Former attorney puts prez in a real fix
For the first time since the Mueller investigation began, President Trump got bad news that can’t be waved off. Michael Cohen, his own attorney, has cut a deal and pleaded guilty to violations of campaign finance laws, bank fraud and tax evasion.
This is very bad for Cohen. But it is also very, very bad for Trump.
Set aside the bank fraud and tax evasion charges. They are more of the “drive-by” charges that give Mueller and his team a lot more leverage over the defendant. As with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, now convicted of eight of 18 tax-related charges, the fact that Trump associated with sleazy guys suggests he is not a great judge of character, but it does not suggest that Trump or his campaign did anything wrong.
Violation of campaign finance laws, however, could go to the heart of the Trump presidential campaign. For the first time, the charges undeniably relate to Trump’s election. In itself, that is bad enough. All the talk of ostrich jackets and so forth is yesterday’s news. The assertion that Trump’s own lawyer broke the law to help get Trump elected is the backbreaker.
Sure, it is possible to violate the complex election laws on one’s own, with no action by, or even knowledge of, the candidate or his staff. If what Cohen did fell into this category, then it would not really move the ball one way or the other. So the anti-Trumpers may not want to take a victory lap just yet.
But this is not just some guy from Nebraska who over-contributed or disguised some corporate donations as personal ones. This is Trump’s own lawyer who, it seems, was actually representing Trump when he arranged payoffs to two women who might embarrass the candidate. Even though Cohen as a lawyer seems to be just barely more competent than a flounder, it is very hard to believe that he would take any action of this magnitude without checking with his client, then-candidate Trump. Indeed, when it comes to advancing cash, very few lawyers will pony up for a postage stamp unless they get prior authorization from their client.
It is possible, of course, that Trump essentially wondered out loud the equivalent of “Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?” Theoretically, that might be enough to avoid criminal responsibility. Even so, however, it squarely puts Trump directly in contact with a longtime associate who did something that only benefited Trump and not himself. In earlier days, this alone might have called the presidency into question. Even today, it has to cost Trump and his administration something.
Cohen said in court yesterday that he acted specifically at Trump’s direction. Indeed, he may have said that whether or not it is strictly true. At this point Cohen doesn’t have a lot of cards left to play. Having said those words, however, we zoom way past collusion and right to conspiracy to commit a federal crime. And that could be “game over.”
Manafort’s partial conviction might have been a big story if it happened Monday. But with Cohen’s plea, Manafort is barely a footnote. Unless and until someone finds a note from Vladimir Putin to Trump saying “We’ve got your back big boy,” the Cohen payoffs is the story to watch. And if what Cohen said is true, this could be the snowball that starts the impeachment avalanche.