WTF Community

Day 391

General Discussion
#1

Updated 2/14/2018 9:46 AM PST

1/ Trump's lawyer paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 out of his own pocket in order to buy the porn star's silence about Trump's alleged affair with her. "Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. [Daniels]," Michael Cohen said in a statement, adding: "And neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly." Cohen made the October 2016 payment through his LLC in exchange for the adult-movie star signing a nondisclosure agreement about her allegations of an affair that took place shortly after Melania, gave birth to Barron. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal)

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/02/14/day-391/
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#2

There’s been some questioning regarding the accuracy of this poll due to a shift in the sample base, etc. The most comprehensive thread I saw is here from Jesse Ferguson (and probably explains better than I can articulate lol).

One another note: Valentine’s Day…CIA style? :face_with_monocle:

(thread)

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#4

More coming soon from Stormy Daniels, who now feels free to tell her side story.

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#7

@matt & @mouseam

This is one to watch for sure… maybe we need a thread for stories that are not yet fully formed but would have a huge impact when the larger story comes out. :thinking:

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#9

Yes, great title! It would be good for rumored departures too.

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#10

A United States Senator really did just tweet this:

Incensed by Sessions letter An attempt to undermine Grassley/Durbin/Lee BIPARTISAN criminal justice reforms This bill deserves thoughtful consideration b4 my cmte. AGs execute laws CONGRESS WRITES THEM!

– Senator Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) 2/14/18, 1:30 PM

:thought_balloon: Seriously? How can this be real life?

Apparently, it was in response to a letter from Sessions opposing bill that aims to give judges more sentencing discretion, reduce racial disparity & lower incarceration rates. Sessions stated “it would reduce sentences for a highly dangerous cohort of criminals." (Read the full letter here.)

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#11

@anon95374541 Might need to get ready for some more departures. :thinking:

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#12

Oh I’m ready! :joy::joy::joy::joy:

#13

Does Cohen actually say he paid the $130,000 out of his own pocket? If Cohen’s statement above is the only statement he has made, which as far as I can tell is the case, he never actually says that. All Cohen says is that he used his personal funds to “facilitate a payment of $130,000.” - http://reason.com/volokh/2018/02/14/did-trumps-lawyer-pay-stormy-daniels-out

#14

I believe you’re correct…he spoke as only a lawyer does, seeming to say what people thought they heard, while leaving himself wiggle room by choosing his words with extreme care. Liar, lawyer…potato, po-tah-to…can’t we just lock them all up?

#15

You’re right up until you cited a reason.com article. Leave that garbage out of it. :v:

#16

Leave the garbage out of it? Because of the content in the Reason Article or because Reason is a conservative media source? Did you even read the Reason Article?

#17

Ari Melber tweeted about this yesterday and broke it down from lawyers perspective.

(It’s a thread within a reverse thread kinda lol.)

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#18

Because of the content in the Reason Article or because Reason is a conservative media source?

Neither. This link specifically has been sent to me several times across multiple platforms. I don’t care to be spammed by people with burner email addresses, even if it’s true. @z2791197 :eyes:

Did you even read the Reason Article?

No. See point above.

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#19

I brought that up too. :point_down:t3:

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#20

Shame you didn’t read the article. The person who wrote article did a great analysis of what was actually said or should I say not said.

#21

As a rule, I don’t read news analysis and I try to avoid talking heads, because I’ll make up my own mind about “what was actually said or should I say not said” based on the evidence available.

This kerfuffle over what a lawyer said, however, is perplexing. Of course Cohen’s language was precise and every word was intentional – he’s a fucking a lawyer.

Is anybody really surprised by this? Does anything about the story or the statement even pass the smell test? Should we expect this story to break the camel’s back?

No.

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#22

Dude, you could apply that statement to literally any Trump story and by next week there will be a new horrible thing to discuss. Lol. Let’s move on guys.

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#23

I think the best way to wrap this up is with a quick reminder that Michael Cohen is also the ”says who” guy… :rofl::rofl:

https://youtu.be/IAdGYYsG7yc

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#24

This all sounds like subtle extortion to me. I’m waiting for her to suddenly get quiet again. At that point, I’ll assume that somebody else in Trump’s circle generously gave her a substantial amount of money out of his own pocket because he’s a nice guy and she obviously must be a deserving young lady. I wonder how many times this will play out? And how much money will be paid out for the exclusive interview of we get to that? Stormy could come out of this with a nice little retirement fund.