Russian oligarch sent $500,000 to Michael Cohen

[fskimospy]

It is basically impossible for me to think of a legitimate reason for these payments, especially to a shell company. AT&T said they wanted Cohen’s insight into Trump. Fine, why not just pay Cohen directly? Why hide it? What possible legitimate reason is a Russian oligarch secretly funneling $500k to Cohen’s LLC? I don’t think it’s for his legal services.

Also, all this money is coming in to him and yet he’s still mortgaging his house to pay off Stormy? Where is all the money going?

 

[zinfamous]

I’m convinced Trump is the source of all leaks. The man just wants his easy life back

It almost certainly is Trump. But it's not because he wants his old life back...which he does.

It's because he can't help being Trump: He boasts like a 10 year-old, every time he opens his mouth. he can't fucking help himself. He talks to people like he's a fucking ball-less pre-pube. Every fucking day. He does it on camera, he does it with anyone that will listen to him, and he certainly does it with world leaders.

The world warned everyone about this useless sack of excrement. So don't be surprised when the known sack of shit turns out to be a sack of shit, digging its own hole.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

I, for one, can't wait to hear what Rudy Giuliani has to say about all this

 

[zinfamous]

I, for one, can't wait to hear what Rudy Giuliani has to say about all this

Apparently businessmen make great presidents! Who knew?!

 

[HomerJS]

4.5 million moved through that LLC since Cohen set it up. More dirt to come

Cohen allegedly utilized shell company Essential Consultants L.L.C to pay money to adult-film star Stormy Daniels over an alleged affair with the president in 2006. The company, according to The New York Times, also was used for a series of business transactions and around $4.5 million ran through it from approximately November 2016 up until January 2018.

 

[zinfamous]

4.5 million moved through that LLC since Cohen set it up. More dirt to come

that's one meaty nothingburger.

I mean, is this the STORM?

 

[sandorski]

In before Trump was born in Moscow to a peasant girl who was Brezhnev's lover.

 

[tweaker2]

Why is it that I get the feeling we're just peeling away the first layer of this rotting stinking onion that is the Trump business and ancillary expense portfolio?

Mueller must have felt he hit the mother lode when he got his hands on Cohen's files and Trump's ass must've puckered up into his colon when he found out about it.

 

[senseamp]

President's personal lawyer getting paid off by Russian oligarchs, and then using that money pool to pay hush money to Trump's mistresses. We definitely don't need checks and balances in November, amirite, Republicans?

 

[cytg111]

meanwhile Nunes is going full retard. again.
When do we begin to consider that Trump is not the only one that the Kremlin has kompromat on?

 

[Paratus]

I, for one, can't wait to hear what Rudy Giuliani has to say about all this

Apparently businessmen make great presidents! Who knew?!

You know Giuliani’s behavior reminds me of an old Monty Python bit.

John Cleese is a lawyer who shows up late to a murder trial and begins interrogating the defendant:

CLEESE: I put it to you that you murdered these people.
DEFENDANT: I did. I did murder these people.
CLEESE: I say you murdered these people!
DEFENDANT: Yes. yes I did! I murdered these people!
CLEESE: Come on man OUT WITH IT! YOU murdered these people!
DEFENDANT: I DID! I murdered them!
CLEESE: AH AH AH AH!! We weedled it out of you!
COURT STENOGRAPHER: You do realize you are the lawyer for the defense?
CLEESE: Oh!.... SHIT. UM can you strike that last part?
JUDGE: Yes yes please strike that from the record.
COURT STENOGRAPHER: Sure. I hadn’t gotten that far anyway.

 

[Thebobo]

4.5 million moved through that LLC since Cohen set it up. More dirt to come

lol the whole group is layered in corruption.

 

[snoopy7548]

The fact that AT&T is involved in this completely boggles my mind but also makes total sense.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

So now Novartis is saying they paid Cohen about $! million dollars for "health care policy matters".

Someone want to explain to me what that means and how Mr. Cohen is qualified for that?

https://www.reuters.com/article/bri...linked-to-ceo-dinner-with-trump-idUSFWN1SF05U

* SAYS HIRED ESSENTIAL CONSULTANTS BECAUSE BELIEVED MICHAEL COHEN COULD ADVISE ON HOW TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MIGHT APPROACH U.S. HEALTHCARE POLICY, INCLUDING AFFORDABLE CARE ACT


* SAYS THE AGREEMENT WAS FOR A TERM OF ONE YEAR, AND PAID ESSENTIAL CONSULTANTS 100,000 USD PER MONTH


* SAYS NOVARTIS HAD FIRST MEETING WITH MICHAEL COHEN IN MARCH 2017, SAYS DETERMINED AFTER MEETING THAT COHEN WOULD BE UNABLE TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES ANTICIPATED


* SAYS COHEN CONTRACT COULD ONLY BE TERMINATED FOR CAUSE, SO PAYMENTS CONTINUED TO BE MADE UNTIL THE CONTRACT EXPIRED BY ITS OWN TERMS IN FEBRUARY 2018

* SAYS CONTRACT WAS IN NO WAY RELATED TO GROUP DINNER CEO NARASIMHAN ATTENDED AT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM IN DAVOS WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Reporting By Zurich newsroom)

 

[Jhhnn]

It is basically impossible for me to think of a legitimate reason for these payments, especially to a shell company. AT&T said they wanted Cohen’s insight into Trump. Fine, why not just pay Cohen directly? Why hide it? What possible legitimate reason is a Russian oligarch secretly funneling $500k to Cohen’s LLC? I don’t think it’s for his legal services.

Also, all this money is coming in to him and yet he’s still mortgaging his house to pay off Stormy? Where is all the money going?

Cohen paid off Stormy before the money started coming in. Had Trump lost he'd likely have received none of it.

He's been riding the gravy train on the basis that he might have super-sekrit insights into Trump & that he might have the ability to sway decisions. He probably should have registered as a lobbyist...

 

[Triloby]

The fact that AT&T is involved in this completely boggles my mind but also makes total sense.

It's also explains where a lot of the "anti-Net Neutrality" shilling comes from. None of it was ever genuine.

 

[fskimospy]

Let’s just take a step back and note again that corporations and foreign entities with business before the federal government are secretly funneling millions of dollars into a hidden shell corporation owned by the president's personal lawyer and fixer and the reasons given for it are transparently false.

Any conservative that pretended to be outraged about the made up Uranium One ‘scandal’ should be going ballistic right now. This isn’t someone giving money to a transparent nonprofit, this is millions in cash payments to a hidden slush fund whose only known purpose is to benefit the president.

 

[soulcougher73]

In before Trump was born in Moscow to a peasant girl who was Brezhnev's lover.

I demand to see his birth certificate!! No...the real one...

 

[zinfamous]

So now Novartis is saying they paid Cohen about $! million dollars for "health care policy matters".

Someone want to explain to me what that means and how Mr. Cohen is qualified for that?

https://www.reuters.com/article/bri...linked-to-ceo-dinner-with-trump-idUSFWN1SF05U

On Morning addition today they were saying that Novartis and Korea Airlines (Was it?) responded that the money was for "consultation fees" relating to policy matters for the incoming administration. Basically, they wanted a general idea of upcoming policy as it relates to their sectors of the market.

....I honestly don't get how that works, though. Is it actually legal for them to pay a guy these fees, for this service (which I understand that in and of itself is certainly normal) to gain access to incoming POTUS? The structure is what seems very bizarre to me, and of course with hindsight, you know have a timeline to show exactly what these "fees" got in terms of policy for these companies, in merely a year's time.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

On Morning addition today they were saying that Novartis and Korea Airlines (Was it?) responded that the money was for "consultation fees" relating to policy matters for the incoming administration. Basically, they wanted a general idea of upcoming policy as it relates to their sectors of the market.

....I honestly don't get how that works, though. Is it actually legal for them to pay a guy these fees, for this service (which I understand that in and of itself is certainly normal) to gain access to incoming POTUS? The structure is what seems very bizarre to me, and of course with hindsight, you know have a timeline to show exactly what these "fees" got in terms of policy for these companies, in merely a year's time.

It's fine to pay him for information. If the money didn't filter to Trump it's fine. If he was using that to gain access then perhaps registering as a lobbyist might have been required but if they are just saying "Hey, you know this guy. What can we expect?" I don't think there would be anything anyone could do.

 

[fskimospy]

On Morning addition today they were saying that Novartis and Korea Airlines (Was it?) responded that the money was for "consultation fees" relating to policy matters for the incoming administration. Basically, they wanted a general idea of upcoming policy as it relates to their sectors of the market.

Those are transparent lies and we all know it. Why would Novartis think that Cohen knew about Trump's position on the ACA? More importantly, why would they agree to pay him $1.2 million before having any idea what he knew? Korea Aerospace similarly claimed they hired Michael Cohen for advice about US accounting standards. WTF would they hire Trump's personal fixer to tell them about accounting standards instead of hiring...say... an accountant. And why do all this in secret through shell companies instead of just hiring him as a consultant like normal people?

....I honestly don't get how that works, though. Is it actually legal for them to pay a guy these fees, for this service (which I understand that in and of itself is certainly normal) to gain access to incoming POTUS? The structure is what seems very bizarre to me, and of course with hindsight, you know have a timeline to show exactly what these "fees" got in terms of policy for these companies, in merely a year's time.

Yes, it's legal for them to pay Cohen money to get his thoughts. The real issue is that money very likely didn't stay with Cohen. By far the most plausible answer here is that money went to benefit Trump in some way and that is a crime.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Let’s just take a step back and note again that corporations and foreign entities with business before the federal government are secretly funneling millions of dollars into a hidden shell corporation owned by the president's personal lawyer and fixer and the reasons given for it are transparently false.

Any conservative that pretended to be outraged about the made up Uranium One ‘scandal’ should be going ballistic right now. This isn’t someone giving money to a transparent nonprofit, this is millions in cash payments to a hidden slush fund whose only known purpose is to benefit the president.

Excellent thought let's find out.

@brandonbull
https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...uranium-one-deal.2527367/page-3#post-39172636

@imported_tajmahal related to uranium one and Russian bribes
https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/mueller.2536183/page-5#post-39296827

@shady28 This one is great, its about Russia funneling money to the Clintons via the charity to reset relations.
https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/mueller.2536183/page-5#post-39296900

So much wrong with that above post, so much.

@werepossum regarding "forgotten" donations to the Clinton foundation
https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...uranium-one-deal.2527367/page-8#post-39176085

@momeNt
https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...uranium-one-deal.2527367/page-7#post-39174393

@Alpha One Seven
https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/trump-has-fired-tillerson.2540290/page-12#post-39344034
Trump cannot be bought...

 

[UNCjigga]

....I honestly don't get how that works, though. Is it actually legal for them to pay a guy these fees, for this service (which I understand that in and of itself is certainly normal) to gain access to incoming POTUS?The structure is what seems very bizarre to me, and of course with hindsight, you know have a timeline to show exactly what these "fees" got in terms of policy for these companies, in merely a year's time.

Let me put it this way...FUCK NO it isn't legal, or at the very least highly unethical. Remember, Michael Cohen has never held any official role with the White House or the Administration. He does not collect a government paycheck, nor does he represent any cabinet officials on any policy matters. Even if he did, you'd bet your ass that there had better be a procurement paper trail for any 'Essential Consultants' services rendered on behalf of the US Government. I guess one might argue that these were services provided on behalf of the transition team, but then any payments would need to be tied to services that occurred BEFORE inauguration day. I'm not even sure the RNC can cover his ass after Trump assumed office.

 

[HomerJS]

Cohen would have been required to register as a lobbyist which he didn't

 

[Thump553]

It is almost inconceivable to me that Cohen was so reckless and penny pinching not to have set up at least one more LLC, or preferably separate LLCs for each such bribe/consultation-if for nothing else than to keep it totally apart from his payoff duties. In my state it costs $120 in state filing fees to start an LLC.

This is on par with Nixon recording everything for stupidity in a criminal conspiracy.

You can bet Mueller's office already has traced where this money went after Cohen's LLC. The noose is tightening.