Thanks for sharing that! I actually feel a little better that it hasn’t fallen off the radar completely.
It certainly reeks of funny business. They had a contract where he was supposed to lobby and provide access and influence with the president, and he crossed that paragraph out (to protect himself), and they made the payments anyway. In fact, they made most or all of the payments after he documented that he wouldn’t do what they wanted, as if there was an unspoken agreement.
As far as I know this is just hearsay from administration insiders. The constant ego chatter surrounding Trumps hires and fires makes it hard for me to think there’s anything substantial here. A sample of his past claims…
He was begging for my endorsement. I could have said, ‘Mitt, drop to your knees.’ He would have dropped to his knees."
Nancy Pelosi will be begging for a wall
Senator Bob Corker 'begged" me to endorse him
Steve Bannon cried when he was fired and begged for his job
Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office “begging” for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them)
So, for Trump’s admin to be claiming Cohen was “begging for a position” in the White House seems…well, let’s say it doesn’t really pass the smell test.
Yeah, but, ya know, the Republican Party base is not exactly known for self reflection or deep analysis. Try this: Go up to your favourite Trumpinista and say, “Since Republicans are claiming Cohen is a liar, doesn’t that mean his support for Trump during last year’s Congressional testimony means all those statements are lies — meaning Trump is actually a criminal.” They’ll probably have a moment or two of mental vapour-lock, then say something like: “Why do you hate America?”
Maybe, but it could also have been true. Just because Cohen is contrite now, doesn’t mean he wasn’t also one of those begging for a position earlier, too.
Noteworthy for the “duck-sized horses / horse-sized duck” metaphors:
As a lawyer (albeit a shitty one) he should have known better than using absolutes like “never” or “always” in sworn testimony. How many people can honestly say, “I never wanted (x)”? Even for a moment?
I never wanted Trump to win. Even for a moment.
I can also honestly say I never wanted a position in the Trump White House, or any other White House for that matter. I can’t say if Cohen really feels the same way but if he is lying then “I just wanted to be the personal lawyer to the President” is certainly one of his more plausible lies.
I suspect in the context of pharma-co cockups, paying a guy $1.2 million for nothing is small change.
But yes, the fact that they were prepared to pay anyone that kind of money for lobbying or “insight” is something I suspect lots of people would like to be quietly ignored.
I guess for the moment it’s especially something Cohen would like to sidestep, since he hasn’t been indicted for anything related to that yet. At least it did come up, though, as @DukeTrout points out above.
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