Speculation on MSNBC that Avenatti has seen some of the documents seized in the FBI raid from Cohen. Avenatti may have been some party to that search warrant that would allow him some access that the FBI couldn’t block.
From the NYT story tonight. $4.4 million!
Was it a gift? A loan? whaaat?
Good question. I don’t know.
But Avenatti – who may have seen documentation seized in that FBI raid – says that it’s poppycock, that it is indeed payment.
The most extraordinary thing about this, if it is true, is that they lied and said Trump provided that money (a bad thing) because the truth was way worse.
But if so, how could they have thought, with the fbi having seized docs from Cohen, that the truth wouldn’t come out? Is this the reason for the sudden hard press to stop the investigation?
One other point that Ari Melber brought up on MSNBC a little while ago (and he’s a lawyer, so he’d know better than I): the FBI and any investigators will be looking for activity from Essential Consultants, LLC. Did it…do stuff? It’s registered as a Real Estate consultancy. So…did it do that? Did it transact day-today business? Like, was there an office somewhere? Even a staffer maybe doing something?
Because that’s where the whole SCOTUS ruling that basically legalizes parts of pay to play and bribery runs out of gas. Apparently your LLC has to do stuff if you’re collecting big sums of money and disbursing them. You can’t just operate it as a shell with multiple incoming payments totaling millions.
Josh Marshall at TPM just raised another interesting point: all the payments to Essential basically stop in January of 2018.
What happened in January of 2018?
First mention of Essential Consultants in the Wall Street Journal, appearing in one of their first Stormy Daniels stories.
One other interesting thing that Chris Hayes raised: how did these payees know to “hire” Essential Consultants in the first place?
Not just a lawyer - also an original gangsta hip-hop connoisseur!
I noticed he broke out some Young Thug lyrics tonight…
I mean, it says so right in the name. You have to hire them, they’re essential!
As I’m trying to absorb information on this, one other thing strikes me. It is – as mentioned here – legal to engage in pay for play and bribery.
You just have to be above-board about it. “Here’s some bribe money, let’s chat.”
What you apparently can’t do is set up a slush fund to shelter that bribe money from.
No worries, I’m sure the asshats in the SC that made that legal will soon be able to remedy the situation and make the even shadier shit legal as well.
Also, someone in the WH please get Trump his iphone now!
Because money coming from a Russian oligarch would draw attention, presumably? Not being facetious here, just trying to keep up.
This is, of course, the same Vekslberg who was chatted up by the FBI at the airport awhile back, and who is believed to have been at the inauguration:
Days before Donald Trump’s swearing in ceremony, the FBI believes at least half-a-dozen powerful Russian figures and activists were in Washington
The presence of high-profile Russians such as business tycoon Viktor Vekselberg and Natalia Veselnitskaya reportedly raised concerns in the agency
I love the escalation in just a couple of hours.
Payment of $400,000…
Payments of over $1 million…
Payments of at least $4.4 million…
Yeah, the rapidity is astounding.
Seriously I expected it would all be hearsay and speculation for months, not confirmed and then some in hours.
This is legit insane. But I bet every trumpista who ranted about Hillary and pay to play, with no basis, will ignore this entirely.
Come on, have you no faith in the intellectual consistency and integrity of Trump supp –
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
It’s been spun to me as “Nobody cared when the Clintons did it for 8 years, Democrats just have a hard on for Trump. If this is suddenly a problem then the Clintons should be put in a cell too.”
It never matters (to the Trumpsters I talk to) what Trump or his team has done, he is virtually untouchable until Bill and Hillary face justice first. Because if they get away with “it” then he should too. It never matters what “it” is, they were always guilty of it first.
Hey, if locking the Clintons up gets the entire White House thrown in jail, that’s a price I’m willing to pay. Sorry Hillary.
WHY ARENT ANY PORN STAR LAWYERS SPENDING THIS MUCH EFFORT ON KILLARY’S EMAILS?