The Cohen raid is bait by Mueller

it's more than just bait. they will use the raid and information they get in a parallel construction scheme.

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Trump needs a good lawyer right now who will go on a PR campaign like David Kendall and Lanny Davis did for Clinton. This is not something he should play with. Mueller de facto now has control of all of Trump's most private information and he needs good attorneys around to make sure that the USA keeps the invesigation as narrow as possible.

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His lack of competent legal representation is mind blowing. Why can't he get a decent lawyer? They could get a shite ton of free media. Every station would be very willing to book trump's lawyers to comment on developments.

Next up....a raid on Trump Jr.s tax lawyer....then Barron's pharmacy records....then "no knock" raid to secure Trumps limousine services gas receipts.

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Trump is a loose cannon who I suspect thinks he knows more than his lawyers or thinks he understands the PR/Branding game better than they do and to a certain extent he's right.

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Trump is really good at branding and PR. The problem is that is that branding/PR with regards to criminal actions plays by a different set of rules. Mottos and personal slurs, two keys in trump's arsenal, don't work. Still, I would think eh could get competent representation. he is a fricking billionaire. And one thing I know about lawyers is they love money. Just drop $5-10M in their coffers and they will be there to protect you. Or at least try.

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I don't think Trump did anything with the Russians and I think he fired Comey because Comey got on his nerves....he probably should have just said that when he did it.... "Hey, the guy rubbed me the wrong way, he was trying to hide behind a curtain and on top of that he tried to essentially blackmail me with this whole b.s. dossier thing." He could have put Comey on the defensive and would have stopped Mueller and the SC right in its tracks

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I think trump's problem is that he doesn't act quickly and decisively. He should have fired comey on day 1. he should have fired Sessions when he recused himself. He could easily supply a great answer to this. Comey was tainted, and not trusted by democrats (true). For sessions, he could say - this investigation is too important to have the AG not involved.

I am 100% anti trump, but I have to say watching his movements on the investigation is mind boggling. He either gets the worst advice or doesn't listen to the advice he gets.

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Why can't he get a decent lawyer? 

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Trump has a reputation of ignoring legal advice and being slow or no pay. The big dogs aren't hurting for clients and don't need the hassle.

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And one thing I know about lawyers is they love money.

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Which is one big reason no one wants to work for him....he consistently stiffs people.


I read an article not too long ago, an editorial, that was kind of hitting on how all of this is so different than what Trump has come up against in the past. In the real estate business, you can make it a long way by just having money. He could (and did) bully contractors, subcontractors, and subordinates in court because he could drain anyone dry who tried to frick with him. He could do backroom deals and operate largely in the dark because he was a private citizen without much oversight. He was the owner of the Trump brand and could literally do anything he wanted to do, largely unchecked.

Suddenly this guy is POTUS. All of that is out the window. His money means nothing any more. He has to follow separation of powers and understand he has to answer to the public and other segments of government. He can't just bully someone in court, now he has ethic watchdogs watching him. He has the press watching his every move.

What lawyer would possibly want to step in to this situation? It's career suicide.

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Mueller has had Trumps past taxes for a long time.

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Without a doubt, I would suspect he had those returns as soon as he had the team in place. The fact hat nothing has come out about it means that Trump's taxes pass muster or at least if their are discrepancies it's not criminal and there is a legitimate dispute on interpretation of the tax laws.

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The raid of Cohen has nothing to do with taxes or how much he pays Cohen.

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Wouldn't matter anyway.

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It is about Cohen talking about paying off Stormy. It gives the FBI a reason to look at Cohen’s taxes and if he got the money legally

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What would be funny is that all of this was in 2016 IIRC and no doubt a guy like Cohen files an extension each year so the IRS would just about be ready to scan it in by now. It would be hilarious if they found that Cohen reported the payoff on his taxes. Remember Cohen makes a lot of money just by being Trump's lawyer and being part of Trump International....130K is chump change

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Mueller and the FBI will be trying to connect this to Trump. Mueller could not do it, so he had the Southern District of NY to do it.

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So he's got nothing in reality on Trump from the Russian end, so he's having the SDNY do his dirty work and get leverage by putting heat on Cohen hoping he wears out and then rolls and starts singing...on something.