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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Another one flips like a pancake.
Michael Cohen’s Business Partner Agrees to Cooperate as Part of Plea Deal
Under the agreement, the partner, Evgeny A. Freidman, a Russian immigrant who is known as the Taxi King, will avoid jail time, and will assist government prosecutors in state or federal investigations, according to a person briefed on the matter.
Mr. Cohen’s conduct was initially examined by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating the 2016 election that led to Mr. Trump’s victory, and then referred to the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan. Last month, federal agents carried out search warrants at Mr. Cohen’s home, his office and a hotel room where he was staying, seeking documents related to his business associates and accountants.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers have been resigned to the strong possibility that the investigation of Mr. Cohen’s businesses could lead him to cooperate with federal prosecutors.
That likelihood could become greater with a business partner of Mr. Cohen’s cooperating with law enforcement.
Mr. Freidman has been Mr. Cohen’s partner in the taxi business for years, managing cabs for him even after New York City regulators barred Mr. Freidman last year from continuing to manage medallions.
Mr. Freidman, who was disbarred earlier this month, had been accused of failing to pay more than $5 million in taxes and faced four counts of criminal tax fraud and one of grand larceny — all B felonies. Each carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
Instead, he appeared in court in Albany on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to a single count of evading only $50,000 worth of taxes; he faces five years of probation if he fulfills the terms of his agreement, the judge, Patrick Lynch of Albany County court, said during the roughly 20-minute proceeding.
“Do you understand the nature of the benefit your attorneys have accomplished on your behalf?” the judge asked Mr. Freidman during the proceeding on Tuesday.
“I greatly understand that and appreciate it,” Mr. Freidman replied.
After Mr. Freidman’s guilty plea, his lawyer, Patrick J. Egan of Fox Rothschild, declined to comment. But earlier this year, he said his client “considers Michael a very good friend and a great client.”
That is a really good plea deal. I wonder what he has, that makes him so valuable to investigators.
It's also interesting, because their using state crimes to get him to cooperate with Federal Investigators in the SDNY.
edited 22nd May '18 4:26:42 PM by megaeliz
I have a question concerning presidents. I assume that if someone is elected but dies before their inauguration, the running mate becomes president. However:
- If that happens, who's chosen for vice president? I know of the Baltimore Plot, so I'm wondering that if Lincoln was killed in it before he can be inaugurated who would be Hannibal Hamlin's vice president?
- What happens if the president dies after the vice president has already died. I am thinking of Franklin Pierce in mind. His VP William Rufus King died shortly into his term, and Pierce was in a nasty train accident that took his son's life. If it had taken his life instead, who would have become president and vice president?
- If a party has already chosen a candidate and that candidate dies during the candidacy, what happens? For example, if Donald Trump died while he was still the main Republican candidate, what would the Republic party have done for the 2016 election?
If the President dies when there is no living Vice President, the Speaker of the House becomes President. The line of succession is explicit.
An inter-election VP is appointed by the Senate, IIRC.
The party appoints the nominee, had Trump or anyone else dropped out for whatever reason, the Delegates would select another nominee.
As for a President-Elect dying, I'm not sure. I think it would come down to Congress, but they'd be heavily pressured to select the existing VP-elect.
edited 22nd May '18 5:53:16 PM by Rationalinsanity
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.![]()
During the times of Pierce and Lincoln, there was no replacement; when the VP became President, they served their terms without a new Vice President, as the selection for Vice President was nearly the exact same as the President at the time (they had to be elected by the Electoral College separately from what I remember). It wasn't until the 25th Amendment that Vice Presidents-to-Presidents were given the right to have a VP under them. Of the Vice Presidents that have succeeded the President, only Gerald Ford has had a Vice President under them without an Election.
edited 22nd May '18 6:15:48 PM by DingoWalley1
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More pressure on Cohen can only be a good thing. Yes, he's personally loyal to Trump, but how long until he realizes that spending decades in prison (which Trump may be unable to pardon, if he's willing to do so at all) isn't worth not hurting Cheeto's feelings.
Trump can only pardon people for federal crimes. Mueller has got several people to testify by getting state prosecutors to indite them. (indight? both spellings look wrong.) Trump can't pardon them, forcing them to cut deals to tesitfy if they want to avoid jail.
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.This
is awesome.
If you ever wondered if our Democracy is falling to this all out assault on the Rule of Law, and Democratic Systems, this is a really good reminder:
He's a Mobster who's caught because America ain't over. 😎
If America were over and if the shitty golfer masquerading as POTUS were in charge of jack shit, Paul Ryan wouldn't have retired.
If America were "over" and if Trump had any swing at all in this, nobody would take a plea deal because, hey, keep your mouth shut and WAIT FOR THE DICTATOR TO ACT!
If America were BOO HOO IN PERMANENT DECLINE 😭😭😭 then they'd have purged the IC and DOJ, issued some blanket statements, and gone on selling this place for parts.
Oh, these scumbags tried. And they've been using their bought-and-paid-for media stooges to psychologically terrorize you every damn day about it.
BUT THEY FAILED.
America is a land still run by the Constitution and the Rule of Law. It's why getting rid of these treasonweasels is taking so long.
WE'RE DOING IT BY THE BOOK.
Why bother? It's an emergency? Why not just rush in and handcuff the shit out of the people we know are dirty.
BECAUSE IT'S NOT AMERICA'S SYSTEM, WHICH IS A VERY GOOD ONE, AND NOT AT ALL OVER OR BROKEN.
In fact, America is SO NOT BROKEN that we've been resilient in the face of all manner of attacks - the number and type and authors of which will horrify you - and STILL WE WILL CATCH THESE CROOKS BY THE BOOK AT THE SAME TIME.
A lesser nation may have needed to be saved by martial law. But America is stronger than that. It can right itself by its democracy and the legal system that stems from it DURING AN ALL-OUT ASSAULT ON IT.
Our intelligence community and Do D continue to protect the nation from all enemies foreign and domestic. And where criminal charges are needed, WE STILL USE THE COURT SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE WE RESPECT THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS OF ALL CITIZENS.
It's kind of amazing. Consider that the IC has MOUNTAINS of data about Trump, Cohen, Prince, Greitens, all them.
And yet the Do J still protects their Constitutional rights WHILE investigating their most heinous crimes. BECAUSE THEY ARE AMERICANS.
Yes, even a scumsucking traitor like Paul Manafort is getting due process. He has the right to a vigorous defense, and judges hear his motions/pleadings even though he's a traitor fuckbag.
BECAUSE THIS IS AMERICA.
This isn't Russia, where they throw people in cages and beat confessions out of them and kill the defense attorneys and knife witnesses and then dare call themselves a nation that deserves recognition on the world stage.
THIS IS AMERICA.
And if we still use our rule of law and democratically elected government and lawful intelligence community and our courts A DANGER OF THIS MAGNITUDE?
Well, it's because it's a pretty damn good system.
We have a LOT of improvements to make in this, our continued experiment in self-governance.
Laws to update. Injustice to root out. Reorganizations and reforms to conduct. PROTECTIONS TO REINFORCE AROUND ELECTIONS!!!
Oh, and we have MANY, MANY CRIMINALS TO JAIL FOR THIS COUP ATTEMPT.
And we'll do it through our genius system entrusted to flawed stewards. Which is how we got this far. 😀
You know who wants us to believe that America is over, finished as a world leader, a corrupt system an inch from collapse?
The Global Mob. They thought they had us finally where they could take over and end the Rule of Law.
But Mobsters are dumb, and they guessed wrong.
It's not the whole thing, but I think reminders of how remarkably well our the Democratic institutions of our country are weathering the all out assult on them, are good, even when there's no doomsaying.
edited 22nd May '18 7:51:07 PM by megaeliz
x3 Democrat Ken Hodges also won a special election for a seat on Georgia's Court of Appeals by a larger-then-usual margin (although all special Elections, including the 2 Republican Victories in Arkansas, were holds).
Also, the Majority Leader of the Kentucky House lost his (Republican) Primary to a Teacher, Travis Brenda
. And Michael Williams, one of the many Republicans running for Georgia's Governorship (the one with the 'Deportation Bus') is in 5th place, out of 6 places.
Georgia might be flipped this year, and the Death of the Blue Wave may be greatly exaggerated.
edited 22nd May '18 7:53:17 PM by DingoWalley1
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I don't think most of us actually believe our democracy is failing...now. If we did, we wouldn't even be bothering to vote. Voter enthusiasm actually seems to be a bit higher these days. We're more concerned about the constant attempts to chip it away by this administration and what long-term effects they will have. It's going to require a lot of repair and improvement in the future. But I don't think many of us believe America's democracy has failed in a way similar to Venezuela.
edited 22nd May '18 7:56:02 PM by M84
Disgusted, but not surprisedJust to clarify things, the term "Elite" has a precise, technical definition
: "In political and sociological theory, the elite (French élite, from Latin eligere) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a society."
American sociologist C. Wright Mills wrote of the "elite" in his 1957 book The Power Elite as "those political, economic, and military circles, which as an intricate set of overlapping small but dominant groups share decisions having at least national consequences. Insofar as national events are decided, the power elite are those who decide them".
By dismissing the term as meaning "people I dont like", you are actually accepting and promoting the conservative frame on this issue. Dont let them frame the issue. The top 1% wealthiest Americans are "The Economic Elite".
Arguably, there is also a governing or "political" elite, which overlaps the economic elite but is not identical with it.
I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.

I do think there's an unhealthy anti-establishment tone in America at the moment (it isn't anything new, mind you). Too many ideologies relying on The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified as their sales pitch over their actual goals, and it would appear too many people can't even seem to agree on what sort of cabal runs society.
Though to be fair problems tend to start and end at the establishment. Being able to stick it to the man is itself a position of power, and as such all change is a case of The Man Is Sticking It to the Man.
Leviticus 19:34