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Trump Praises Manafort for Refusing to ‘Break,’ Unlike Cohen, His Former Fixer Trump Praises Manafort for Refusing to ‘Break,’ Unlike Cohen, His Former Fixer
(about 3 hours later)
President Trump on Wednesday praised his former campaign chairman who was just convicted of defrauding the federal government and accused his longtime personal attorney of breaking under legal pressure.President Trump on Wednesday praised his former campaign chairman who was just convicted of defrauding the federal government and accused his longtime personal attorney of breaking under legal pressure.
Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman, was convicted Tuesday of tax and financial fraud. Michael D. Cohen, the president’s former personal lawyer and fixer, made a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and admitted to campaign finance crimes that he said were committed at the direction of Mr. Trump.Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman, was convicted Tuesday of tax and financial fraud. Michael D. Cohen, the president’s former personal lawyer and fixer, made a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and admitted to campaign finance crimes that he said were committed at the direction of Mr. Trump.
In the president’s view, Mr. Manafort is “brave,” and Mr. Cohen is a bad lawyer who, Mr. Trump incorrectly asserted, pleaded guilty to “violations” that “are not a crime.”In the president’s view, Mr. Manafort is “brave,” and Mr. Cohen is a bad lawyer who, Mr. Trump incorrectly asserted, pleaded guilty to “violations” that “are not a crime.”
Mr. Trump said he felt bad for Mr. Manafort and his family. And he warned his nearly 54 million Twitter followers not to hire Mr. Cohen. Mr. Trump said he felt bad for Mr. Manafort and his family. And he warned his Twitter followers not to hire Mr. Cohen.
Mr. Trump’s comments in the series of Twitter posts Wednesday morning appeared to be a reminder to others who might consider implicating him that he highly values loyalty.Mr. Trump’s comments in the series of Twitter posts Wednesday morning appeared to be a reminder to others who might consider implicating him that he highly values loyalty.
Democrats seized on Tuesday’s guilty plea and verdict, raising the stakes of the midterm congressional elections in November and throwing roadblocks in front of the confirmation of Mr. Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett M. Kavanaugh. The president’s fate rests with Congress. If Democrats win back the majority in the House, impeachment proceedings against the president could begin next year. Democrats seized on Tuesday’s guilty plea and verdict, raising the stakes of the midterm congressional elections in November and throwing roadblocks in front of the confirmation of Mr. Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. The president’s fate rests with Congress. If Democrats win back the majority in the House, impeachment proceedings against the president could begin next year.
Senator Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, called for a delay in the confirmation hearings for Mr. Kavanaugh because, Mr. Schumer said, he has refused to say whether a sitting president should have to comply with a subpoena. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said Tuesday’s guilty plea and conviction had no bearing on Mr. Trump.
“The president has done nothing wrong,” Ms. Sanders said on Wednesday during a White House news briefing. “There are no charges against him. There is no collusion.”
“The Manafort case doesn’t have anything to do with the president, didn’t have anything to do with his campaign and doesn’t have anything to do with the White House,” she said.
Ms. Sanders dismissed the Democrats’ calls for a delay in Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation as “desperate and pathetic.”
Senator Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, called for a delay in the confirmation hearings for Judge Kavanaugh because, Mr. Schumer said, he has refused to say whether a sitting president should have to comply with a subpoena.
“It’s a game changer,” Mr. Schumer, of New York, said in a tweet about Mr. Cohen’s implication of Mr. Trump in his campaign finance crimes.“It’s a game changer,” Mr. Schumer, of New York, said in a tweet about Mr. Cohen’s implication of Mr. Trump in his campaign finance crimes.
Mr. Cohen on Tuesday admitted that Mr. Trump had a role in payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to two women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump. In the plea agreement, Mr. Trump is not mentioned by name, but referred to as “Individual-1.” Mr. Cohen admitted on Tuesday that Mr. Trump had a role in payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to two women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump. In the plea agreement, Mr. Trump is not mentioned by name, but referred to as “Individual-1.”
Mr. Cohen and his attorney have made clear that, if asked, Mr. Cohen would cooperate with the continuing special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, an investigation Mr. Trump on Wednesday again called a “Witch Hunt.” Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to two campaign finance crimes, one over a $130,000 payment he made to a pornographic, Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels. The other was tied to an arrangement with a tabloid that bought the rights to a story about a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, then killed it.
In an interview with Fox News later on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he became aware of the payments after the fact. He emphasized that the payments Mr. Cohen admitted to in his guilty plea did not come from campaign funds.
“My first question when I heard about it was, ‘Did they come out of the campaign?’” Mr. Trump said. “Because that could be a little dicey.”
The payment to Ms. Clifford was reimbursed through the Trump Organization. Campaign finance violations do not have to directly involve campaign accounts.
The president also repeated his assertion that Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to crimes that were merely violations and compared it to fines former President Barack Obama faced because of a campaign finance violation during the 2008 presidential campaign.
“He had a massive campaign violation, but he had a different attorney general, and they viewed it a lot differently,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Obama, adding a jab at his own attorney general, Jeff Sessions.
Mr. Trump was referring to a Federal Election Commission finding in 2013 stating that in 2008 Mr. Obama’s campaign did not file campaign finance reports in a timely manner. Mr. Obama’s campaign finance violation not the same as what Mr. Cohen admitted to doing on Tuesday — making a campaign donation above the legal limit and doing so, in Mr. Cohen’s words, “to keep an individual with information that would be harmful to the candidate and to the campaign from publicly disclosing this information.”
Mr. Obama’s violation was civil, and Mr. Cohen’s criminal.
“Inadvertent violations like Obama’s are punished civilly” by the Federal Election Commission, Rick Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California Irvine, told Vox. But criminal violations are handled like Mr. Cohen’s, in court.
Mr. Cohen and his lawyer have made clear that, if asked, Mr. Cohen would cooperate with the continuing special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, an investigation Mr. Trump on Wednesday again called a “Witch Hunt.”
Mr. Trump has previously dismissed the gravity of campaign finance violations. In May, he pardoned a best-selling author and documentarian of the crime, saying the defendant, Dinesh D’Souza, was not treated fairly by the justice system. The move was seen by many as a not-so-subtle message to Mr. Cohen that he too could receive a presidential pardon for campaign finance crimes.Mr. Trump has previously dismissed the gravity of campaign finance violations. In May, he pardoned a best-selling author and documentarian of the crime, saying the defendant, Dinesh D’Souza, was not treated fairly by the justice system. The move was seen by many as a not-so-subtle message to Mr. Cohen that he too could receive a presidential pardon for campaign finance crimes.
In addition to the campaign finance crimes, Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion and bank fraud, but his agreement with federal prosecutors may have saved him from decades in prison. Instead, he is likely to be incarcerated for only a few years.In addition to the campaign finance crimes, Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion and bank fraud, but his agreement with federal prosecutors may have saved him from decades in prison. Instead, he is likely to be incarcerated for only a few years.
Prosecutors said that Mr. Cohen’s $130,000 payment to the pornographic actress Stephanie Clifford, better known as Stormy Daniels, was a donation to Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign because it secured her silence about a possible affair to help his odds of winning the election. Campaign finance laws prohibited donations of more than $2,700 in the 2016 general election. Prosecutors said that Mr. Cohen’s $130,000 payment to Ms. Clifford, better known as Stormy Daniels, was a donation to Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign because it secured her silence about a possible affair to help his odds of winning the election. Campaign finance laws prohibited donations of more than $2,700 in the 2016 general election.
Mr. Cohen also admitted to “causing” an illegal corporate donation to Mr. Trump because of his involvement in a $150,000 payment to another woman, Karen McDougal, who said she had an affair with the candidate. Mr. Cohen also admitted to “causing” an illegal corporate donation to Mr. Trump because of his involvement in a $150,000 payment to Ms. McDougal.