A thought about Michael Cohen and the trip to Prague

[PJMcK]

The Steele Dossier makes a reference to a possible trip to Prague by Cohen in 2016 during the presidential campaign. There's reporting from McClatchy that Cohen's cellphone "pinged" off a cell tower in Prague. If it's true, was Cohen coordinating things with Russians? I suspect we'll find out soon enough.

Consider this: If Cohen did make a trip, it wouldn't have been on the spur of the moment and it would have required planning and organization with the parties he was intending to meet. Any trip I've ever taken, even for vacations, has a paper trail of emails, texts and phone calls. If Robert Mueller has all of Cohen's documents, electronics and more, he knows whether or not Cohen made the trip.

So, why is Cohen still denying the trip? Did Mr. Mueller order him to continue to deny it in order to throw off any hints about the investigation? Certainly by now, Would the revelation be of such powerful importance that it has to remain secret for now?

It's a weird detail in a massively weird story.

[matt819]

1. The phone pinged

Cohen did not ping.

So the phone was in Prague. Cohen? Only he and Mueller know where Cohen was.

Here's the key question, I think. Who had the phone? Why was this person in Prague? And all the related questions.

Who knows this information? I would think Cohen. If so, then so does Mueller.

Why Cohen is playing coy, who knows. Maybe this is what Mueller's team directed him to say. At this point, Cohen's life is not his own.

I can't imagine that anything he says hasn't already been approved and by Mueller's team.

[politicaljunkie41910]

10. People are very close to their phones. Much of our lives and things we hold dear are on them.

If Cohen's phone was in Prague, than I'd bet my first child that Cohen was in Prague as well. BTW, my first child goes nowhere without her phone. Neither does my 2nd child or my 3rd child. In all likelihood, Cohen had no idea that Prague had equipment that could track phones, any phone, and possibly all phones when he denied having made that trip to Prague. But apparently his phone's ping outed him.

[matt819]

11. I agree

But I read last week that the search of his office, etc turned up 16 phones. Which is suspicious on its own.

[Baltimike]

12. and criminals use multiple phones, so even though I think Cohen was coordinating

he could have been very nearby and just denying it on a technicality

[JI7]

2. did mueller say he was denying it to him ?

[PJMcK]

3. Robert Mueller hasn't said a thing (n/t)

[JI7]

4. so we don't know if he denied it to mueller

[PJMcK]

7. Actually, we probably know very little

My speculation was the oddity that Steele reported Cohen in Prague and so does the McClatchy report. Additionally, there is an intercept of two Russian officials having a conversation where one of them mentions that Cohen is in Prague.

But Cohen is still denying he was ever there.

That's the point I was trying to make. It's a weird set of inconsistencies, don't you think?

[JI7]

9. maybe he denies it in public for a reason

it could be becsuse of threats to his life or just not wanting people to think he gave something up.

it all depends on what he told mueller.

but as far as denying it in public even if it actually happened I think he might have good reasons for it.

[kentuck]

5. I don't think Cohen has told everything he knows.

I think he has told just enough to get the most minimal prison sentence and he has kept quite about a lot of damaging information. What he has told them, they already knew from his confiscated documents. I doubt that he has gone any further than that?

[Enoki33]

6. Cohen is a mobster with strong connections to the Russian mafia. He

is fully aware of what they are capable of doing to his family. So does Mueller, who certainly knows the vital link to the conspiracy if Cohen was indeed in Prague. It is possible Mueller is protecting Cohen without alerting his prime targets. Some random thoughts here.

[PJMcK]

8. Exactly the point I was reaching for

Robert Mueller needs Cohen to make big parts of his cases. Therefore, Cohen must be protected.

Additionally, as you wrote, Mr. Mueller doesn't want to reveal his hand to his prime targets.