Donald Trump and his friend and campaign advisor Roger Stone (File)
Donald Trump is accused of witness tampering, after Twitter messages directed at former advisors who are — and are not — cooperating with the Trump-Russia investigation.
Rattled by revelations from his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, linking Trump’s business interests in Russia with his 2016 campaign, Trump blasted on Monday:
“Michael Cohen asks judge for no Prison Time.” You mean he can do all of the TERRIBLE, unrelated to Trump, things having to do with fraud, big loans, Taxis, etc., and not serve a long prison term? He makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself, and get…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018
….his wife and father-in-law (who has the money?) off Scott Free. He lied for this outcome and should, in my opinion, serve a full and complete sentence.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018
Cohen once said he would “take a bullet” for Trump. However, when he pleaded guilty in August to eight counts over financial crimes and campaign finance violations — including payoffs to two women over claimed sexual encounters with Trump — he has been testifying to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators.
Last Thursday, Cohen pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to Congress. He said that the pursuit of a Trump Tower in Moscow continued until June 2016, when Trump was on the verge of the Republican nomination and amid Russian hacking to obtain e-mails which could damage Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton.
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After his verbal assault on his former lawyer, Trump turned to Roger Stone, a campaign advisor suspected of liaising with WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange to release the anti-Clinton material.
On Sunday, Stone told ABC News: “There’s no circumstance under which I would testify against the president because I’d have to bear false witness against him. I’d have to make things up, and I’m not going to do that.”
Trump praised the self-proclaimed “dirty trickster”, who remains in contact with the Trump camp:
“I will never testify against Trump.” This statement was recently made by Roger Stone, essentially stating that he will not be forced by a rogue and out of control prosecutor to make up lies and stories about “President Trump.” Nice to know that some people still have “guts!”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018
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Buoyed by the support, Stone’s friend Michael Caputo immediately launched a GoFundMe campaign for the advisor’s legal defense, while Stone used his Instagram account to hail Trump’s intervention.
Multiple legal analysts — including George Conway, the husband of White House advisor KellyAnne Conway — noted the statutes which Trump may have violated.
Criminal statutes for this news cycle:
18 USC 1512 -witness tampering
15 USC 78dd-1 -FCPA
18 USC 1503 -obstruction of justice
18 USC 1505 -obstruction of Congressional proceedings
18 USC 371 -conspiracy to obstruct
18 USC 1622 -suborning perjury
18 USC 1001 -false statements— Mieke Eoyang (@MiekeEoyang) December 3, 2018
Trump pressed ahead with a swing at Mueller’s team:
Bob Mueller (who is a much different man than people think) and his out of control band of Angry Democrats, don’t want the truth, they only want lies. The truth is very bad for their mission!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2018
He then remembered that Washington will be occupied today with memorial services for President George H.W. Bush, who died last week: “Looking forward to being with the Bush Family to pay my respects”.
Scott,
It’s obvious you don’t like Trump and I get that, However using the Bush family during this time of mourning to bash president Trump is
a cheap shot.
Bill
Bill,
I just report what’s happening.
S.