https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/michael-cohen-sentence-trump-1.4942319
Comments
Charles Griffin
David R. Amos
@Charles Griffin Methinks Mr Cohen may remember our conversations and emails now N'esy Pas?
Brian Cohen
@David R. Amos
“N’esy pas”??
Unintelligible in both official languages
Congratulations
“N’esy pas”??
Unintelligible in both official languages
Congratulations
David R. Amos
@Brian Cohen "Unintelligible in both official languages "
Methinks your dictates that you are related to Mikey Cohen and no doubt the reason you hate me as well N'esy Pas?
![David R. Amos]()
Methinks your dictates that you are related to Mikey Cohen and no doubt the reason you hate me as well N'esy Pas?
David R. Amos
@Brian Cohen Just so its not Unintelligible for you I will make the Correction I meant to write "your name"
Comments
"POOF"
James Holden
James Holden
The ghost of Mike Pence was in the room.
David R. Amos
@James Holden Methinks many ghosts think the plot has just thickened rather nicely N'esy Pas?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/michael-cohen-sentence-trump-1.4942319
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/michael-cohen-sentence-trump-1.4942319
Emmanuel Rochon
I think this was a pretty good indication of why there is such a high staff turnover in the WH. Trump is incapable of discussion, unwilling to listen and always wanting to bypass process.
Mag Amherst
@Emmanuel Rochon
so you are saying he has had enough of ineffectual discussions, and processes that serve trough mongering more than providing solutions?
so you are saying he has had enough of ineffectual discussions, and processes that serve trough mongering more than providing solutions?
Rick Wier
@Emmanuel Rochon faced with smart opposition Trump crumbled, he had no answers except to pout and blovate, Pence was hilarious in his non support, never saw a guy trying so hard to be invisible
David R. Amos
@Emmanuel Rochon Methinks the plot has thickened rather nicely N'esy Pas?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/michael-cohen-sentence-trump-1.4942319
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/michael-cohen-sentence-trump-1.4942319
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen gets 3 years in prison
Cohen says loyalty led him to cover up for Trump's 'dirty deeds'
Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former lawyer, has been sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.
Cohen apologized for his actions and told U.S. District Judge William Pauley III that "blind loyalty" to Trump led him to "cover up his dirty deeds."
Cohen, 52, pleaded guilty to making false statements in 2017 to the Senate intelligence committee about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. He earlier pleaded guilty in August to eight separate counts, including campaign finance violations that he said he carried out in co-ordination with Trump.
At that time, Cohen said he secretly used shell companies to make payments of $150,000 US and $130,000, respectively, to silence former Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult-film actress Stormy Daniels for the purpose of influencing the 2016 election. The women have claimed they had affairs with Trump after the real estate mogul married his third wife, Melania.
Pauley characterized Cohen's offences — which included evading $1.4 million in taxes related to his personal businesses — as a "veritable smorgasbord of fraudulent conduct."
Cohen was sentenced to three years for the payments, and two months for lying to Congress, but the penalties will be concurrent. The court is fined him $50,000 for both cases and ordered three years of supervised release after imprisonment,
Cohen apologized for his actions and told U.S. District Judge William Pauley III that "blind loyalty" to Trump led him to "cover up his dirty deeds."
Cohen, 52, pleaded guilty to making false statements in 2017 to the Senate intelligence committee about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. He earlier pleaded guilty in August to eight separate counts, including campaign finance violations that he said he carried out in co-ordination with Trump.
At that time, Cohen said he secretly used shell companies to make payments of $150,000 US and $130,000, respectively, to silence former Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult-film actress Stormy Daniels for the purpose of influencing the 2016 election. The women have claimed they had affairs with Trump after the real estate mogul married his third wife, Melania.
Cohen was sentenced to three years for the payments, and two months for lying to Congress, but the penalties will be concurrent. The court is fined him $50,000 for both cases and ordered three years of supervised release after imprisonment,
Cohen also said he felt it was his duty to cover up the President’s dirty deeds. Says he owns his mistakes and repeated his first loyalty is to his family and country
Michael Cohen in court today makes it clear he’s done with Trump: “history will not remember me as the villain of his story”
He was ordered to surrender on March 6.
Trump has derided Cohen for co-operating with prosecutors, calling him a "weak person," and has downplayed the extent of their professional relationship.
![]()
Earlier this year, Cohen said he arranged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, left, and Karen McDougal, former Playboy Playmate of the Year, who have both said they had sexual encounters with Trump. (Matt Sayles/Associated Press, Evan Vucci/Associated Press, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty for Playboy)"Recently the president tweeted a statement calling me weak and it was correct, but for a much different reason than he was implying," Cohen said in court. "It was because time and time again, I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds."
Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of four to five years in prison, saying he should receive some credit for his co-operation with special counsel Robert Mueller, but noted that he had not entered into a co-operation agreement with New York authorities.
Cohen's lawyer Guy Petrillo argued for more leniency, stressing that Cohen co-operated despite not knowing the future of the Mueller investigation and whether "the most powerful person in our country" would try to shut down the probe.
Since 2017, Mueller has been investigating allegations of co-ordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign. The two investigations were interconnected — one run by federal prosecutors in New York, the other by the special counsel.
At the sentencing hearing, a prosecutor in Mueller's office, Jeannie Rhee, said Cohen "has provided consistent and credible information about core Russia-related issues under investigation." She didn't elaborate.
Cohen was accompanied to court by his wife, daughter and son.
He is among a number of people in Trump's orbit who have pleaded guilty to criminal charges. The list also includes his former presidential campaign chair, Paul Manafort, and Manafort's colleague, Rick Gates, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, who was released last week after serving a short prison sentence.
![]()
Trump appeared in Moscow in October 2013 during a news conference for the Miss Universe pageant, which was run by his company. He sought to build in Moscow at various times through the years without success. (Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA)While Trump has mused about not being opposed to offering a presidential pardon to Manafort, Cohen's prosecution at the state level would make him ineligible for a pardon.
The president has assailed the various investigations, while Russia has denied trying to interfere in the 2016 election for the purposes of sowing discord and improving Trump's prospects.
Trump said the potential Moscow project was well documented, and he emphasized that the plan was abandoned. But the voters weren't fully aware of its existence.
On the subject of the payments, Trump insisted he only found out about them after they were made, despite the release of a September 2016 recorded conversation in which Trump and Cohen can be heard discussing a deal to pay McDougal for her story of a 2006 affair.
Trump has derided Cohen for co-operating with prosecutors and turning state's evidence, which is often a feature of the criminal justice system.
"It's called flipping and it almost should be illegal," said Trump.
Trump was asked earlier this month why he retained Cohen for about a decade.
"Because a long time ago he did me a favour," said Trump.
Trump has derided Cohen for co-operating with prosecutors, calling him a "weak person," and has downplayed the extent of their professional relationship.
Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of four to five years in prison, saying he should receive some credit for his co-operation with special counsel Robert Mueller, but noted that he had not entered into a co-operation agreement with New York authorities.
Cohen's 'credible' information
Cohen's lawyer Guy Petrillo argued for more leniency, stressing that Cohen co-operated despite not knowing the future of the Mueller investigation and whether "the most powerful person in our country" would try to shut down the probe.
Since 2017, Mueller has been investigating allegations of co-ordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign. The two investigations were interconnected — one run by federal prosecutors in New York, the other by the special counsel.
Cohen was accompanied to court by his wife, daughter and son.
He is among a number of people in Trump's orbit who have pleaded guilty to criminal charges. The list also includes his former presidential campaign chair, Paul Manafort, and Manafort's colleague, Rick Gates, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, who was released last week after serving a short prison sentence.
The president has assailed the various investigations, while Russia has denied trying to interfere in the 2016 election for the purposes of sowing discord and improving Trump's prospects.
Trump said the potential Moscow project was well documented, and he emphasized that the plan was abandoned. But the voters weren't fully aware of its existence.
On the subject of the payments, Trump insisted he only found out about them after they were made, despite the release of a September 2016 recorded conversation in which Trump and Cohen can be heard discussing a deal to pay McDougal for her story of a 2006 affair.
Trump has derided Cohen for co-operating with prosecutors and turning state's evidence, which is often a feature of the criminal justice system.
"It's called flipping and it almost should be illegal," said Trump.
Trump was asked earlier this month why he retained Cohen for about a decade.
"Because a long time ago he did me a favour," said Trump.
With files from Associated Press
Trump's clash with Democratic leaders may be a glimpse into the next 2 years
With Democrats set to control the House, televised spat was tense
The president of the United States. Rebuked in his own house by Democratic leaders. With the cameras rolling at his own invitation.
If Donald Trump wasn't feeling the effects of a new, post-midterms power realignment in Washington before, he likely was on Tuesday afternoon during a remarkable standoff in the Oval Office with Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.
Trump wants $5 billion to fund his border wall with Mexico; Democrats will only agree to $1.3 billion for "border security," not a wall. If the two sides can't reach an agreement by Dec. 21, funding for some government agencies expires, triggering a shutdown. Pelosi branded the scenario in personal terms.
"You should not have a Trump shutdown," she said.
"A what?" Trump asked. "Did you say 'Trump'—?"
"Trump shutdown. You have the White House, you have the Senate, you have the House of
Representatives, you have the votes, you should pass it right now," Pelosi said, urging him to support spending legislation to avert the shutdown.
Trump fired back. There was little point in passing a government funding bill, he argued, if it would fall in the Senate. More crosstalk followed as Schumer also piled on. Voices were raised.
![]()
Donald Trump tells Democrats strong border security hinges on building a wall on the Southern U.S. border 1:15Pelosi and Schumer suggested repeatedly that they take the debate away from the gaggle of press — an idea Trump dismissed, saying he liked the "transparency." In the middle of the tense 17-minute exchange, Pelosi came to a regrettable conclusion: "This has spiralled downward."
Maybe. But the president ought to get used to this as he braces for a new Congress in January, when Democrats take control of the lower chamber from Republicans. The House is now the ultimate check and balance.
It's a new reality, said Brent Budowsky, a columnist for the U.S. politics website The Hill who formerly worked for Democratic leaders in Congress.
"It's opening day of a baseball season where there are totally new teams out there," Budowsky said. "Today was like the first inning."
Democrats ended the "one-party state," he said, and Trump will have to come to grips with the fact he "won't pass one piece of legislation — one spending bill, nothing — that the Democratic House doesn't agree with."
There's little that's remarkable about the president and influential lawmakers staking out new power relationships or making entry bids in advance of negotiations. What's unusual is that it unfolded publicly, offering a crystal-ball glimpse of the two years ahead for a divided government.
![]()
Schumer listens as House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi speaks to reporters after their meeting with Trump to negotiate a funding bill and avert a government shutdown. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)"But this doesn't have to do with divided government," said Mark Harkins, a senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University. "This has to do with the fact that president Trump brought in two Democrat leaders and used them as props.
"This is what negotiation looks like when you have a reality-TV star as your president."
Only, Pelosi and Schumer weren't so willing to sit passively.
As much as Trump may be a master of media, Schumer and Pelosi aren't neophytes, having a combined half-century of experience in the U.S. Congress.
As they sparred, Trump said he could get a House majority to pass a spending bill.
"Then do it," Pelosi challenged.
Then Schumer repeatedly brought up wanting to avoid a shutdown — and the president handed Democrats a perfect sound bite for who to blame if it happened, declaring: "I am proud to shut down the government for border security."
Schumer grinned. (Vice-President Mike Pence, seated beside Trump, never spoke a word.)
![]()
Donald Trump tells Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi he'd be proud to shut down the government over funding the wall 0:54"That's where the president started to lose some of the rhetorical battle," Harkins said. "I don't know if he was baited — if that's the right terminology — but I think he was willing to say 'Yeah, this is good politics: If you don't give me border security, I'd be behind shutting down the government.'"
The problem is that owning a shutdown, advocating for one or being seen as the cause of one is generally regarded as unwise. A majority of Americans would prefer to keep the government running and compromise on a border wall.
"You live by the camera, you die by the camera," said Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University. "And I think that anybody who says that he came out of there in a commanding position really misinterpreted the event."
Rachel Bovard, policy director at the Washington-based Conservative Partnership Institute, which advocates for conservative causes, saw Trump's decision to make the clash public as a presidential power move — Trump establishing the negotiating tactics Democratic leaders can expect for the next two years.
Bovard believes pundits might be underestimating just how symbolically important the border wall is to his base, which comprises an estimated 32 per cent of Americans.
![]()
A woman carries her son near the border between the United States and Mexico, in Tijuana. Trump is fighting with Democrats over funding for the wall he promised to build on the southern U.S. border. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)Tax reform wasn't "wildly popular" with core supporters, she said. But getting $5 billion approved for the funding of a wall is "representative of the only accomplishment" Trump devotees can take away from the last two years of a unified Republican government, she said, seeing as the Trump
administration has so far failed to fulfil promises to repeal the Affordable Care Act, defund Planned Parenthood or achieve substantive immigration reform.
As for what possessed the president to allow the awkward debate to be televised live, Harkins, with Georgetown University, is still scratching his head.
"He decided to let the other side play. They were in his house, under his rules. He did not have to do that," he said. "What will be fascinating is to watch the next one."
The next one?
That's the thing, Harkins said.
"Do we think he'll learn his lesson from this, or not?"
If Donald Trump wasn't feeling the effects of a new, post-midterms power realignment in Washington before, he likely was on Tuesday afternoon during a remarkable standoff in the Oval Office with Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.
Trump wants $5 billion to fund his border wall with Mexico; Democrats will only agree to $1.3 billion for "border security," not a wall. If the two sides can't reach an agreement by Dec. 21, funding for some government agencies expires, triggering a shutdown. Pelosi branded the scenario in personal terms.
"You should not have a Trump shutdown," she said.
"A what?" Trump asked. "Did you say 'Trump'—?"
"Trump shutdown. You have the White House, you have the Senate, you have the House of
Representatives, you have the votes, you should pass it right now," Pelosi said, urging him to support spending legislation to avert the shutdown.
Trump fired back. There was little point in passing a government funding bill, he argued, if it would fall in the Senate. More crosstalk followed as Schumer also piled on. Voices were raised.
CBC News
Trump and Democrats argue over border security
00:0001:15
Maybe. But the president ought to get used to this as he braces for a new Congress in January, when Democrats take control of the lower chamber from Republicans. The House is now the ultimate check and balance.
'Used them as props'
It's a new reality, said Brent Budowsky, a columnist for the U.S. politics website The Hill who formerly worked for Democratic leaders in Congress.
"It's opening day of a baseball season where there are totally new teams out there," Budowsky said. "Today was like the first inning."
Democrats ended the "one-party state," he said, and Trump will have to come to grips with the fact he "won't pass one piece of legislation — one spending bill, nothing — that the Democratic House doesn't agree with."
There's little that's remarkable about the president and influential lawmakers staking out new power relationships or making entry bids in advance of negotiations. What's unusual is that it unfolded publicly, offering a crystal-ball glimpse of the two years ahead for a divided government.
"This is what negotiation looks like when you have a reality-TV star as your president."
Perfect sound bite
Only, Pelosi and Schumer weren't so willing to sit passively.
As much as Trump may be a master of media, Schumer and Pelosi aren't neophytes, having a combined half-century of experience in the U.S. Congress.
As they sparred, Trump said he could get a House majority to pass a spending bill.
"Then do it," Pelosi challenged.
Then Schumer repeatedly brought up wanting to avoid a shutdown — and the president handed Democrats a perfect sound bite for who to blame if it happened, declaring: "I am proud to shut down the government for border security."
Schumer grinned. (Vice-President Mike Pence, seated beside Trump, never spoke a word.)
CBC News
Trump and Democrats argue over wall
00:0000:54
The problem is that owning a shutdown, advocating for one or being seen as the cause of one is generally regarded as unwise. A majority of Americans would prefer to keep the government running and compromise on a border wall.
"You live by the camera, you die by the camera," said Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University. "And I think that anybody who says that he came out of there in a commanding position really misinterpreted the event."
Will Trump 'learn his lesson'?
Rachel Bovard, policy director at the Washington-based Conservative Partnership Institute, which advocates for conservative causes, saw Trump's decision to make the clash public as a presidential power move — Trump establishing the negotiating tactics Democratic leaders can expect for the next two years.
Bovard believes pundits might be underestimating just how symbolically important the border wall is to his base, which comprises an estimated 32 per cent of Americans.
administration has so far failed to fulfil promises to repeal the Affordable Care Act, defund Planned Parenthood or achieve substantive immigration reform.
As for what possessed the president to allow the awkward debate to be televised live, Harkins, with Georgetown University, is still scratching his head.
"He decided to let the other side play. They were in his house, under his rules. He did not have to do that," he said. "What will be fascinating is to watch the next one."
The next one?
That's the thing, Harkins said.
"Do we think he'll learn his lesson from this, or not?"
Michael Cohen
Rick Gates
Michael Flynn
George Papadopoulos
Wow, becoming part of Trump's inner circle is almost like kiss of death.
Hmmm, one name is missing from the list.