Matt Walsh has read the leaked transcripts of Michael Cohen’s prepared opening statement and he’s not impressed:
I read the Cohen testimony. He alleges a whole lot of non-criminal behavior that has no business being discussed at a hearing like this.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 27, 2019
He also says that Trump heard about the Wikileaks DNC dump ahead of time and said "that would be great." What else is he supposed to say? Is it illegal for a politician to revel in the political embarrassment of his opponent?
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 27, 2019
Here’s the exchange Walsh is referring to:
Today, Cohen connects the dots. Trump…Wikileaks…RU. https://t.co/HdoYgkPm96 pic.twitter.com/vothbQtjq4
— Ben Popken (@bpopken) February 27, 2019
Walsh continues:
He says that he (Cohen) paid Stormy Daniels with his own money, and then Trump reimbursed him with his personal funds. Again, not illegal. He says Trump never directly told him to lie to congress and he has no knowledge of any Russian collusion conspiracy.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 27, 2019
So, in conclusion, what is the point of this hearing?
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 27, 2019
Oh, Cohen also says that Trump was negotiating to build a tower in Moscow because, says Cohen, Trump didn't think he'd win the presidency. This actually undercuts the accusation that Trump wanted to leverage the presidency for financial gain.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 27, 2019
And here’s the excerpt on that:
The most appalling thing about Trump in Cohen's 20-page statement today is not just the crimes, the sleaze, or the Russia collusion, but the confirmation, at the top of p.9, that Trump doesn't care about America, and ran not to win, but to market his brand, to get richer. pic.twitter.com/DjgFI9whkx
— Scott Wallace (@ScottWallacePA) February 27, 2019
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So, what are we doing here?
This all started because of "Russian collusion" yet Cohen says in his testimony that he has no knowledge of any collusion. Okay then what the hell are we doing here?
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 27, 2019
And in conclusion, “Cohen’s testimony exonerates Trump”:
Remarkably Cohen's testimony exonerates Trump. He says Trump never directly told him to lie, he has no evidence of collusion, and Trump only worked on the Moscow project because he thought he wouldn't win, which means he wasn't trying to leverage the presidency for financial gain
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 27, 2019
They can’t even get Cohen to say that Trump told him to lie:
Michael Cohen says in prepared testimony that contested Buzzfeed scoop was wrong: “Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. That’s not how he operates.”
— michaelscherer (@michaelscherer) February 27, 2019
We’re starting to see others question the testimony as well. Here’s Iowa Law School professor Andy Grewal:
I just read them as well. I predict 48 hours of impeachment-related hysteria before it all falls back into the background noise.
No smoking guns here, just more suggestions of what we already know about Trump’s sliminess. https://t.co/S1VAEzAFdj
— Andy Grewal (@AndyGrewal) February 27, 2019
And criminal defense attorney @BeyondReasDoubt:
Just read Cohen’s prepared remarks. There are parts that are believable and parts that are so over the top that I don’t find believable.
— LB (@beyondreasdoubt) February 27, 2019
Tune in later for more!
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Related:
Reporters who shouted questions about Michael Cohen at Trump during Kim Jong Un photo-op barred from dinner https://t.co/klyoTnkAYM
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 27, 2019
'I'm sorry': Rep. Matt Gaetz apologizes for now-deleted Michael Cohen tweet https://t.co/zsuhTH0dox
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 27, 2019
'Uh, wow': Did Rep. Matt Gaetz seriously just threaten Michael Cohen on the eve of Cohen's congressional testimony? https://t.co/3rRYv2IaPb
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 26, 2019