My take on Giuliani.

[rzemanfl]

It is too weird that news reports were saying this evening Catastrophuck wouldn't tell his own lawyers what was in Cohen's files. Giuliani goes on Hannity the same night and says stuff that's crazy-unless the FBI already has proof of it. I think Catastrophuck's lawyers sent Giuliani out to get ahead of the story as best they could. My suspicion is that it wasn't just Stormy who was paid off and the FBI has proof. I wonder what they have on Giuliani to get him to do this.

[MaryMagdaline]

1. Agree. Good analysis

[rzemanfl]

4. Thank you. Now we will see if they throw Rudy under the bus as a

crazy old man who was once a good lawyer but lost it tonight on TV.

[GusBob]

2. As another poster said damage control, and I agree

They got the story out their way

To their base none of this matters

[unblock]

8. If duct taping the titanic counts as damage control, sure

[rzemanfl]

13. Oh, I think this rises to the level of that goo they sell on TV that

makes a boat with a window screen bottom float. It will allow a few more rats to leave before the ship sinks.

[sprinkleeninow]

15. Damage control to the best of their ability. An' it ain't so hot!

'Scuse me while I heheheh.

[Thrill]

3. I think you give them too much credit

They just can’t keep up with all the lies. When trying to cover it up, bits of the real truth drip out

[rzemanfl]

6. Hell, I can't keep up with all the lies either. I wonder how many

NDAs there are and if the ladies were of legal age.

[LiberalFighter]

20. If there was any indication tonite on Late Nite Colbert

with Avenatti. Not enough time on the segment for Colbert to count until Michael gave the thumbs up. Avenatti looked at his watch.

[brooklynite]

5. ...except that the FBI having proof of the payoff isn't important...

....if no crime occurred. And if a crime did occur, Rudy denying it didn't help.

[rzemanfl]

7. Maybe not legally, although folks on TV seem to think it's

evidence of one or more crimes. I forget the exact words but Giuliani said something that makes me think this wasn't the only sex thing Cohen "fixed."

[dmkinsey]

17. Campaign finance law

Just off the top of my head,
If Trump used his own money to pay Daniels because it would help him in the election
That would be a campaign expenditure
and if he didn't report that he gave his campaign that money
that would violate the campaign finance law.

[rzemanfl]

18. Rudy said he did it over a period of months. That could be

illegal structuring per Avenatti and Wine-Banks.

[LiberalFighter]

21. The money also apparently went through a bank in California.

From NY to California.

[BootinUp]

9. Same reply

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=10569666

[Denzil_DC]

10. Maybe, but Giuliani's long been a loose cannon, to say the least.

Remember when his loose lips on Fox scuppered Trump's first attempt at an immigration executive order:

Asked if the new order had anything to do with religion, Mr. Giuliani held forth on how it had been devised and what he said had been his role in carrying out Mr. Trump’s wishes.

“I’ll tell you the whole history of it,” Mr. Giuliani said on Fox. “So when he first announced it, he said, ‘Muslim ban.’ He called me up and said, ‘Put a commission together, show me the right way to do it legally.’”

By focusing the order not on religion but on areas of the world that created danger for the United States, Mr. Giuliani said, the ban is “perfectly sensible, perfectly legal.”

Now federal courts are considering if the order is, in fact, “perfectly legal.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/nyregion/rudolph-giuliani-donald-trump-travel-ban.html

Giuliani later walked this WAY back - Giuliani Now Says He Had Nothing To Do With Trump's 'Muslim Ban' - so maybe that's how this latest goof will pan out?

[rzemanfl]

11. That's why he is a perfect vehicle. They can go either way from here

depending on how the base reacts.

[Denzil_DC]

16. Hmm. That would be quite crafty.

I'm hesitant to attribute anything resembling competence, forethought and coordination to the Trump cabal, though - even in nefarious matters. Their track record's appalling to the extent of being ludicrous.

As Rick Wilson keeps saying: Everything Trump Touches Dies. I'll maybe break out some popcorn and see how Rick's responding to this on Twitter.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

12. I think they'd rather admit the payment and control the message.

They will then claim that the payment was tawdry but certainly not illegal and that all of the Cohen raid documents should be excluded from investigators.

[rzemanfl]

14. I agree that is the message they'd like to put out. n/t

[KY_EnviroGuy]

23. One sinister thought....

tRump also denied the affair. Admitting the payment could lead to him being cornered to admit to the liaison.

So many lies. Melania surely is hiding in a basement broom closet.

[Generic Brad]

19. Or Trump and he may think liberals don't watch Fox News

So anything they say there is a secret. Shhhhhh!

[Sophia4]

22. I agree with you, rzemanfl.