252. @252. Stormy has itching and chafing where the underboob funguses have eaten into the skin

    Floppy discs are dated, Mr. Feet.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  253. “Reagan, Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln — heroes in the pantheon of Republican presidents. Are the first words that comes to your mind about any of them “lying horndog”?”

    Ooops, I forgot about the only four sinless men in human history.

    Does this Stormy Daniels thing rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors? You guys are the lawyers, so I defer to you on that.

    gp (0c542c)

  254. @ gp: Do you like old movies? If so, this song and dance is for you: “How Could You Believe Me …?” Five stars.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  255. nice synopsis Mr. nk

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  256. “Reagan, Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln — heroes in the pantheon of Republican presidents. Are the first words that comes to your mind about any of them “lying horndog”?”

    OK fine. Did one of em up to take Trump’s place.

    gp (0c542c)

  257. Dig one of em up to replace Trump.

    gp (0c542c)

  258. We made a giant mistake when we picked Trump over Lincoln in the primaries.

    gp (0c542c)

  259. There is a difference between a legal settlement and negotiating an NDA. One doesn’t even need to be an attorney to negotiate and pay an NDA.

    Nate Ogden (223c65)

  260. One doesn’t need to be an attorney to negotiate or pay a settlement either, Nate Ogden (#263). I don’t follow whatever point you were trying to make. Try again, please?

    Beldar (fa637a)

  261. Does this Stormy Daniels thing rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors? You guys are the lawyers, so I defer to you on that.

    I’m not a lawyer, but I know that impeachment is a political process, not a legal one.

    Davethulhu (7e7722)

  262. Specifically, “High crimes and misdemeanors” are whatever congress says they are.

    Davethulhu (7e7722)

  263. And it’s kind of ironic or maybe not that this revelation that the T-Ray revelation had no effect on the consciences of Deadpool or his readers occurred in the same issue in which Alex Hayden a/k/a Agent X was infected by HYDRA with the “American Gene” which caused him to eat non-stop so he went from a 190 lb lean mean fighting machine to a 500 lb fat man the irony being in the gluttony gene being called the “American Gene” in case you don’t get it.

    nk (dbc370)

  264. I suppose you can judge politicians based on their personal morality. I prefer to judge them on them on how well they do their jobs.

    I wonder how many Never-trumpers voted for Egg McMuffin, who doesn’t seem to pay his campaign debts.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  265. you know who has good genes is President Trump

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  266. @262. We made a giant mistake when we picked Trump over Lincoln in the primaries.

    Maybe. Maybe not:

    Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcjz7VAljYs

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  267. But not everything Deadpool says is worthless. Like this line for example: “[Giulian’s story] has more holes in it than Dick Cheney’s hunting partners.” Heh!

    nk (dbc370)

  268. 268. As I’ve said so often before, how well a politician does his job depends on how you define his job. Unless and until the 545 give up enough power to restore our constitutional government as our founders intended it, I’ll never be satisfied with how politicians are doing their jobs over at Babylon-on-Potomac.

    Gryph (08c844)

  269. Do you have any children, rcocean? Any daughters? If so, are you likewise okay if they decide to marry someone who finds it useful to pay off porn stars to buy their silence? Or do you have a higher standard for sons-in-law than for Presidents of the United States?

    Beldar (fa637a)

  270. As an agent of Trump he can have authority to handle business or legal matters on his behalf, limited by whatever their arrangement is, without his client trust account having any relevance.

    Settlement wasn’t paid out of the retainer, unless there was a prior retainer but it didn’t need to be. It wouldn’t be surprising if he had access to Trump’s personal funds, portion, not all. Or as Trump’s agent 8n light of his long relationship he paid it personally.

    Nate Ogden (223c65)

  271. “Reagan, Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln — heroes in the pantheon of Republican presidents. Are the first words that comes to your mind about any of them “lying horndog”?””

    No Republicans, just the lying hot dog who the press covered for in the 90s and the lying socialist who they enabled starting in 2009.

    harkin (ad4321)

  272. Well, lawyers have gone to prison for using their trust accounts to launder money for drug dealers and terrorists. It’s a bank account and there are rules independent of the principal-agent agreement or the Rules of Professional Conduct about how bank accounts can be used. Ask Dennis Hastert. All he did was pay off an old “lover” with his own money that he withdrew from his own bank.

    nk (dbc370)

  273. i haven’t seen the movie yet

    me and ryan reynolds don’t get on and i’m not sure why that is

    he’s just hard to look at for some reason

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  274. All he did was pay off an old “lover” with his own money that he withdrew from his own bank.

    And he wrestled with that decision for years.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  275. if the gestapo men and women of the sleazy FBI want your ass in jail you got a 90% or better chance of ending up in jail

    it’s like Nazi Germany

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  276. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an alternate reality from the Marvel Universe of the comic books. I didn’t particularly care for the snatches of the first movie I saw and I won’t watch the second unless it just happens to be on a channel I’m browsing.

    nk (dbc370)

  277. @279 it’s like Nazi Germany

    More like like Broadway, Mr. Feet; don’t break the rules:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CBtPe2YxwY

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  278. i know what you mean

    loved the first guardians and never finished the second

    i’m just kind of over it now

    but the thing about Marvel is it’s like 80% less gay than Star Wars, so they have that brand positioning working for them

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  279. you linked that already Mr. DCSCA

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  280. @284. And it gets better and better every time, Mr. Feet.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  281. every time yes yes

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  282. @ Nate Harkin, who wrote (#274):

    As an agent of Trump he can have authority to handle business or legal matters on his behalf, limited by whatever their arrangement is, without his client trust account having any relevance.

    Agreed. The only way the trust account becomes relevant at all is if it’s used as a temporary home for the flow of settlement consideration. We don’t know in this case whether Cohen ran funds from his home equity loan through his trust account before putting them in an account owned by the Delaware LLC he’d set up, Essential Consultants, LLC. And it probably doesn’t matter. Whether the funds originated from a home equity loan, as Cohen has claimed, and whether he had any expectation or right to be repaid, are critical questions for purposes of deciding whether there’s been a campaign finance limits or disclosures problem, but whether they went through a trust account along the way almost certainly doesn’t matter to that inquiry except as a step in the paper trail. You also wrote:

    Settlement wasn’t paid out of the retainer, unless there was a prior retainer but it didn’t need to be. It wouldn’t be surprising if he had access to Trump’s personal funds, portion, not all. Or as Trump’s agent 8n light of his long relationship he paid it personally.

    This may have been garbled, and I’m not sure I follow you. I definitely agree that “retainer” is not a term that can be properly used to describe moneys intended to be paid to settle claims on the client’s behalf. I definitely agree that a client can give his lawyer full discretion to decide whether to settle a claim and how much to pay; see my Southern Pacific story above, which I could easily supplement with comparable tales from today, including clients of my own who were that reliant on me. I likewise agree that Trump could quite legally and properly have set up an account for Cohen to use to pay claims on Trump’s behalf using Trump’s personal funds; that doesn’t appear to be what happened here, though. Your last sentence makes no sense to me at all, sorry.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  283. How to change your Twitter password
    CNNMoney 1h ago

    i take from this their audience is a wee bit ree-ree and maybe a lot tar-tar

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  284. @249. Try eBay, Mr. Feet!

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  285. President Trump has on his side:
    The US Constitution
    The DOJ’s own position
    Legal precedent
    Historical precedent

    So don’t listen to all of the ignorant noise.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  286. “are you likewise okay if they decide to marry someone who finds it useful to pay off porn stars to buy their silence?”

    Whenever I vote for President, I _always_ ask myself, would I want my child to marry this candidate? It’s really the tip-top, paramount, go/no-go factor in deciding the leader of the most powerful nation on earth.

    I didn’t want my son to marry somebody like HRC, so I voted Trump.

    gp (0c542c)

  287. @ gp: Suppose you tell us whom else besides Trump you had in mind when you wrote, in #62 above:

    America does NOT care if there is a lying horndog as president. We’ve had em before, we’ll have em again. History proves strong leaders are ALWAYS lying horndogs.

    Clinton & JFK were definitely horndogs, for instance. Grover Cleveland’s opponents opposed his election, pointing to an illegitimate child for whom he’d taken responsibility, by taunting, “Ma, ma, where’s Pa?” To which Cleveland’s supporters replied, afterwards, “Gone to the White House, ha ha ha!” Cleveland actually probably got a bad rap, there’s some evidence that he was taking responsibility for paternity that actually ought have been attributed to another man.

    Are these the strong leaders you’re referring to? Just name three that you had in mind when you wrote that sentence, please, so we can get a better sense of what your concept of a “strong leader” and a “horndog.”

    Beldar (fa637a)

  288. Even though my son is a damned-to-hell sinner too.

    gp (0c542c)

  289. There’s not a single criminal statute. He’s not Martha Stewart… although he’d probably claim he did her… he’s the POTUS.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  290. @286. Stay positive, Mr. Feet. Remember, swing for the fences:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssYJuKQenHU

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  291. What happened to the Russian Collusion? Stop trying to overturn a duly elected president.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  292. “are you likewise okay if they decide to marry someone who finds it useful to pay off porn stars to buy their silence?”

    Which idiot asked that? LOL!

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  293. Figures… a lawyer.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  294. As best I understand it, Infinity Wars is an attempt to stuff as many superheroes as possible into a phone booth.

    Kishnevi (31ec7b)

  295. “Just name three”

    You name me three sinless saints you intend to primary in 2020. The ones you will vote for, yet STILL tear down at the first hint of adultery. Show me this morally-perfect political utopia, and how it works.

    gp (0c542c)

  296. “Which idiot asked that? LOL!” You’d swear it was a purple-hair pierced SJW, if you didn’t know it was Beldar.

    gp (0c542c)

  297. gp, sorry about your son. You didn’t answer my question about daughters anyway, but w/e, let’s not pry into your personal life.

    Let’s just pry into what you meant when you wrote here that “History proves strong leaders are ALWAYS lying horndogs.” That doesn’t have anything to do with who ran in 2016 or who might run in 2020, it has to do with, as you put it, history.

    Can you name two, if you can’t name three?

    Beldar (fa637a)

  298. gp, here’s a hint: Claim that you were mistaken, innocently, in your assertion about historical presidential horndogs, but that Trump is a transformative new type of president in which being a horndog is a feature and not a bug — MEGA!

    How’s that?

    Beldar (fa637a)

  299. we know George H.W. Bush is a lecherous pervert so that’s one

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  300. Clinton liked to rape young jewish girls with his herpes penis so that’s two

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  301. President Trump has on his side:
    The US Constitution
    The DOJ’s own position
    Legal precedent
    Historical precedent

    So don’t listen to all of the ignorant noise.

    If it’s a nothing burger, why did Trump and Cohen go to great lengths to hide it, even to the point of appearing to violate election finance laws and rules of professional ethics?

    Kishnevi (31ec7b)

  302. and JFK was a complete and total dirty dirty manslut so that’s three

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  303. FDR, JFK, LBJ, WJC……just to start with a few Americans.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  304. ” name two, ”

    I concede. Point goes to Beldar. No hard feelings.

    gp (0c542c)

  305. Better still, kishnevi, why the police state tactics? If you buy into all of this, you should be embarrassed.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  306. @307. He pee-teased 1 or 9… maybe more, Mr. Feet

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  307. the kennedy’s set the trashy bar the highest

    that whole family rapes cub scouts

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  308. BTW, Blankenship has released another ad in his quest to improve Mitch McConnell’s approval rating among Democrats.

    Kishnevi (31ec7b)

  309. @62. Start w/Jefferson; a slave to honor; then work your way up.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  310. Frankly, I can’t understand how all you oh so moral and virtuous folks who have neither sinned nor will put up with those of us who do can continue to permit us undesirable Trump supporting liars and moral misfits to post here. Perhaps a ban on Trump supporters is what you need before you throw a heart attack calling him and us every name you can think of while professing your purity.

    It really is amusing reading a bunch of lawyers demanding virtue, honesty and morality from anybody. Who exactly do you guys think created the moral sh!thole we are in, Trump? It was here long before Trump, counselors.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  311. why the police state tactics

    obama did this

    we got the preview with the irs

    but it went much deeper

    he corrupted the failmerican military by purging the stalwart and true in favor of slut-trash like tranny-loving buttslurp General Mattis

    the DOJ’s a corrupt joke it took them all of two weeks to sideline Jeffy Sesh (admittedly he’s probably the most shortbus attorney general in history)

    the only place Trump’s really succeeded in walking the police state back is at the EPA

    that’s why the knives are out for Mr. Pruitt

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  312. FYI, Col H, if you hire a crooked lawyer, don’t complain if the police raid his office.

    Kishnevi (31ec7b)

  313. No hard feelings here either, gp. Thanks for your gracious comment (#309).

    For others who still seem confused: The question was not which prior presidents have merely been horndogs, but whether all strong leaders as president have been horndogs.

    Someone who lists FDR, JFK, LBJ & WJC — Democrats to a man — may share a common notion with me about what a “horndog” is. But I wouldn’t have thought of any of them as “strong leaders.” I wouldn’t use the term “leader” if the president in question is leading in the wrong direction. But I suppose if someone admires aggressive exploitation of political power unrestrained by dignity or morality, one can also include Emperor Caligula, the Iranian Mullahs, Great Leader Kim, and Vladimir Putin as strong leaders; Patterico has had more than one post on this topic. Anyway, kudos to gp for not making that argument.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  314. oh i see

    yes yes yes

    Barack Obama, America’s Hitler, was the strongest leader in American history

    he brought the country nigh unto its knees like how bill did to Monica

    and he probably didn’t even undress all the way to do coitus on Michelle either time

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  315. The basic rule is that many things that can influence a campaign are not campaign expenditures. The rule on this is not that something related to the campaign is a campaign expenditure, it’s not that something primarily related to the campaign is a campaign expenditure, both of those have been rejected by the FEC. It has to be an obligation that would not exist but for the campaign. There is a strong argument, at least from what we know, that a man like Donald Trump would say, “hey look… we would’ve made these payments.” Protecting his family, protecting his commercial viability.

    Celebrities have to make these kinds of payments all the time.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  316. gp:

    America does NOT care if there is a lying horndog as president.

    Also gp, about David French:

    He and his buds are pathetic liars.

    See, when you declare that you don’t care about Trump being a liar, you make it impossible to take you seriously when you complain that someone else is a liar.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  317. Someone who lists FDR, JFK, LBJ & WJC — Democrats to a man — may share a common notion with me about what a “horndog” is. But I wouldn’t have thought of any of them as “strong leaders.”

    FDR, LBJ not strong leaders? Indicative that you’re not really thinking honestly at all. Sad.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  318. Kishnevi, just because you talk like a Sopranos character and work for the hated Donald Trump, it doesn’t mean you’re a crook. Get a grip.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  319. Ted kennedy
    Robert Kennedy
    Patrick kennedy
    Chris Dodd
    Bob Menendez
    Daniel Inyoue
    Al Gore
    Thatcspeaker of the house that fell in yhe pond w the stripper
    FDR

    ……….

    EPWJ (54cbcf)

  320. All the fake news about listening to phone calls… get a grip. If you run with this pack of coyotes, you can KMA.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  321. Hoagie, Trump’s libido is the least of his failings.

    FYI, integrity is one of the most important factors in being a good lawyer. It’s the only profession which takes an oath to preserve and protect the Constitution. I took my oath back in 1983. And I have “fired” at least one client for trying to commit a fraud on the court. (I am officially inactive now). You should feel blessed that Beldar, DRJ, nk and of course Patterico are the sort of lawyers who take that oath seriously.

    Kishnevi (31ec7b)

  322. Caring about our Captain being a serial fibber is one thing. He is what he is, we know it and adjust accordingly. But working for him to perpetuate that fibbing is the true sin, if you’re honest with yourself. For instance, don’t know how a preacher’s daughter can wake up and publicly pitch the grandiose lies on the taxpayer’s dime she knows are just not truth. Lies that aren’t policy disputes or political spin; just blatant lies. Speaks volumes about her character. She must shower hourly and sleep poorly. But it is entertaining all the same.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  323. 320 contains The Facts. Deal with them.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  324. So many are overly fond of letting their conclusions out run the facts on the ground.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  325. So the story has changed now, egg meet news’ face! His phone wasn’t really tapped, they only logged his calls? At least they correct it when they find out that it’s wrong.
    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/feds-tapped-trump-lawyer-michael-cohen-s-phones-n871011

    Tillman (a95660)

  326. what time zone are you in exactly Mr. Tillman

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  327. Rumor was, Benjamin Franklin was quite the horndog. It’s also reported Jefferson slept with his slave.

    Yes, his slave.

    Personally though, I think they were both great men.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  328. They record the number the call originated from, the number it went to and the length of the call. I think the use pen registers, but lawyers would know. Something that any knowledgeable lawyer could’ve told NBC – had they checked – before they embarrassed themselves.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  329. Franklin was very fond of grey cats…

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  330. Kishnevi said “. It’s the only profession which takes an oath to preserve and protect the Constitution. ”

    Every soldier, airman, sailor, marine, buried in Arlington is laughing at you.

    kaf (0ff60d)

  331. I still don’t like her, nor respect her wits on her feet or her public communication skills. But I am gaining a grudging respect, against every expectation I’ve ever had, for Sarah Sanders’ tenacity. She kept the proverbial stiff upper lip at the WH Correspondents’ dinner, which I think she therefore won outright, without saying a word. Today she had essentially no answer for any question, since her principal and his buddy Rudy had just undercut everything she’s been instructed for months to tell the press about Stormy. But she kept a good poker face. I can’t imagine anyone in her job doing any better at it than she did today.

    I was reminded of combat in cooperative computer games like World of Warcraft, where one player, typically playing a “warrior” class with high hit points/health, is used by a group to lure in an enemy and then to stand still, trying to keep the enemy’s full attention and absorb its fury toe-to-toe. Other group members cast healing spells on that warrior, who’s called “the tank,” or more colloquially, the “meat shield.” The rest of the group attacks the enemy either using ranged weapons (bows, spears, spells) from outside melee distance or, if within melee range, without grabbing the enemy’s attention away from the tank, so that the healers can just focus on trying to keep the tank standing. If the tank goes down, the enemy will immediately kill all the other group members, who lack the HP and armor of the warrior-tank and go down quickly in sequence: If they can’t flee, the whole group will “wipe” (as in, be wiped out).

    So the warrior, toe-to-toe with the enemy, won’t do the most damage to the enemy. He’s just got to keep the enemy’s attention away from the real damage-doers. He’s supposed to be an magnet for the enemy’s fury (“aggro,” gamers call it), and stand there soaking up damage at least a little slower than the healers can heal him.

    Today, I thought: “Wow. Sarah Sanders is really being a good tank for Trump today.”

    Beldar (fa637a)

  332. Beldar a former WoW player. Never would’ve guessed. If I did, would be figured you for a druid.

    NJRob (4c8e7b)

  333. @ kaf (#335): I believe Kish was referring to what’s traditionally called the “learned professions” that in modern times require a license to practice (attorneys, CPAs, engineers, doctors, etc.) I’ll let him speak for himself, but I’m certain he meant no disrespect to others who make oaths to preserve, protect, and defend, which as you point out, includes soldiers and sailors, but also almost all public officials.

    Ours is also a club that included Bill Clinton and still includes Michael Cohen, among many other sorry examples, so we’re not under any illusions about how exclusive it is. But I agree with Kish that to be true to the profession’s aspirations, one must care deeply about things like legal ethics and honesty. It’s what we owe back in exchange for the privilege of being permitted to serve as counselors and advocates in the practice of law for our clients, to whom we owe fiduciary duties comparable to those owed to the clients/patients of the other learned professions.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  334. Do you guys have some sort of end-game in mind? As in:
    1) “We’ll convince everybody that currently supports Trump is a lying horndog liar. And then…
    2) ???

    Because unless you have some concrete goal in mind, all you are doing is just bitching and moaning. Maybe you could ask some Hillary supporters about this “scream helplessly at the sky” thing.

    I’ve read the Constitution, and don’t recall the clause that removes the President from office if his former supporters disavow him. Beldar, you are a lawyer—any help here?

    fred-2 (ce04f3)

  335. The mythology and by mythology I mean fairy tales about Jefferson and Sally Hemings was created by the Lancet during the Clinton-Lewinski scandal with the full-on cheerleading of Clinton fans and America-haters worldwide. I am not the least little bit surprised that Trumpkins would use it to excuse Trump who, when it comes to depravity, is Clinton squared.

    nk (dbc370)

  336. I’m in Mountain Time, hf. If you’re asking that since I was late with the comment, no one else mentioned it specifically, so I thought I would.

    Tillman (a95660)

  337. kaf, you are in fact correct. Rebuke accepted. I was thinking of civilian life. And I’m not sure if cops take it. But you’re pointing out how serious it is. Lawyers have to take it as part of being admitted to practice. And it covers everything they do as a lawyer…

    Bill and Hillary Clinton broke that oath. But most lawyers in fact try to fulfill it.

    Kishnevi (31ec7b)

  338. Yup, I did WoW, and EverQuest before that, actually. I was the Senior Guide, essentially a GM, for an EverQuest server, with phenomenal cosmic powers over the 3000+ players on that server, whose rules transgressions I could punish by summoning their characters into lava pits (to which my Guide character was immune). Before that, I was a GM in a pioneering role-playing game called “Underlight,” one of the first MMORPGs played over dial-up modems. I’ve driven toons of every sex and race and class in WoW, done end-game raiding, led raids of 60+ players scattered around the world, carebear & PvP, the whole nine yards. I played a lot of WoW in its early days because it was something I could do with my sons while they were at my ex’s. We still communicate in our text messages using acronyms from WoW raiding.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  339. Kek.

    Good memories of a previous time. The only time I ever had some master level powers was in a MUD some friends and I created in high school.

    I am a former WoW player. Did pretty well a number of years ago. But as we age, we seem to have less free time and we choose to spend it differently.

    I’m glad you were able to find a cool way to bond with your sons.

    NJRob (4c8e7b)

  340. Today, I thought: “Wow. Sarah Sanders is really being a good tank for Trump today.”

    Meanwhile, Trump (the clueless DPSer) was running around looking for another patch of fire to stand in, as his healers’ mana levels neared exhaustion…

    Dave (445e97)

  341. @ fred-2, who asked (#339):

    Do you guys have some sort of end-game in mind? As in:
    1) “We’ll convince everybody that currently supports Trump is a lying horndog liar. And then…
    2) ???

    Because unless you have some concrete goal in mind, all you are doing is just bitching and moaning. Maybe you could ask some Hillary supporters about this “scream helplessly at the sky” thing.

    I’ve read the Constitution, and don’t recall the clause that removes the President from office if his former supporters disavow him. Beldar, you are a lawyer—any help here?

    That’s a fair question, well put!

    If I or others who criticize Trump here were screaming helplessly at the sky, no one would bother to ask about our goals. I can only speak for myself.

    My goals do not include trying to get Trump impeached. I regard that prospect with nothing but horror, because I was politically aware in 1973 during the Nixon resignation and the resulting 1974 blue-wave election that gave the Dems veto-proof majorities in both chambers of Congress. Whether from a legal or political point of view, I haven’t yet been shown sufficient evidence of a high crime or misdemeanor to bring me to call for Trump’s impeachment.

    In general, it’s fair to say that I post observations about Trump here and elsewhere because I hope to persuade readers to share my view of Trump, including both the positive and the negative aspects, at least on the margins and on some issues. For instance: If there’s someone reading the comments on this post today who shifts slightly from the “Trump can do no wrong” camp into the “Trump makes me increasingly uncomfortable” camp based on something I’ve argued or written about, I’d be gratified by that, because I think the “Trump can do no wrong” people are fools and suckers, whom the rest of us have a moral obligation to help see more clearly. Or for instance: Sometimes I manage to find a nit or an argument that reinforces the views of someone who already shares most of my views. If that person nods his or her head while reading something I’ve written, that’s likewise gratifying enough to satisfy me.

    I also try to educate non-lawyers on legal terms and concepts and proceedings and arguments that they can then use in forming their own views, whether those correspond to my own or not; that’s not limited to Trump, but he certainly generates tons of topics that have legal implications, and I enjoy the challenge of trying to write about them in a way that attentive nonlawyers may find accessible.

    I have no illusions that I’m going to persuade Trump to resign immediately for the good of the country. (Although I think that would be transformatively spectacularly good for the country! Better than a year full of Christmases!) I’m not asking anyone to contribute their bucks somewhere or sign this petition or boycott that manufacturer.

    Mostly I’m thinking out loud in print, for my own edification and for that of anyone else who might possibly be edified. This is true not just for what I post about Trump, but about anything else.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  342. Alliance > Horde

    Can we AT LEAST all agree on THAT?

    🙂

    Dave (2add51)

  343. Pajama Boy games…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  344. What Mueller, Comey and the FBI have done… we are not supposed to operate this way in the United States of America.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  345. Dave’s fought Onyxia, or at least knows his Leeroy Jenkins meme (#345). I was a shadow priest in the first guild on my server to clear Onyxia’s Lair. Now that should buy me some respect here, finally! 😉

    Beldar (fa637a)

  346. Well, since you’ve admitted yourself to be a lawyer, Beldar, I’d like to know your opinion. I ran across a diary where the blogger stated emphatically that collusion isn’t a crime. I countered by saying that Rosy Rosenstein authorized Mueller to investigate the following regarding Manafort:

    Committed a crime or crimes by colluding with Russian government officials with respect to the Russian government’s efforts to interfere with the 2016 election for President of the United States, in violation of United States law;
    Committed a crime or crimes arising out of payments he received from the Ukrainian government before and during the tenure of President Viktor Yanukovych.

    The bolded part seems important, but the blogger told me I was “trolling”. So, uh, who’s right?

    Paul Montagu (e6130e)

  347. I speak out because I take very, very, VERY seriously the opprobrium that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stay silent.

    Evil is ultimately going to fully prevail on earth. So, unless my faith is essentially well placed, I am, indeed a chump of the first order.

    The bottom line in all behavior is intention. This is why I tend to concentrate in my sharing about politics and governance on the reasons and predicates behind actions. If our leadership is infused with moral integrity and humility, the chances of good governance drastically increase. Absent such conscious (intentional) leadership, we (civilization) are all doomed/fated to darkness.

    Something will be the tipping point where our collective treachery will result in a contagion of horrors. My guess is we are super close to it. Again…if I am wrong, I am a bigtime chump. So be it.

    Ed from SFV (291f4c)

  348. Take the case of Manafort. White collar crime, if even that. Enter his home pre-dawn, weapons visible, drag the wife out of bed in her nightclothes, pat her down. What is this… Venezuela?!?!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  349. I was a shadow priest in the first guild on my server to clear Onyxia’s Lair.

    MOAR DAWTZ!

    Now that should buy me some respect here, finally!

    Screenshot or it never happened…

    🙂

    Dave (2add51)

  350. @ Paul Montagu (#351): I’m a civil trial lawyer, and others here have far superior experience to mine in criminal law matters. The language you quote is from Rosenstein’s August 2, 2017, memo to Mueller reconfirming and somewhat expanding the scope of his special counsel jurisdiction. This is the memo that Andy McCarthy and other Rosenstein critics refused to consider as a possibility during months and months of savaging Rosenstein for letting Mueller roam unsupervised outside his delegated jurisdiction. That was silly of them, and I argued myself blue in the face trying to persuade McCarthy and others to consider the possibility that such a confidential memo might exist, so I just about broke my arm patting myself on the back.

    I frowned, though, when I read the language you quoted. I think it is adequate for purposes of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(b), which reads:

    If in the course of his or her investigation the Special Counsel concludes that additional jurisdiction beyond that specified in his or her original jurisdiction is necessary in order to fully investigate and resolve the matters assigned, or to investigate new matters that come to light in the course of his or her investigation, he or she shall consult with the Attorney General, who will determine whether to include the additional matters within the Special Counsel’s jurisdiction or assign them elsewhere.

    The memo was written in large part to ensure a document trail evidencing careful compliance with that regulation, for without the authority delegated from Rosenstein to Mueller under it, Mueller is just a private citizen fraudulently abridging a bunch of people’s constitutional rights under color of federal law, pretending to be a prosecutor when he’s not.

    I believe I’m correct that in the criminal case against Manafort, Judge Amy Berman Jackson has pending under submission Manaforts’ motions to dismiss the indictments against him for lack of prosecutorial authority; this memo was revealed on April 2 as part of the Mueller team’s response to that challenge, and she took the motion under advisement after argument on April 19. I expect that she will deny the motion, thereby finding that the memo is adequate for purposes of complying with the requirements of the regs regarding written specification of the special counsel’s delegated jurisdiction & authority. She’s continued to deny requests for more lenient bail terms and she’s dismissed Manafort’s parallel civil lawsuit, noting in the process that Manafort’s “concerns regarding the Special Counsel’s investigation will be taken up in the criminal case.”

    Had I been drafting this memo, I would have instead probably used the word “conspiring” rather than “colluding.” One can indeed secretly cooperate to accomplish something, thereby colluding, even when neither the object or means of accomplishment are illegal. Conspiracy, by contrast, is cooperating to achieve an unlawful purpose, or cooperating to achieve a lawful purpose by unlawful means.

    This memo doesn’t need the absolute precision or detail that is indeed contained within the indictments of Manafort that have been filed and unsealed since this memo was written. But I think using the word “collude” or any variation on it was unhelpful, precisely because it was likely to generate the kind of criticism you’ve just referenced. Rosenstein may have used it as a catch-all or short-cut phrase intended to include not just conspiracy charges but also other sorts of criminal mischief like mail and wire fraud, bank fraud, obstruction of justice, and so forth because at that point, the investigation was still on-going and no decisions had been reached yet on the exact charges that would be filed.

    Finally, we should all be careful in considering this question because the public version of the memo that was filed in open court in the Manafort criminal case contains a lot of redactions. Manafort making this sort of challenge was inevitable: Everyone being prosecuted or even investigated by a special counsel is going to be inclined to look for a “Get out of this particular indictment free!” card by attacking the special counsel’s authority. But I doubt the courts will hold the DoJ’s internal memoranda created for purposes of demarcating delegated authority and jurisdiction to the same standards that they require of the resulting indictments, nor should they.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  351. @334. Haiku!= Gesundheit!

    Ben was a bi-focaller.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  352. 329.So many are overly fond of letting their conclusions out run the facts on the ground.

    Reaganomics. 😉

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  353. I am not the least little bit surprised that Trumpkins would use it to excuse Trump

    And nevertrumpers are the bestist at missing the point. I was not excusing Trump, I was pointing out that great men are flawed like the rest of humanity. And funny you focus on the sex part and completely miss the owning another human part. Which, by the way, our first president also was guilty of.

    Your virtue signaling is unmoving.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  354. @ Paul Montague: Further to my #356, your question and my review of the current U.S. v. Manafort docket sheet on PACER prompted me to download, and I’m now reading, Mueller’s response to Manafort’s attack on his appointment and jurisdiction, to which the Rosenstein memo was attached in redacted form as Exhibits C. To save anyone who’s interested the PACER download fees, here it is. The TL/DR version is:

    *When it comes to special counsel, the regs are the book.
    *We’ve gone by the regs.
    *We’ve therefore gone completely by the book.
    *Mueller may therefore do (and indeed has only done) that which any U.S. Attorney could’ve done, and nothing more.

    I think that’s all correct.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  355. Oh, and also I said “it’s reported”, which was intended to draw a parallel with fake news being taken as gospel.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  356. Longer version, but in the Mueller team’s own words, from their summary on pp. 12-13 (paragraph breaks added):

    Manafort’s motion to dismiss the Indictment should be rejected for four reasons. First, the Acting Attorney General and the Special Counsel have acted fully in accordance with the relevant statutes and regulations. The Acting Attorney General properly established the Special Counsel’s jurisdiction at the outset and clarified its scope as the investigation proceeded. The Acting Attorney General and Special Counsel have engaged in the consultation envisioned by the regulations, and the Special Counsel has ensured that the Acting Attorney General was aware of and approved the Special Counsel’s investigatory and prosecutorial steps.

    Second, Manafort’s contrary reading of the regulations—implying rigid limits and artificial boundaries on the Acting Attorney General’s actions—misunderstands the purpose, framework, and operation of the regulations. Properly understood, the regulations provide guidance for an intra-Executive Branch determination, within the Department of Justice, of how to allocate investigatory and prosecutorial authority. They provide the foundation for an effective and independent Special Counsel investigation, while ensuring that major actions and jurisdictional issues come to the Acting Attorney General’s attention, thus permitting him to fulfill his supervisory role. Accountability exists for all phases of the Special Counsel’s actions.

    Third, that understanding of the regulatory scheme demonstrates why the Special Counsel regulations create no judicially enforceable rights. Unlike the former statutory scheme that authorized court-appointed independent counsels, the definition of the Special Counsel’s authority remains within the Executive Branch and is subject to ongoing dialogue based on sensitive prosecutorial considerations. A defendant cannot challenge the internal allocation of prosecutorial authority under Department of Justice regulations.

    Finally, Manafort’s remedial claims fail for many of the same reasons: the Special Counsel has a valid statutory appointment; this Court’s jurisdiction is secure; no violation of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure occurred; and any rule-based violation was harmless.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  357. Thanks Beldar. I’m wondering if a lot of those redactions might relate to Manafort colluding or conspiring with Putineers, but Mueller is keeping that out of public view because of the ongoing investigation. It doesn’t seem plausible to me that Manafort would be helping a Putin stooge like Yanukovych for all those years without dealing with Putineers of some stripe or other.

    Paul Montagu (e6130e)

  358. Their point #3 above was exactly the purpose of 28 C.F.R. § 600.10 at the end of the regs, which reads:

    The regulations in this part are not intended to, do not, and may not be relied upon to create any rights, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity, by any person or entity, in any matter, civil, criminal, or administrative.

    The type of argument and attack that Manafort’s making now, in other words, was already anticipated by Janet Reno’s DoJ in 1999 when they drafted this regulation. It surely was anticipated by Rosenstein when he wrote this memo.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  359. As far as Mueller’s authority goes, there was Rosy’s initial letter of instructions to Mueller, but it seemed to me that Mueller had similar authority in the investigation as Comey, including counter-intelligence, but when it went outside Rosy’s guardrails such as with Cohen, Mueller appropriately sent it to the US attorney in NY.

    Paul Montagu (e6130e)

  360. You’re welcome, Paul — your question gave me the excuse I needed to read that brief, although I was already pretty sure what would be in it.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  361. I’d have to go back and do some more research to find it, but I seem to recall that in the Federal Register discussions in connection with the promulgation of 28 C.F.R. part 600 back in 1999, there were some comments about how special counsel are intended to be essentially just like any of the 192 or so U.S. Attorneys scattered around the U.S. in terms of their authority, except that they have more limited staff, more limited budget, and dramatically less plenary authority and resulting jurisdiction to act as prosecutors than any single U.S. Attorney because they’re subject to the continuing direct oversight of the AG or acting AG — not on a day-to-day basis, but potentially on a decision-by-decision basis. Reno’s DoJ was trying to drive a stake through the heart of the corpse of the statutory Independent Counsel Godzillas, and these rules were the result of that, and in accordance with the wishes of congress-critters of both flavors, who’d realized that Godzilla is a creature of chaos who will consume his own creator with as much relish as he will consume anything else.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  362. Collusion is by definition secret. Conspiracies usually are, but need not be. And for example, the international price-fixing conspiracy between Apple and the major book publishing houses was a very public conspiracy, with Jobs bragging on national television about how its intent and effect was to make the consumer pay more than otherwise.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  363. (That’s why a federal antitrust compliance monitor has to approve before any Apple executive blows his nose or goes to the bathroom now. Or so Apple’s whining and moaning would have you believe; they don’t like having the monitor, of course, but as a convicted price-fixer they have no choice in the matter. Jobs had in common with Trump and the Clintons that he thought his company was above and beyond the law, and they’ll pay the price for that for decades to come, I hope.)

    Beldar (fa637a)

  364. Dave, I don’t just have a screenshot. I have the video. My toon was “Restorer” (a name chosen by my then 13-year-old son).

    Beldar (fa637a)

  365. As you can tell, Beldar, I’m not a lawyer, but over the years have come to take the rule of law and due process pretty damn seriously.

    Paul Montagu (e6130e)

  366. Paul, you may then be a fan of Justice Scalia’s, as I am. I agreed entirely with his dissent in Morrison v. Olson (1988), in which he famously called the Independent Counsel statute a wolf that comes dressed as a wolf.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  367. 15

    We need a list of commenters who don’t think lying matters so we know who not to believe when they comment.

    Lying matters but it isn’t the only thing that matters.

    As for commenters who would trust some random person on the internet about something important?

    James B. Shearer (a9b467)

  368. 340
    The mythology and by mythology I mean fairy tales about Jefferson and Sally Hemings was created by the Lancet during the Clinton-Lewinski scandal with the full-on cheerleading of Clinton fans and America-haters worldwide. I am not the least little bit surprised that Trumpkins would use it to excuse Trump who, when it comes to depravity, is Clinton squared.

    There is substantial but not conclusive evidence that Jefferson had children with Hemings.

    James B. Shearer (a9b467)

  369. 346


    If there’s someone reading the comments on this post today who shifts slightly from the “Trump can do no wrong” camp into the “Trump makes me increasingly uncomfortable” camp based on something I’ve argued or written about, I’d be gratified by that, …

    I doubt any substantial number of people actually believe Trump can do no wrong they are just signaling loyalty by supporting him even when he is obviously wrong. A my country right or wrong sort of thing.

    James B. Shearer (a9b467)

  370. One thing I don’t understand about this whole mess is why when Daniels started claiming the non-disclosure agreement was invalid Cohen just didn’t tell her, “Okay give us our money back and we will release you from the agreement”? Is there some reason I am overlooking that this would have been a bad idea?

    James B. Shearer (a9b467)

  371. “My country, right or wrong,” is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, “My mother, drunk or sober.”

    — G.K. Chesterson.

    My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.

    — Carl Schurz

    Never-Trumpers would have been complicit in that devolution of US democracy had [Hillary] Clinton won, and you should all own up to your shame in that regard.

    shipwreckedcrew

    Beldar (fa637a)

  372. It really is amusing reading a bunch of lawyers demanding virtue, honesty and morality from anybody. Who exactly do you guys think created the moral sh!thole we are in, Trump? It was here long before Trump, counselors.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402) — 5/3/2018 @ 7:13 pm

    They were set up by the only class smarter than lawyers: The Freemasons.

    Pinandpuller (8895c7)

  373. FYI, Col H, if you hire a crooked lawyer, don’t complain if the police raid his office.

    Kishnevi (31ec7b) — 5/3/2018 @ 7:15 pm

    In your neck of the woods it’s more likely to be your doctor’s office.

    Pinandpuller (8895c7)

  374. It’s what we owe back in exchange for the privilege of being permitted to serve as counselors and advocates in the practice of law for our clients, to whom we owe fiduciary duties comparable to those owed to the clients/patients of the other learned professions.

    Beldar (fa637a) — 5/3/2018 @ 8:11 pm

    I think cosmetologists swear an oath to never show a client the back of their head till it’s too late.

    Pinandpuller (8895c7)

  375. Bill and Hillary Clinton broke that oath. But most lawyers in fact try to fulfill it.

    Kishnevi (31ec7b) — 5/3/2018 @ 8:21 pm

    I understand that some of them are good people.

    Pinandpuller (8895c7)

  376. Take the case of Manafort. White collar crime, if even that. Enter his home pre-dawn, weapons visible, drag the wife out of bed in her nightclothes, pat her down. What is this… Venezuela?!?!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 5/3/2018 @ 9:18 pm

    Only if the cops steal your toilet paper.

    Pinandpuller (8895c7)

  377. There is substantial but not conclusive evidence that Jefferson had children with Hemings.

    James B. Shearer (a9b467) — 5/4/2018 @ 12:26 am

    I can’t believe I beat Mr Snowbird DCSCA to this:

    Inconceivable!

    Pinandpuller (8895c7)

  378. “Comey says he once sang Beyoncé’s “Sandcastles” during an FBI briefing.” http://hill.cm/izLvZr8

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  379. “Never-Trumpers would have been complicit in that devolution of US democracy had [Hillary] Clinton won, and you should all own up to your shame in that regard.“

    Monkeymen all… in business suits… lawyers and critics, all dance teh poot.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  380. “We need a list of commenters who don’t think lying matters so we know who not to believe when they comment.”

    What we need are medieval instruments of torture and a rack. And all the lawyers to line up on teh right.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  381. Flip teh Script. Flip ‘em teh Bird.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  382. And funny you focus on the sex part and completely miss the owning another human part.

    It’s even funnier that you missed the part that Sally Hemings was the half-sister of Jefferson’s wife, Martha Wales. Same father, different mothers, one free and one slave. Jefferson and his wife had a daughter, and Sally would have been an aunt by blood to that daughter. Do you think that maybe Sally reminded Jefferson of his daughter?

    Your virtue signaling is unmoving.

    That’s because I’m an SJW.

    nk (dbc370)

  383. Dave, I don’t just have a screenshot. I have the video. My toon was “Restorer” (a name chosen by my then 13-year-old son).

    Congratulations, Horde filth.

    I actually had a world-first boss kill a couple years after yours, but in Lord of the Rings Online rather than WoW, so it’s not really much to crow about.

    As far as we know the boss was only beaten three times before the level cap went up, and I participated in two of those (on different characters/classes). The developers had the clever idea of making an alternative “hard mode” where you could go straight from boss #1 to boss #5, but then boss #5 would “inherit” the mechanics of bosses #2, #3 and #4 (as well as keeping his own, moderately challenging normal ones). This resulted in a fight much more complex and difficult than anything that had been in the game previously.

    It was sort of an experiment. But, moronically, they didn’t give you the loot from the bosses you skipped (or any extra loot at all, or even a title/achievement for the much greater difficulty), with the predictable result that there was no incentive (other than bragging rights) for doing it.

    Dave (445e97)

  384. “Imagine if a right-wing version of Robert Mueller, backed by a properly pro-Trump legal team, had sent former President Barack Obama the same sort of questions that Mueller allegedly delivered this week to President Trump. The special counsel might dress them up in legalese, innuendo, and with perjury-trap IEDs, thereby casting suspicion with the mere nature of the questions.

    If so, the interrogatories might run like the following—

    President Obama:

    What did you mean when you were heard, by accident, on a hot mic, providing the following assurances to outgoing Russian Prime Minister Medvedev: “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved, but it’s important for him to give me space . . . This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility”?

    Did you and the Russian government have any private agreements to readjust Russian-American relations during your own 2012 reelection campaign? Were there other such discussions similar to your comments to Prime Minister Medvedev?

    If so, do you believe such Russian collusion had any influence on the outcome of the 2012 election?

    Did your subsequent reported suspension of, or reduction in, some planned missile defense programs, especially in Eastern Europe, have anything to do with the assurances that you gave to the Russian Prime Minister?

    Did the subsequent Russian quietude during your 2012 reelection campaign have anything to do with your assurances of promised changes in U.S. foreign policy?”

    https://amgreatness.com/2018/05/04/what-if-mueller-questioned-barack-obama/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  385. Great! Now I have to worry whether Beldar was one of the commenters on the Instapundit gamer threads whom I told to put down the Cheetos, get out of their mom’s basement, and find a girl to talk to.

    nk (dbc370)

  386. 326.Hoagie, Trump’s libido is the least of his failings.

    I disagree. Exaggeration is the least of his failings. Actions such as cheating caused by his libido, although a personal failing more important to his wife than you or me, I believe is much higher on the list. After all you’ve lied, have you cheated on your wife?

    FYI, integrity is one of the most important factors in being a good lawyer.

    Are you trying to be funny? Is that why lawyers are rated by the public as less honest than a used care salesman? Or is that why even as far back as Shakespeare they wanted to “first, kill the lawyers”. Lawyers have a reputation and there must be a reason. As they say reputations are earned.

    It’s the only profession which takes an oath to preserve and protect the Constitution.

    What? Are you kidding or are you going “all lawyer” on me? I took an oath to defend the constitution when I was eighteen years old. And my oath was “from all enemies foreign and domestic”. I took it seriously and still do.

    I took my oath back in 1983. And I have “fired” at least one client for trying to commit a fraud on the court. (I am officially inactive now). You should feel blessed that Beldar, DRJ, nk and of course Patterico are the sort of lawyers who take that oath seriously.
    Kishnevi (31ec7b) — 5/3/2018 @ 7:32 pm

    Well, if Beldar, DRJ, nk, Patterico and you are such noble arbiters of the law why is it none have decided to provide pro bono defense for our president at this blog? Why instead do they unite like a mob with torches at the word “Trump”? So you guys believe Charles Manson deserves representation but Trump doesn’t? That’s what I call “integrity of convenience”.

    BTW, when you state “integrity is one of the most important factors in being a good lawyer” it’s laughable. Integrity is one of the most important factors in being a good person. Winning cases whether right or wrong (which does not show integrity) is the most important factor in being a good lawyer. Ask anybody what’s the first word that comes to mind when you say “lawyer”. See how many respond enthusiastically “integrity!”. The whole thought is hilarious. I can’t think of any profession in America that has devoted as much time and effort into corrupting itself than the practices of law. From the twisting and down right ignoring of the Constitution, to groups like the ACLU which have been a communist front from day one and use their legal power to turn the laws against the people they’re supposed to protect to actively supporting anti American causes to actively trying to have religion purged from the public sphere.

    Integrity indeed. Why do you think there are so many lawyer jokes?

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  387. 392. I don’t believe all lawyers are ethically suspect, though I believe a significant number of them are; nor do I believe all police officers or politicians are ethically suspect.

    That said, I do find the practice of law, politics and policing to be problematic *professions*, and that’s no simple coincidence. Politicians make the law, lawyers argue the law, and police officers enforce the law. It’s a triune of professions that all deal with the (legally if not ethically or morally) legitimate exercise of force. In a perfect world, sworn officers of the law would indeed protect and defend the constitution. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t be having this argument. But alas, here we are.

    Gryph (08c844)

  388. Beldar

    Thank for all that work you did last night

    Lots of interesting reading

    EPWJ (3c72b7)

  389. Well, if Beldar, DRJ, nk, Patterico and you are such noble arbiters of the law why is it none have decided to provide pro bono defense for our president at this blog?

    Speaking for myself:
    1) I would never have Trump as a client. The attorney-client relationship is consensual and, with limited exceptions, no client has the right to have me as his attorney any more than I have the right to compel him to hire me. Trump makes my skin crawl. I would even avoid prosecuting him because I would not want to be in the same courtroom with him.
    2) Pro bono is for people I like or who cannot afford an attorney. I already addressed the “like” part. Trump can afford to pay for attorneys. He already has, in more than 3,500 lawsuits in which he and his companies were suing or being sued, before he became President.

    nk (dbc370)

  390. Integrity indeed. Why do you think there are so many lawyer jokes?

    There are only three lawyer jokes. All the other stories are true.

    nk (dbc370)

  391. I don’t believe all lawyers are ethically suspect, though I believe a significant number of them are;

    It’s that 95% which makes the rest of us look bad.

    nk (dbc370)

  392. “I don’t believe all lawyers are ethically suspect, though I believe a significant number of them are; nor do I believe all police officers or politicians are ethically suspect.“

    I believe a significant number of them cheat on their spouses and have substance abuse issues.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  393. 398. Lawyers, police officers, or politicians? 😉

    Gryph (08c844)

  394. What substance? Aqua Net or Spray Tan?

    nk (dbc370)

  395. All of the above, nk. Azithromycin, doxycycline, and Listerine, too.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  396. Dave’s fought Onyxia, or at least knows his Leeroy Jenkins meme (#345). I was a shadow priest in the first guild on my server to clear Onyxia’s Lair. Now that should buy me some respect here, finally! 😉

    Beldar (fa637a) — 5/3/2018 @ 9:09 pm

    Original Onyxia? Respect.

    Different game back then.

    NJRob (b00189)

  397. Respect? Why in my day, we had no Pajama Boy games… we played mumbly peg with our knives and had to withstand a 5mm pellet to the bare thigh from a Sheridan Blue Streak pellet rifle… 5 pumps, without tearing up.

    And we liked it!

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  398. We used those same knives to dig out “teh slug”.

    Colonel Haiku (8b035b)

  399. 401, “word” on Zithro…its overuse has led to the emergence of many antibiotic-resistant diseases

    urbanleftbehind (24e2ff)

  400. “My favorite meat is hot dog, by the way. That is my favorite meat” Romney said. “My second favorite meat is hamburger. And everyone says, oh don’t you prefer steak? It’s like, I know steaks are great but I like hot dog best and I like hamburger next best.”

    “Get out and vote next year, this November, I mean!” said Romney, wiping beads of sweat off his brow. At one point, stopping to guzzle a glass of lemonade, Romney was asked how it tasted, to which he replied, “Lemon. Wet. Good.”

    pedophilia issues aside, this man does not add value

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  401. Integrity indeed. Why do you think there are so many lawyer jokes?

    In America? Your call.

    In China, the authorities collect lawyer jokes for the same reason that Brezhnev collected Brezhnev jokes in the Eastern Bloc: to find out who’s going away for a while.

    JP (699888)

  402. “A lot of people go back and make politics their career and they want to get as many goodies as they possibly can get. I got all the goodies I possibly want.”

    who talks like this

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  403. MITT ROMNEY FOR UTAH

    I’m all full up on goodies!

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  404. Funny. Seriously folks. It shouldn’t be, but it is. When I saw Giuliani on Hannity two days ago, I immediately texted my friends to say that this new story will be reversed in a day or two. And sure enough, just a few minutes ago, Trump does just that. He said that Rudy is “new” and will “get his facts straight”.

    It took his other lawyers a day and a half to figure out this fiction would not fit in with all of the others and whoosh…. reverse course! You know, I am choosing to laugh from now on because I have exhausted my appalled setting.

    And somebody just let that man on Air Force One!

    noel (b4d580)

  405. As for Trump lying, yes he is a lying scumbag and an embarrassment as President.

    But as I said in prior posts, in this case one must choose between personality and policy.

    Here are two lies that have been told by politicians:

    “If you like the plan you have, you can keep it. If you like the doctor you have, you can keep your doctor, too.”

    “I had now knowledge of the payments to Stormy Daniels.”

    It may just be me, but in a President, the first lie concerns me much more than the second.

    Bored Lawyer (998177)

  406. IOW Trump’s OK with Rudy manning the fire hose he just picked it up and aimed it the wrong fire.

    crazy (5c5b07)

  407. 411. Trump has told plenty of lies about policy too. Where’s the Obamacare repeal? And how about that BIG BEAUTIFUL WALL? You’re picking your battles, all right. You’re just being led around by the nose, by the conservative media this time.

    Gryph (08c844)

  408. …..by the conservative media this time.

    Exactly who are they? BTW, not being able to institute every wanted policy in the first 15 months of office isn’t a lie. If you’re gonna comment with grown-ups act like one. Why do you think Obamacare and the wall have not YET been completed? Is it because Trump LIED!!! or because Congress hasn’t the will so Trump tries to get through what he can? What would you do, Gryph? Raise holy hell and get NOTHING done?

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  409. If so, are you likewise okay if they decide to marry someone who finds it useful to pay off porn stars to buy their silence? Or do you have a higher standard for sons-in-law than for Presidents of the United States?

    Trump got involved with Stormy 12 years ago. He first ran for office in 2015. Bill Clinton was getting Lewinsky’s in the wife house. And he’d be there today, if it was up to Never-trumpers.

    JFK was screwing Interns in the white House. LBJ was such a corrupt liar, why list it all? Nixon got driven from office. FDR was unfaithful – in the White House not to mention surrounding himself with more Communists then anyone except Joe Stalin. Cleveland lied to the American public about his illness as did Wilson.

    I’d rather have someone like Trump who lies about his Private life to a hostile press, then a liar like McCain who would tell the rubes we need to “Build the dang fence” or “Get rid of Obamacare” and then when elected does the opposite.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  410. When President Trump was just asked when he learned about the Stormy Daniels payments, he indicated that he would clarify that later. And to be fair, how can a guy be expected to know exactly when he learned that his lawyer was paying off a Porn Star. With $130,000. While he was running for President. Of the United States.

    Then he goes on to blame the press for getting everything wrong. I will, once again, do my very best to refrain from calling him names. I will instead refer you to the comments of many of his own senior staff.

    noel (b4d580)

  411. “Old people should be dead or in Florida.” — Deadpool

    Giuliani is 73. His best years as a lawyer were ten years before Clinton’s impeachment. He has no business on Trump’s legal team.

    nk (dbc370)

  412. nk for the win… probably true

    crazy (5c5b07)

  413. U.S. judge questions special counsel’s powers in Manafort case

    “I don’t see what relationship this indictment has with anything the special counsel is authorized to investigate,” U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis in the Eastern District of Virginia said.

    The judge questioned why Manafort’s case there could not be handled by the U.S. attorney’s office in Virginia, rather than the special counsel’s office.

    He also asked the special counsel’s office to share privately with him a copy of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosentein’s August 2017 memo elaborating on the scope of Mueller’s Russia probe. He said the current version he has been heavily redacted.

    crazy (5c5b07)

  414. History rhymes: Rudy in drag is the new Martha Mitchell.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  415. “Pro bono,” as used with respect to lawyer work, is short for “pro bono publico.” The free representation is not only for the good, but for the good of the public. Pro bono publico work by lawyers includes, but isn’t limited to, representation of particular clients, typically without charge or at lower rates. It can also include things like public education about the law, however. I’ve done, and continue to do, both representation of pro bono clients and public education. Writing this paragraph here in these comments is an example of the latter, and it is indeed one of the reasons I blogged myself for years and continue to comment on blogs like this one.

    Whether for a fee or for charity, an attorney-client relationship requires the consent of both the attorney and client, as nk mentioned above. Trump hasn’t asked me to be his lawyer, on a pro bono publico or fee-paying basis either one.

    Someone asked me — it might well have been here in comments, last year or during the election, whether I would agree to represent Trump if he did ask me. After all, I’m very free here and elsewhere with my (unpaid) legal advice to him (outside an attorney-client relationship and without access to his client confidences).

    I would under no circumstances represent Trump in his personal capacity, for the reasons nk mentioned above among others. I certainly wouldn’t represent him pro bono publico, because I do not identify his personal interests with the public’s interest, and he can afford lawyers — although he’s notorious about leaving them unpaid and having a high turn-over rate: “Won’t listen, won’t pay” is his reputation. But if he asked me to represent him in his representative capacity, as POTUS, at regularly hourly rates I charge for new clients, would I represent him then?

    My original answer to this ridiculously hypothetical problem, after much thought, was that I’d only do it if I could be convinced that he might, possibly, pay attention to any of my private advice rather than ignoring it all. In other words, if he could convince me that my advice might be heeded even in part on anything of substantial importance to the country, I’d deem it my professional duty to accept that representation, despite my intense personal dislike of Trump as an individual. So how could he convince me?

    He could give me his Twitter password, which I’d change and then hand to his Chief of Staff on condition that he keep it from Trump. Until that day, and until that pre-condition is satisfied, I’m not going to be Trump’s lawyer — here or at 1600 Pennsylvania. He’ll have to make due with the likes of Rudy and Michael Cohen. I’m not holding my breath.

    Those who continue to call me names because I won’t “get on board to support Trump,” those who accuse me of being a traitor to the country or the cause of the decline of American civilization because I withheld my vote from him, are welcome to perform anatomically improbable sex acts upon themselves and all the horses upon which they all rode in. That includes, specifically, three former friends who regularly commented here, and two of whom still comment here, who’ve specifically confirmed that they believe themselves entitled to dictate what I should & needn’t feel ashamed of myself for believing or saying. They aren’t friends anymore, and the respect I once had for them has evaporated.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  416. 416. noel (b4d580) — 5/4/2018 @ 8:06 am

    When President Trump was just asked when he learned about the Stormy Daniels payments, he indicated that he would clarify that later. And to be fair, how can a guy be expected to know exactly when he learned that his lawyer was paying off a Porn Star. With $130,000. While he was running for President. Of the United States.

    It’s probably true that Trump learned this only recently. Or else Donald Trump is lying to Rudolph Giuliani.

    And it’s not clear at all to me that it is indeed a fact that any money sent to Michael Cohen was specifically to reimburse him for the $130,000. Nothing I read indicates to me that that’s been established. Everybody is assuming. That includes Trump’s lawyers.

    Then he goes on to blame the press for getting everything wrong. I will, once again, do my very best to refrain from calling him names. I will instead refer you to the comments of many of his own senior staff.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  417. 401, “word” on Zithro…its overuse has led to the emergence of many antibiotic-resistant diseases

    urbanleftbehind (24e2ff) — 5/4/2018 @ 7:27 am

    I run free range bacteria myself.

    Pinandpuller (5688d2)


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