12/17/2018

LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “Last week the nation witnessed a courtroom spectacle that included the president’s former personal lawyer and ‘fixer,’ Michael Cohen, groveling for mercy at a sentencing hearing while his daughter watched, a crutch at her side. Future historians might view the maudlin scene as the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency. The circumstances surrounding Cohen’s guilty pleas suggest that special counsel Robert Mueller and Southern District of New York federal prosecutors believe Cohen and Trump broke the law in paying hush money to former Playboy model Karen McDougal and porn star Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels. The clear purpose was to protect the president’s reputation as a political candidate. It is even possible that the president already has been indicted by a federal grand jury in a secret, sealed indictment that will be revealed only when he leaves the presidency. Of course, this is necessarily speculative, as prosecutors seal indictments to keep them secret.”

Paul Callan, “Prosecutors’ best move: Charge Trump and seal the indictment,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, December 17, 2018 7:38 am