Trump's attorney being investigated for bank fraud, campaign finance violations

The FBI raided the Rockefeller Center office and Park Avenue hotel room of President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, on Monday morning. The FBI seized business records, emails and documents related to several topics, including a payment to pornographic film actress, Stormy Daniels. Investigators took Cohen’s computer, phone and personal financial records, including tax returns, as part of the search of his office at Rockefeller Center. President Trump called the FBI raid a “disgraceful situation” and an “attack on our country in a true sense.” 

Stephen Ryan, Cohen’s lawyer, said Cohen has cooperated with the authorities and turned over thousands of documents to congressional investigators looking into Russian election meddling. The FBI-seized records include communications between Trump and Cohen, which would most likely require a special team of agents to review because conversations between lawyers and clients are protected from scrutiny in most instances. If prosecutors uncover information related to Mueller’s investigation, they can share that information with his team. 

Prosecutors obtained the search warrant after receiving a referral from the special counsel in the Russia investigation, Robert S. Mueller III, according to Mr. Cohen’s lawyer, who called the search “completely inappropriate and unnecessary.”

The Deep State

In the United States, the term "deep state" is used within political science to describe influential decision-making bodies within government that are relatively permanent and whose policies and long-term plans are unaffected by changing administrations. The term is often used in a critical sense vis-à-vis the general electorate to refer to the lack of influence popular democracy has on these institutions and the decisions they make. 

The new book, Killing the Deep State: The Fight to Save Pres. Trump, is about the truth behind how well-funded hard-left extremists, the mainstream media, and Obama/Clinton holdovers in the government bureaucracy have combined with clandestine forces within the US intelligence apparatus – the “Deep State” -- to block and undermine Trump’s every move.

What emerged from the hard left, once Trump was elected, was a political strategy calculated to block Donald Trump from being inaugurated, and if that failed, to make sure Donald Trump would not long serve out his term as 45th President of the United States.

Investigative journalist and conspiracy expert Jerome Corsi goes into shocking detail about how this Deep State or Shadow Government secretly wields power in Washington, and why the Deep State is dangerous – capable of assassinating Trump, if efforts to impeach him or to force him to resign fail.

Corsi will also define a three-point strategy Trump -- as a political independent, opposed both by Democratic Party enemies and GOP establishment -- must employ to stay in office and have a chance of a successful first term in office.

Zuckerberg Testimony

Today, the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, testified in front of the Senate Judiciary and Senate Commerce Committees about user date breach. 

Zuckerberg has issued an apology to U.S. Congress over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, admitting the social media network should have done more to prevent data being misused. 

The hearings come after information about voters wrongly ended up in the hands of the data firm. Mark Zuckerberg said in a written statement: "We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake.” 

“It was my mistake, and I am sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I am responsible for what happens here”, said Zuckerberg. He says that includes "fake news, foreign interference in elections, and hate speech, as well as developers and data privacy." Zuckerberg says Facebook is an "idealistic and optimistic company." But he says Facebook didn't take a broad enough view of its responsibility. He says that was a "big mistake."

Facebook was scheduled to begin notifying users Monday if their data has been swept up in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, but it isn't clear if it's started yet. The users who might have had their data shared with Cambridge Analytica were supposed to get a detailed message on their news feeds starting on Monday. Zuckerberg says the company is also investigating every app that had access to a large amount of information before the company moved to prevent such access in 2014, something that came too late in the Cambridge Analytica case.

Mail Time!

• I believe that in order for Mueller to keep himself from looking foolish after continuing the witch hunt for as long as he has he is trying to get Trump to fire him. If Trump does fire Mueller he may as well fire Sessions, Rosenstein and Wray along with him. That would be a good start.

• Bill, I just sent via ABC's website a complaint about Mr. Kimmel insulting FLOTUS's accent. My grandparents came from Italy and they had an accent all their lives. To me he insulted every immigrant not just Mrs. Trump. Totally disrespectful. As far as I am concerned he needs to put brain in gear before mouth in motion next time he wants to make fun at the expense of others. ABC has lost me as a viewer. He and ABC need to apologize to America for his dumb comments. I encourage all premium members to write ABC and share their thoughts as I did. 

• People tune into comedy late night shows for just that, comedy. This isn't funny. It's childish, mean & an insult to the intelligence of anyone with half a brain. Jimmy Kimmel must be doing this for ratings and with executive approval. However, the lasting impact on the late-night industry after these temporary ratings may be a shift away from them altogether. That's what's presently happening with the mainstream media, the movie industry and television in general. They're doing long term damage to their industry. 

Word of the Day: Verecund