54 votes

Testimony of Michael D. Cohen — Committee on Oversight and Reform — US House of Representatives

14 comments

  1. [4]
    Deimos
    Link
    This opening statement alone is pretty substantial, I highly recommend just reading the entire thing. It's not very long, and just reading excerpts/summaries probably won't really do it justice. I...

    This opening statement alone is pretty substantial, I highly recommend just reading the entire thing. It's not very long, and just reading excerpts/summaries probably won't really do it justice. I don't know if there's much in here that's truly new information, but there are definitely additional details on various things, and contradictions to stories that have been told before.

    Also interesting to see so much emphasis on the harassment aspect (even specifically referring to it as "Presidential threats" immediately), especially in light of the blatant threat from Rep. Matt Gaetz earlier today.

    19 votes
    1. [2]
      Parliament
      Link Parent
      The new-to-me information from his statement: Trump directed Cohen to threaten his high school and college with lawsuits if they released his grades or SAT scores. Trump challenged Cohen to name a...

      The new-to-me information from his statement:

      • Trump directed Cohen to threaten his high school and college with lawsuits if they released his grades or SAT scores.

      • Trump challenged Cohen to name a country led by a black person that wasn't a shithole.

      • Cohen was with Trump in his office on the day of the Trump Tower meeting when Don Jr. came and told his father, "The meeting is all set." To which Trump replied, "Ok good... let me know."

      • Trump never explicitly told Cohen to lie about Trump Moscow, but according to Cohen, "In his way, he was telling me to lie." Trump's personal lawyers reviewed and edited Cohen's statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiation.

      • Trump said this about his draft dodging: "You think I'm stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam."

      Allegedly...

      17 votes
      1. hamstergeddon
        Link Parent
        The "best" part is that this took place while Obama was in office. Which lines up pretty well with what Comey said with regards to Trump's roundabout suggestions that he have the FBI drop the...

        Trump challenged Cohen to name a country led by a black person that wasn't a shithole.

        The "best" part is that this took place while Obama was in office.

        according to Cohen, "In his way, he was telling me to lie."

        Which lines up pretty well with what Comey said with regards to Trump's roundabout suggestions that he have the FBI drop the investigation into Michael Flynn. When asked if he took it as a directive, Comey replied, “It rings in my ears as kind of ‘Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?’ ”

        11 votes
  2. Devin
    Link
    This is going down as one of the most important days in American history. The right wing propaganda machine is in full spinning force as we speak. This moment in time is exactly why roger ailes...

    This is going down as one of the most important days in American history. The right wing propaganda machine is in full spinning force as we speak.

    This moment in time is exactly why roger ailes invented fox news several decades after working for nixon. He states very clearly that he dreamt it up after working with nixon during watergate.

    7 votes
  3. knocklessmonster
    Link
    Opening like this made the whole thing surreal. This is the sort of stuff that happens in bad action movies, not real life. I realize this seems like I'm making light of it, but it's just that crazy.

    I have asked this Committee to ensure that my family be protected from Presidential threats

    Opening like this made the whole thing surreal. This is the sort of stuff that happens in bad action movies, not real life. I realize this seems like I'm making light of it, but it's just that crazy.

    4 votes
  4. [3]
    Wes
    Link
    Are the described documents available as well, or just the statement?

    Are the described documents available as well, or just the statement?

    1 vote
    1. [2]
      knocklessmonster
      Link Parent
      A quick google found this. It's got the checks, the letter to Fordham University, most of the stuff from the opening.

      A quick google found this. It's got the checks, the letter to Fordham University, most of the stuff from the opening.

      4 votes
      1. Wes
        Link Parent
        Perfect, thank you!

        Perfect, thank you!

        1 vote
  5. [3]
    AlastrionaCatskill
    Link
    With how the Republican congresspeople literally said Cohen was "fake news", I think it's safe to say that America is in some pre-Civil War times. Lincoln's "A House Divided" speech from 1858 is...

    With how the Republican congresspeople literally said Cohen was "fake news", I think it's safe to say that America is in some pre-Civil War times. Lincoln's "A House Divided" speech from 1858 is resonating real hard right now:

    "A house divided against itself, cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become lawful in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as South. "

    I fully expect either a civil war or just a complete breakdown of politics. Maybe a Reichstag fire

    1 vote
    1. [2]
      KapteinB
      Link Parent
      How could this escalate into a civil war?

      I fully expect either a civil war or just a complete breakdown of politics.

      How could this escalate into a civil war?

      1 vote
      1. AlastrionaCatskill
        Link Parent
        I mean, the American Civil war had symptoms in hindsight that correlate to today. Polarization of Congress (Democratic Party upholding Slavery, Republican Party fighting for its abolition) lead to...

        I mean, the American Civil war had symptoms in hindsight that correlate to today. Polarization of Congress (Democratic Party upholding Slavery, Republican Party fighting for its abolition) lead to fights breaking out in Congress (Preston Brooks beating up Charles Sumner with a cane). We have people today who will disavow family for supporting/detesting the President. We have such polarization today that the Overton Window is now two separate windows. Most young Democrats' window is 100% unthinkable in the Republican window and vice-versa.

        5 votes
  6. stephen
    Link
    /Head exploding noises and hand motions/ This is absolutely crazy!!! I cannot believe he starts out using the word shame so much. Hopefully it's to be a trend for former trump staffers and officials.

    /Head exploding noises and hand motions/

    This is absolutely crazy!!! I cannot believe he starts out using the word shame so much. Hopefully it's to be a trend for former trump staffers and officials.

    2 votes