Trump Proclaims “No Collusion!” As Supporters Highlight Inconsistencies In Cohen Testimony
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Sat, 12/08/2018
Washington media exploded Friday night following the publication of sentencing memos filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and prosecutors with the SDNY which called for Cohen to serve a “substantial” prison sentence (NY prosecutors recommended a “slight downward variance” of 42 months), arguing that the attorney’s decision to rat on his former boss with his back against the wall wasn’t a noble act and didn’t excuse his many criminal acts – from bank fraud to violations of campaign finance laws – that were committed with the assumption of impunity, and without the knowledge of the family Cohen has claimed to be trying to protect.
As a refresher, here are a few of the highlights from the memos:
Mueller said Cohen had “gone to significant lengths to assist the Special Counsel’s investigation” and met with the special counsel’s office on 7 occasions. Still, Mueller didn’t ask for leniency and said any prison sentence imposed by the New York judge would be appropriate.
Cohen provided information about his contacts with “Russian interests,” including his and others’ involvement in the Moscow Project and Russians’ outreach to the campaign.
“Synergy on a government level”: One Russian national who contacted Cohen in late 2015 claimed to be a “trusted person” in the Russian Federation reached out and claimed they could offer the campaign “synergy on a government level.”
“By virtue of his regular contact with Company executives during the campaign,” Cohen provided the Special Counsel’s office “useful information concerning certain discrete Russia-related matters core to its investigation.”
The White House link: Cohen provided “relevant and useful information” about his contacts with “persons connected to the White House” from 2017 to 2018.
During his proffer sessions, Cohen admitted that he had previously lied about an invitation to arrange a meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin in late 2015. Cohen claimed that, in fact, he had discussed the possibility with Trump.
Federal Prosecutors for the first time also said that Cohen committed campaign finance crimes “in coordination with and at the direction of [Donald Trump, aka Individual-1]”
While the Washington press corp was quick to assume that these revelations suggest that Mueller will try to frame Trump as working to orchestrate wide-ranging collusion with a foreign government (in the documents, Trump was referred to only as “Individual 1”), many, including the president himself, pointed out that these allegations amount to little more than hearsay and are totally dependent on the word of an admitted liar.
The Rest…HERE
