The Story
Yesterday, you saw a lot of headlines about President Trump's no good, very bad day.
Yes, halp.
Two former Trump aides are in serious legal trouble: Paul Manafort – his former campaign chairman – who was found guilty of eight counts of bank and tax fraud. And Michael Cohen – his former lawyer and fixer – who pleaded guilty to multiple counts including tax evasion and violating campaign finance law. The campaign finance violation is a BFD because Cohen said Trump was the one who told him to do it (it, meaning...pay off women who claim they've had affairs with Trump). And Cohen said he did it mainly to influence the election – implicating POTUS in a federal crime. Like we said, BFD.
Ok, up to speed. What's the latest?
Cohen seems ready to talk. His lawyer says he might be willing to chat with special counsel Robert Mueller about Trump's knowledge of Russian collusion and email hacking during the 2016 presidential campaign. Meanwhile, NY state investigators subpoenaed Cohen as part of another Trump probe related to his foundation.
What does Trump have to say?
'Cohen, you're dead to me.' But he called Manafort a "brave man" who refused to "break" under pressure. He played down the campaign finance issue – saying he only learned of Cohen's hush money "later on." And that the payments weren't a violation because the money came from him, not his campaign (note: a few months ago, Trump said he didn't know anything about these payments). Details.
Where do things go from here?
There are multiple ways this could play out. Let's break them down:
For Trump...It's unclear. He could be indicted as a co-conspirator to Cohen's crimes...or not. He could be impeached...or not.
For Cohen...He could cooperate with Mueller's investigation to potentially get his sentence reduced. Otherwise, he's already agreed to go along with a sentence between roughly four to five years.
For Manafort...He could either cooperate with Mueller's investigation to get his sentence reduced. Or he could face a maximum of 80 years in prison. Or...Trump may be willing to pardon his ol' pal. Either way, he's got another trial coming up next month for different charges.
theSkimm
Trump has called the Mueller investigation a "witch hunt." Neither Manafort's nor Cohen's crimes are directly related to Russian collusion. But the walls have started to close in on the president. TBD if he'll come out of this unscathed.
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