There's something much more nefarious with the Michael Cohen case.

[kentuck]

Why would he get a loan on his house if he had $774,000 in a slush fund??

Why didn't he just write a check for $130,000??

Could it be that he wanted to hide where the money actually came from?

Nobody actually believes that he has that much money on hand just to handle "Trump problems" that might pop up. There is much more to this story.

Their method of operation is one of deception, to hide their tracks, to prevent discovery, and to keep the money flowing.

But where does the money come from? Where does it originate? Is Russia involved?

We don't yet know the answers but from the information that has come out in the last couple of days, it appears that Trump and Rudy are attempting to portray this as just a simple payment to protect Melania and the Family. But you can bet, there is much, much more to this story.

The relevant files from the search warrant will be handed over to the prosecutors in another week or two and the puzzle pieces should begin to fall together.

[greymattermom]

1. The timing of the payment shows that it's not related to the family.

because so many years, actually all of Barron's childhood, passed between the 'event' and the payment. The Trump group is all bluster and intimidation and no brains. Mueller, Avenatti, and their assembled experts are all brains, and are tougher than Trump. The country is a reality tv show with new episodes every day, and I'm betting on brains over bluster.

[bucolic_frolic]

14. Talk show guests have said similar

and the press counters - it only happened then because the Stormy story was about to be uncovered. Don't know what to make of it, but that's a question that must also be answered.

[True Blue American]

21. I think Avanetti

Revealed some of what he has yesterday. Many phone calls between Cohen and Stormys former Attorney right before the election.

[Siwsan]

2. Their spin doctors are no more adept at lying than are their medical doctors

I guess the ONLY qualification for working with trump* is incompetence.

[BobTheSubgenius]

23. You can't forget the loyalty.

That the loyalty requires a low level of mental acuity leaves your point completely intact.

[H2O Man]

3. Recommended.

Yesterday, I posted an essay here about Cohen's troubles. He is not merely caught between the federal investigators-prosecutors and Trump. He has bragged for years about being connected to the Russian mob. He now must realize they used him as a pathway to influence Trump. And so, to turn against Trump now, in an effort to save himself, he would have to cooperate against the Russian mob.

Many years ago, when my brothers and I had begun making a name for ourselves in boxing, some wealthy "fans" took an interest in us. They were nice to us, and being dumb kids, we were so pleased. Now, our father -- a first generation Irish American with 13 siblings and lots of cousins -- had siblings and cousins in state and federal police, and intelligence. They told us to be polite to these nice fellows, but to avoid connecting with them. We weren't happy, since these gentlemen were so nice to us. An uncle explained just who they were, why they were kind to us, and how we could eventually end up in their debt.

Years later, the same uncle helped send those guys to the federal pen.

[kentuck]

6. I would not be surprised if Russia is involved with the Stormy Daniels pay-off.

In fact, I would bet on it.

[Lucinda]

10. I think Trumpy talked to her about his Russian probs..and I think it is likely

related to underage girls.

[duforsure]

34. I agree

Did they already know what he liked and set him up by using under age girls? Do they have video's of him? Did he pay off the 13 year old that accused him of raping her, and had a witness?

[Lucinda]

42. Exactly. It's the only thing that makes sense to me...he doesn't seem to care about anything

else said about him.

[Blue_true]

43. Mueller and his team likely know all of that stuff.

When the truth about Trump explodes, it is going to be interesting to watch rightwing evangelicals and their hypocrisy.

[RandomAccess]

29. This may be of interest to you

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/992772353586233344.html

[kentuck]

33. Thanks RA!

That Prague trip begins to look more and more credible.

[lindysalsagal]

35. ALL money is russian mobster money. Period. It's all filthy, it's all illegal, it's all sanctioned.

and Mueller has the proof in cohen's crap. Now, mueller is setting up cohen to testify and/or plead guilty and hand over the docs.

Cohen's got it all.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

45. Oh, thank you again

I simply love the cat meme. I keep watching it over and over. It makes me laugh. And it describes perfectly how I feel about this whole mess.

[Backwoodsrider]

4. we are getting an education about the many ways some folks try and use the system

I might be wrong on the exact amounts but I thought the $749,000 Cohen had access to was actually 2 checks about $500,00 and $249,000 with the $500 being a mortgage his parents took out on their Trump appartment and the $133,000 was taken out of that $500,000.

[True Blue American]

22. The Inlaws condo

Was one of the stories. So many lies,who knows at this point?

[Blue_true]

44. The in laws are rich. Why would they need such a small Mortage?

This looks to entangle a lot of people, with Trump hidden at the center of the festering mess.

[csziggy]

27. Rather than being "checks" weren't they home equity loans?

My understanding is that Cohen arranged for home equity loans for a line of credit he could draw against. Usually those are made for home improvements and if that is what was stated on the home equity loan application that could be the bank fraud part of the potential charges by using it for other purposes.

As for the question (not yours, Backwoodsrider) about the loan on his in-laws apartment - if Cohen (and his wife) were co-signers on the original mortgage they could obtain a home equity loan on the same property if the in-laws agreed.

[B2G]

32. That's not bank fraud by any stretch.

Banks don't ask what the HELOC is for.

[csziggy]

37. According to the Wall Street Journal it could be

Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Used the Same Delaware Company for Payment Deals to Two Women
By Michael Rothfeld, Erica Orden and Joe Palazzolo
Updated April 15, 2018 10:50 p.m. ET

<SNIP>

Investigators are examining whether Mr. Cohen fraudulently used a bank loan for something other than the purpose he described on his loan application, the person said.

The Journal previously reported that First Republic Bank, which Mr. Cohen used to wire the payment to Ms. Clifford’s lawyer in October 2016, conducted its own investigation into the transaction after receiving a subpoena from federal authorities, according to another person familiar with the matter.

First Republic sent its findings to the Treasury Department in a so-called SAR, or suspicious-activity report, the person said. Such reports are required to be sent to the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network when banks observe transactions that have no apparent lawful purpose or deviate inexplicably from a customer’s normal bank activity.

First Republic Bank declined to comment.

More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-lawyer-michael-cohen-used-the-same-delaware-company-for-payment-deals-to-two-women-1523835216

[Backwoodsrider]

47. dont they have to tell the bank what the funds are going to be used for?

I thought they had to provide to the bank exactly where the funds were going but even if there is no further problems with cohen wiring the payment there are many more laws rules and regulations they had to follow. The Investigators are probably looking forward to a new work week, but the Trump team not so much.

[csziggy]

53. That's what the article seems to say

I have no experience with home equity loans - or mortgages for that matter - so I know nothing about how they work. What I have read indicates that if Cohen lied about the use of the money he could be in trouble.

I think the investigations into Trump's business and that of his associates is going to heat up a lot over the next month or two!

[Backwoodsrider]

54. next day or two!

going to be exciting week.

[milestogo]

5. The loan on the house was made-up shit.

He is a very wealthy man.

[Eyeball_Kid]

8. It's one interconnected money laundering scheme.

[kentuck]

9. And the RNC is right in the middle of it.

It is too explosive to print or to talk about....

[safeinOhio]

13. Lying to a bank about what a loan is for is

Bank Fraud.

[BobTheSubgenius]

25. Only if you're caught.

Oh, wait...

[lindysalsagal]

36. ALL the uses of the money are also illegal.

[OnDoutside]

28. Indeed, we haven't seen the paperwork, and was it exactly 130k ?

[spanone]

7. K&R...

[mountain grammy]

11. K&R for the truth

[bucolic_frolic]

12. Agreed kentuck

every time they shroud themselves in family or adoptions, be skeptical if not suspicious.

$774k is 3 sweeps from a trust, index mutual, or retirement account. $130k is almost chump change at their level, it's liquidity or cash equivalents to take advantage of opportunities.

Something's not adding up.

[Uncle Joe]

15. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kentuck.

[kentuck]

16. Good to see you, Uncle Joe!

Thanks!

[Uncle Joe]

17. It's good to see you as well kentuck!

[pamdb]

18. Cohen

The guy is from New York City and he went all the way to Lansing, Michigan to attend a tier 4 law school? Cooley Law is a joke in Michigan, one of the worst law schools in the country. I guess he couldn't get into Columbia.

[smirkymonkey]

19. I'm sure Mueller is on it.

It's not a good idea to be crooked when you are fantastically stupid.

[elmac]

20. people connected to the rich and powerful

can get a bankster loan for just about any amount, for any reason at almost zero interest. The banksters only screw the 90%

[Bernardo de La Paz]

24. Perceptive and important questions, kentuck. . . . nt

[RockRaven]

26. For one thing, Stormy wasn't the only pay-off, and we don't know about most of them yet

Also, I heard pointed out that if you've got access to a sleazy lawyer, lawyer fees (whether retainers or billed hours) are a common way of paying bribes, laundering money, etc through a second party (the lawyer). From the records of the source of the bribe, the client, the expenses look legit -- and like with art or real estate values, lawyers rates vary over a large range, so it's not always obvious that the client is overpaying/generating slush. The movement of money from client to lawyer seems clean, the other step may or may not.

Of course if the prosecutor gets access to the lawyers records, they can probably prove the bribes, money laundering, etc. Hence Trump's freak-out on Cohen getting raided.

[Garrett78]

30. As if Melania isn't fully aware of her husband's cheating.

She's in it for the money/lifestyle.

[triron]

31. Mostly to pay off Russian hackers.

[MFM008]

38. I bet

Mueller is asking himself the same questions...
If he doesnt know already....

[DallasNE]

39. Don't Recall The Source

But I read that Trump paid Cohen $35,000 a month for 12 months starting in January 2017. That amounts to $420,000. Trump was flush with left over money from his inauguration committee and that money has never been accounted for.

[paleotn]

40. As I've said before....

One doesn't raid the law office and residences of the personal lawyer to the president of the United States just over payoffs to a porn star. There's far more to the story than Stormy Daniels. Far more.

[triron]

41. +1000

[Cosmocat]

50. Yep

Have said the same thing.

[jberryhill]

52. Yep

[Cha]

46. Michael Avenatti says it best.. #basta

Link to tweet

[Kath2]

49. Yes.

Very well said.

[erronis]

48. And where does this all end up?

We all have opinions, some of us have some knowledge.

The DOJ has a lot of power to investigate, as does the New York and other state prosecutors. Robert Mueller operating as the Special Counsel has additional powers.

The representatives of the people (Senate and House) have been knee-capped and hijacked by special interests.

The legal branch (Supreme Court and lower federal courts) should be able to pass judgement in an impartial way, but they have been stacked or eviscerated.

The executive branch has a lot of actionable capabilities, including possible actions that would involve the military and foreign affairs.

The press - including these outlets, MSM, even fux have a tremendous influence but much is distraction versus useful information.

There are so many possible plot lines that could happen. Most of them not good for this country and its people.

Good night, and good luck!

[Amaryllis]

51. Isn't there always more to the story with this crew?

[mnhtnbb]

55. If $$ were paid to Cohen as attorney fees

by Trump and deducted on his taxes as legal fees, but not legit legal fees, then Trump is flat out caught for tax evasion.

Could have something to do with why Trump has refused to release his tax returns.

[Soxfan58]

56. What decent person needs a fixer?