Ex-Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen 'Strikes Plea Deal'
Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, has surrendered to the FBI ahead of a 4 p.m. court proceeding, where the government is expected to disclose a plea deal, according to a law enforcement source.
As part of the deal, Cohen is expected to plead guilty to multiple counts of campaign finance violations, tax fraud and bank fraud. The deal would include jail time and a substantial monetary fine. Both sides are negotiating jail time, according to one source. Cohen is pressing for three years, but prosecutors are seeking 50 months.
This has been expected to be a straight plea deal to resolve the case against him. But any cooperation from Cohen could help him during sentencing. Cohen went back and forth all morning over whether to take the deal.
Trump Indicates He's Leaning Against Mueller Sit-Down
President Trump on Monday indicated he is not inclined to agree to an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, saying any statements he makes under oath could be used to bring perjury charges against him as part of the probe into Russia’s electoral interference.
Trump told Reuters in an interview that he agreed with the assessment of his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, that such an encounter with Mueller could be a “perjury trap.”
The president expressed fears that investigators could compare his statements with that of others who have testified in the probe, such as former FBI Director James Comey, and that any discrepancies could be used against him.
“So if I say something and he (Comey) says something, and it’s my word against his, and he’s best friends with Mueller, so Mueller might say: ‘Well, I believe Comey,’ and even if I’m telling the truth, that makes me a liar. That’s no good.”
The president did not say if he has made a final decision on whether to submit to questioning from Mueller.
Trump said last summer he is "100 percent" willing to testify under oath about Comey's firing and other events, a stance he reiterated in January. But he has since changed his answer several times, as his legal team has repeatedly advised him not to sit for an interview.
Kevin Hart Takes Shot at Trump During VMAs
Comedian Kevin Hart insulted President Trump during his opening remarks at the MTV Video Music Awards on Monday night. The event took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall. Kevin Hart was presenting the first award of the night (best hip-hop song) with comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish.
Hart said, "At this game, you guys can kneel. You can do whatever the hell you want. There's no old white man that can stop you," Hart said comparing the awards show to a football game. "You never know what's going to happen at the VMAs. I mean, beefs pop off, bad language, people sending out crazy tweets — it's basically like your typical day at the White House. In your face, Trump — suck it!"
Kevin Hart told Variety in May 2017, the "political realm" is "really not a laughing matter," Hart said that he didn't want to "draw attention to things I don't have nice things to say about."
Kevin Hart’s comments also contradict a statement a spokesperson for him made back in June. “Everyone has something to say about Donald Trump, and that’s the reason Kevin isn’t speaking on him. Kevin honestly feels the Trump bits are overused and knows that people are tired of the political banter from comedians.”
Liberal Activist Assaulted by Antifa Members in Portland
A liberal activist who says he was protesting right-wing groups marching in Portland on August 4th says he was beaten bloody by members of Antifa angry at him for holding an American flag.
Paul Welch told Oregon Live that he attended a protest march led by Proud Boys and other right-wing groups with the intent of demonstrating what he called a "tacitly fascist" event.
Welch was not a Proud Boy, a Patriot Prayer supporter or among the other conservative activists who were protesting that day. He was one of hundreds of progressive Portlanders who had turned out to oppose the right-wing rally held at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
As he carried his flag, two people dressed in black and covering their faces approached Welch and demanded he turn it over to them, calling it “a fascist symbol,” he said. Welch refused, and the counter-protesters ripped it out of his hands, he said. Welch wouldn't relinquish the flag. Welch says he was struck from behind in the head with a club by Antifa members who demanded that he drop his American flag.
Welch suffered a concussion and a 3-inch gash according to Oregon Live, and says he believes he was struck with the metal end of a club.
The permit-less rally on August 4th was organized by Patriot Prayer, a far-right group founded by Joey Gibson, who is running for U.S. Senate in Washington.
The right-wing Patriot Prayer rally was met by hundreds of counter-protesters, including many self-described anti-fascists. It started off peaceful but turned chaotic after police say a group started throwing rocks and bottles at officers.
Protesters Topple Silent Sam Confederate Statue at UNC
Protesters toppled the Silent Sam Confederate statue on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill on Monday night, August 20th. The monument was ripped down after 9:15 p.m.
Earlier in the evening, protesters covered the statue with tall, gray banners, erecting “an alternative monument” that said, in part, “For a world without white supremacy.”
After Silent Sam tumbled to the ground, people darted in and out of the crowd through a haze of smoke bombs. On top of the statue someone placed a black cap that said, “Do It Like Durham,” an apparent reference to the toppling of a Confederate statue there a year ago. The statue has been the focus of protests and vandalism for decades, but especially in the past year. UNC had installed surveillance cameras and spent $390,000 on security.
Monday’s gathering started as a demonstration in support of a UNC graduate student who faces criminal and honor court charges for throwing red ink and blood on the Confederate statue in April.
A statement from UNC said, “Around 9:20 p.m., a group from among an estimated crowd of 250 protesters brought down the Confederate Monument on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,” the statement said. “Tonight’s actions were dangerous, and we are very fortunate that no one was injured. We are investigating the vandalism and assessing the full extent of the damage.”
Governor Roy Cooper’s office also released a statement, saying he “understands that many people are frustrated by the pace of change and he shares their frustration, but violent destruction of public property has no place in our communities.”
Silent Sam is a statue of a Confederate soldier by sculptor John A. Wilson. Erected in 1913 on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Silent Sam was paid for by contributions by Daughters of the Revolution.
Nazi Labor Camp Guard Caught by ICE, Deported to Germany
A former Nazi labor guard who immigrated to the U.S. in 1949, becoming a citizen in 1957, has been deported to Germany after years of diplomatic wrangling, the White House announced on Tuesday.
Jakiw Paliji, 95, worked as a guard at the Trawniki Labor Camp, in what was then German occupied Poland. The former Nazi guard lied to U.S. immigration officials about his role in World War II, saying he worked on a farm and in a factory, the White House said in a statement.
In court filings, Jakiw Palij has denied wrongdoing, claiming that he and other young men in his Polish hometown were coerced into working for the Nazi occupiers.
In 2003, Jakiw Palij's US citizenship was revoked. The following year, a federal judge ordered that Jakiw Palij be deported but none of the European countries to which he could have been sent, would take him.
Mail Time!
- Bill, I know you do not want to hear this, but I am going to Scotland and Ireland for a month just hoping not to hear things from the media. There is one thing I don’t understand from you. Why you don’t get it why Trump Tweets
so much. He is representing the people who elected him. We like it, he is saying what we think as we do not have a program like yours where you say what you think every night. You have gotten in the groove of the left a little and I find that is not helping our cause like you use to. We are being forgotten and the Tweets help us live with it.
- I am an independent, college grad. Does our President, Donald Trump REALLY believe he is helping his/our cause and nation by continually, daily trying to get the last word and adding fuel to the fire? Some of his policies which are in place for the greater good are in themselves fuel for the fire. I am almost out of patience with him. Do you think other independents are as well? Does he know he must win this group over as well?
- Your comments on Monday’s podcast about Vietnam in the mail segment brought me to tears. My father served two tours in the Air Force and would never “ever” talk about his experiences. I have never heard the war explained in the way you did so on Monday. I needed to hear that. It validated my father’s service to me and my family. I plan to play back your comments to my children and explain to them how important their grandfather was in the war effort as an airplane mechanic.
Word of the Day: Pawky |
