Trump's Open Admission of Witness Intimidation

[Airbrush]

Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, said Trump has been threatening Cohen, as well as suggesting that his father-in-law could be investigated for unspecified crimes because he is a wealthy Ukranian and therefore must be involved in organized crime.   “And not only was he intimidated, but he believes his family also has been intimidated and threatened,” Davis said.

Trump denied the claim and told reporters that Cohen was “threatened by the truth.”

Trump admitted to reporters of witness intimidation with his response to the question "Are you threatening Cohen and his family?"  Trump confirmed a threat exists and replied that Cohen was "threatened by the truth."   In this context Trump regards himself as the "truth" in the threat.  Cohen and his family are threatened by the truth (Trump).   This looks like thinly-veiled, out-in-the-open witness intimidation.  Add this to the list of reasons to impeach.

Read more: https://forward.com/fast-forward/418139/trump-is-threatening-michael-cohens-father-in-law-with-investigation/

Edited January 25, 2019 by Airbrush

[MigL]

Is this not a crime ?
And certainly grounds for impeachment.
Can it really be this difficult to get rid of this idiot that has made America the laughing stock of the world ?

[iNow]

4 minutes ago, MigL said:

Is this not a crime ?
And certainly grounds for impeachment.

Of course it is (and it’s hardly his first crime). Now it comes down to proving it .

4 minutes ago, MigL said:

Can it really be this difficult to get rid of this idiot that has made America the laughing stock of the world ?

Yes, especially when his removal will be a PURELY political act and 40% of the country supports him unwaveringly. 

*Purely as in, impeachment has nothing to do with law breaking and everything to do with voting

Edited January 25, 2019 by iNow

[Raider5678]

1 hour ago, MigL said:

Is this not a crime ?

It is a crime, but it needs to be proven.

Also, this "open admission" would never hold up in the court of law. Whether it's actually happening or not, it takes quite a bit of a stretch to say that when Trump said Cohen is "threatened by the truth" he's actually admitting to threatening him. 

 

[iNow]

The mere fact that this story is in the headlines will be enough for the most hardcore Trump tribalists to make real threats against Cohens family. 

It'll be a bit like the guy who thought H.Clinton was running a child trafficking ring out of the basement of a pizzeria, and so he stormed it with his guns ready, except this time it will have been subtly assisted by a clever president who’s been practicing deniability for decades and as a way of tampering with the witness. 

It’s like he watches an episode of the Sopranos each night to decide how he’ll act in the morning. 

[rangerx]

40 minutes ago, iNow said:

The mere fact that this story is in the headlines will be enough for the most hardcore Trump tribalists to make real threats against Cohens family. 

It'll be a bit like the guy who thought H.Clinton was running a child trafficking ring out of the basement of a pizzeria, and so he stormed it with his guns ready, except this time it will have been subtly assisted by a clever president who’s been practicing deniability for decades and as a way of tampering with the witness. 

It’s like he watches an episode of the Sopranos each night to decide how he’ll act in the morning. 

Can you imagine what would have resulted had Richard Nixon went after John Dean's family? Had he done that, I'm certain Ford and the rest of the Republican party would have been reticent to grant him a pardon for stepping down.

Watergate concluded because it was the republicans that finally put their foot down and said enough is enough for the sake of the party and the country, but today's republicans are silent as the crypt, even though the situation has long since spiraled downward, lower from Nixon's capitulation point.

[Ten oz]

11 hours ago, MigL said:

And certainly grounds for impeachment.

Impeachment is a political process. Congress can technically hold Impeachment proceeding as they see fit provided they have the votes. The problem is that it takes a certain amount of political courage and determination to impeach a President. No President in History has ever been removed from office via impeachment. Nixon came the closest but stepped down before it happened. Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson are the only 2 Presidents over impeached in the House but both were acquitted by the Senate and remained in Office. 

Trump has already done any number of things which could be considered grounds for impeachment.  

[Airbrush]

16 hours ago, Raider5678 said:

It is a crime, but it needs to be proven.

Also, this "open admission" would never hold up in the court of law. Whether it's actually happening or not, it takes quite a bit of a stretch to say that when Trump said Cohen is "threatened by the truth" he's actually admitting to threatening him. 

There is such a vast record of Trump's thoughts given in his tweets, that a compelling case can be made that in Trump's mind HE is the ultimate agent of the "truth."

Will that work in a court of law?  Probably not, but in the court of public opinion it can lead to a political resolution.