Cohen in court: ex-lawyer admits lying to Congress

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US President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen ... appeared unexpectedly at federal court in Manhattan on Thursday morning ...

Thursday's development is the latest twist in the US Department of Justice special counsel's investigation into whether Mr Trump or his inner circle colluded with a Russian attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Up until now, Michael Cohen had been a tangential figure in Donald Trump's Russia-related headaches. After his plea agreement with the special counsel's office, however, he's now smack dab in the middle of Robert Mueller's probe.
In particular, Cohen is reportedly sharing information with the special counsel about Mr Trump's Russian business interests - including efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow - which, according to the president's former personal lawyer, continued well into Mr Trump's presidential campaign ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46390368

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1. Cohen pleads guilty to lying about Trump Tower project in Moscow

Nov. 29, 2018 / 9:36 AM EST / Updated 9:52 AM EST
By Tom Winter, Jane C. Timm and Ken Dilanian

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former longtime personal attorney and fixer, pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to a single count of making false statements to Congress about the project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Cohen's plea marked the first time that Trump and his private business dealings in Moscow were named in open court as part of Mueller's investigation into Russia's ties to the Trump campaign. Trump had said during his campaign in 2016 that he had no business interests in Russia, but Cohen, 52, said in his plea that those business interests were not severed and in fact continued into Trump's presidency in 2017.

Cohen, dressed in a navy suit and a white shirt for a surprise appearance in Manhattan court, said he made false statements regarding discussions with people within the Trump Organization, as well as people in Russia, about the project.

The plea also indicates that Cohen is cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller's prosecutors ...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/former-trump-attorney-michael-cohen-pleads-guilty-lying-congress-n941616

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2. The ever-growing list of people Trump says should be jailed

By Kyle Swenson November 29 at 5:38 AM

Prison is always creeping into President Trump’s thoughts. On Twitter, in interviews, at campaign rallies, the president is constantly referencing jail or crimes punishable by time inside a cramped cell.

It is not that Trump is focusing on how two members of his inner circle — Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort — are looking at serious prison sentences. Rather, Trump’s mind is constantly zeroing in on allegations and felonious innuendos related to his enemies. It seems that if you are on the president’s bad side, jail or prison is where you belong. Trump generally fires off these claims despite having zero obvious evidence of any actual illegal behavior.

Wednesday was a good example. On Trump’s Twitter page, the president shared a meme from a supporter’s account showing a variety of Trump enemies locked up behind bars. Included in the cast of characters was Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, the Justice Department official who until recently was overseeing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian election interference.

When asked later about why he would share an image featuring Rosenstein locked up, Trump had a blunt answer: “He should have never picked a special counsel,” Trump told the New York Post ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/29/an-incomplete-list-all-people-donald-trump-has-said-should-be-jailed/?utm_term=.9df5b8ac4919

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4. Donald Trump, Internet troll

Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
Updated 7:44 PM ET, Wed November 28, 2018

... the President is embracing his inner troll. Consider how Trump spent his Wednesday morning ...

The image features a series of people behind prison bars -- including special counsel Mueller, former President Barack Obama and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein -- with the words, "Now that Russian collusion is a proven lie, when do the trials for treason begin?" written across the picture.

Then, Trump retweeted another tweet from the same account that read: "Illegals can get up to $3,874 a month under Federal Assistance program. Our social security checks are on average $1200 a month. RT if you agree: If you weren't born in the United States, you should receive $0 assistance" ...

The common thread on all of this Trump Twitter activity? Conservative troll work. All of these notions -- that the Mueller probe is illegal and the people involved in its formation should be jailed, the false claim about the sort of government aid an undocumented immigrant is eligible to receive, the implied media toleration of racism by Democratic politicians -- have been kicking around the fever swamps of the conservative Internet right for a while now ...

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/28/politics/donald-trump-internet-troll/index.html

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3. Kremlin says Trump, Putin have agreed to meet at G-20 Saturday

By Amie Ferris-Rotman November 29 at 6:37 AM

MOSCOW — The Kremlin said Thursday that Washington has confirmed a one-on-one meeting between President Trump and Russian leader Vladi­mir Putin at noon on Dec. 1 at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina ...

“We are expecting the two presidents to speak briefly at first, but everything is left to the discretion of the heads of state,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“Washington has confirmed,” he added ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/kremlin-says-trump-putin-have-agreed-to-meet-at-g-20-summit-on-saturday/2018/11/29/610aba8e-f3bd-11e8-bc79-68604ed88993_story.html?utm_term=.2f1391035c3e

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5. All-Republican government will end as it began, in disarray

John Harwood
Published 3 Hours Ago
Updated 1 Hour Ago

... The president who vowed to make America great again has rattled financial markets, reduced farm exports and raised manufacturing costs with his tariff policies. As growth slows, he blames the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates and threatens General Motors for closing plants ...

The president who insisted Mexico would finance a border wall now wants American taxpayers to pay as a condition of keeping their government open. Congress doesn't intend to build the wall, so the government could shut down next week ...

Unlike Obama, Trump has supplied a steady stream of genuine scandal. Cabinet members and senior presidential aides have departed under ethical clouds, while Trump's former national security advisor and campaign chairman confessed to felonies.

Unprecedented turnover and turmoil hinder White House operations. Trump has filled just over half the administration jobs important enough to require Senate confirmation ...

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/29/the-all-gop-government-will-end-as-it-began-under-trump-in-disarray.html