When he entered his guilty plea in a Manhattan court in late August, Michael Cohen — who served as an attorney and “fixer” for Donald Trump over the course of a decade — agreed to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller in exchange for consideration when he’s sentenced on charges of tax fraud, false statements to a bank, and campaign finance violations.
Now we learn that Cohen has held “multiple” meetings with Mueller’s investigators, and what he’s discussing should be of special concern to the president and also to members of his family.
ABC News reports:
“The special counsel’s questioning of Cohen, one of the president’s closest associates over the past decade, has focused primarily on all aspects of Trump’s dealings with Russia — including financial and business dealings and the investigation into alleged collusion with Russia by the Trump campaign and its surrogates to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.”
Pay special attention to the words “Trump campaign and its surrogates,” because that’s where Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Ivanka Trump enter the picture.
Cohen has also been meeting with prosecutors from the New York attorney general’s office, and that’s very bad news for Trump because he has no pardon power in the state, so he cannot hope to shield his family from charges that may be filed by the New York AG.
In June, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood filed charges against three of Trump’s children. The suit alleges:
“Trump’s charitable foundation and its directors … ‘operated in persistent violation of state and federal law governing New York State charities’ for more than a decade by paying off legal bills with charitable funds, promoting Trump hotels, and purchasing personal items.
“The lawsuit names Trump, his sons Don Jr. and Eric, and his daughter, Ivanka, as defendants.”
And now Cohen can provide evidence that the Trumps did indeed violate New York law, not to mention what information he can provide to Mueller’s team regarding the president and his children and the role each played in the 2016 election contacts with Russia, which would be a conspiracy against the United States.
Add all of this to the facts that can be offered by former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who is also cooperating with the special counsel, and you have a nightmare scenario for Donald Trump. His actions may well result in putting Don Jr, Eric, Ivanka, and Jared Kushner in prison for decades.
Lock them all up and throw away the damn key!