Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Butina Pleads Guilty, Cohen Sentenced, AMI Gets Deal
Maria Butina is a Russian national who has just pled guilty to conspiracy against the United States. Her crime was part of the Russian government's effort to influence the 2016 presidential election. Yesterday, Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen was sentenced to 3 years in jail for various crimes including helping Mr. Trump evade campaign finance laws. Also yesterday, American Media (publisher of the National Enquirer among other titles) agreed to a non-prosecution agreement related to its participation in a similar cover-up. All have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. The noose is tightening around the neck of President Trump.
The Statement of Offense read in part, "With U.S. Person 1's assistance [GOP operative and Ms. Butina's paramour Paul Erickson] and subject to Russian Official's direction, Butina sought to establish unofficial lines of communication with Americans having power and influence over U.S. politics. Butina sought to use those unofficial lines of communication for the benefit of the Russian Federation." The NRA and the Trump campaign are closely tied to her actions.
Meanwhile, Mr. Cohen has until the first week or so of March to surrender himself at a federal penal facility after his sentencing yesterday. Three years is rather generous based on his admitted crimes, and there is a chance he can get this reduced if he cooperates more with authorities than he has.
One of the crimes he to which he admitted was paying off Stormy Daniels to keep her from talking to the media about her affair with the future president. Knowing that it was illegal when he did it makes this a felony rather than a silly thing to do. Moreover, he has stated that he was directed to make this payment by Mr. Trump, making the president a party to a felony. The consensus is that anyone who is not President of the United States would be under indictment based on this set of facts. The president is not under indictment only because the Department of Justice has a policy of not indicting sitting presidents.
As Mr. Cohen was dealing with his problems in court, American Media, Inc. [AIM] was cutting a deal with the feds over its actions in the autumn of 2016. The Washington Post reported "The National Enquirer's parent company acknowledged paying hush money to a woman who alleged an affair with Donald Trump to 'suppress the woman's story' and 'prevent it from influencing the election.'
"The admission came as federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that they would not prosecute the company, American Media Inc. (AMI), for its role in a scheme to tilt the presidential race in favor of Trump. In the agreement, AMI said it would cooperate with prosecutors and admitted it paid $150,000 to Karen McDougal before the 2016 election to silence her allegations of an affair with Trump.
"The deal signaled the unraveling of the deep relationship Trump and AMI chief executive David Pecker had forged over decades. The deal also made clear that Pecker, whose tabloid strongly supported Trump's candidacy, has turned on the president."
The president is running out of room to maneuver. His lawyer's papers and other files are in the hands of the special prosecutor. The Russian interference in the election now has a face linking the Kremlin to Trump Tower. And David Pecker who runs AMI seems to have turned on him. Mr. Pecker has been buying and burying stories for Mr. Trump for years. Now, he has incentive to let those stories see the light of day, or at least the light of a grand jury room.
If there were a vote held right now, the House of Representatives would vote to impeach Mr. Trump, but he can rely on 53 GOP senators right now to vote against removing him from office. Twenty of them would have to change their minds in order to reach the 67 vote threshold because it requires a 2/3 majority in the senate to oust a president. Just what it will take to get 20 GOP senators to vote against Mr. Trump is hard to say. He is incompetent, he is inconsistent and above all, he is morally bankrupt. It may well take smoking-gun proof of criminal activity. One looks forward to the House issuing a subpoena for Mr. Trump's tax returns, which will smell heavily of cordite.
© Copyright 2018 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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