Did anyone watch the Michael Cohen interview??

[kentuck]

I thought it was fascinating.

He was ready to spill the beans. I thought he was very believable. Rachel kept saying, "I didn't know that". He said that Trump did not think he was going to win. I have long thought that he was running for another reason than just to win the race. There were other benefits for him.

He enjoyed telling the story about going to an auction to purchase a large painting of Donald Trump and Trump wanted to make sure the bid was sufficiently high. And paid for it with funds from the Trump Foundation. And that was one of the reasons the Foundation was ordered to be dissolved.

Although Cohen had been a two-bit Mafia-wannabe, there were things he could not say on television or in a book, in my opinion. He may have put himself in some sort of criminal jeopardy, if he had done so.

But, in my opinion, he gave a very credible presentation of the real Donald Trump. A petty man with no empathy, who wanted to be an autocrat, and was intoxicated by the power of the Presidency.

The part about Sean Hannity was very interesting. I wonder what his fellow FOXNEWSers think of him?

[underpants]

1. What I saw was pretty good.

I thought the excerpt having Hannity’s name but neither of them saying his name was funny.

[mitch96]

13. I wonder if it was an intentional oops? nt

[demtenjeep]

2. very credible

and in the mess he is in he is very forthwright.


It is nice to hear

[dlk]

3. "The world's greatest infomercial..."

Trump never wanted to be president but now that he’s had a taste of true power, he wants even more. Cohen’s interview reminded us that everyone who voted for Trump in 2016 was suckered by a con artist.

[rockfordfile]

12. Russia used their relationship with trump to help him out

[shanti]

21. Putin's puppet n/t

[Bev54]

4. I noticed that he appears much smarter now

when interviewed, now that he does not have to lie for someone else.

[Marie Marie]

7. He also seemed more relaxed and more at peace now that Trump is no longer

pulling his strings. Existing day in and day out in Trump world must be beyond taxing.

[lunatica]

10. I was going to post that too.

He’s intelligent. You can’t pretend that. But he also has a sense of humor. He was one of the few people I’ve seen Rachel interview for the first time who wasn’t stiff or looked scared. Usually first timers on her show look quite nervous.

Perhaps it’s the ease of mind of finally telling the truth after a lifetime of lies and deception. He looked like he felt relieved. For the first time I thought I could like him if he doesn’t revert.

[RussBLib]

5. Trump approved every Nat'l Enquirer hit piece

On his 2016 opponents. David Pecker would send Cohen a list of ways to hit each rival, and Trump would pick which smears to run.

How is that not an illegal campaign contribution?

[Hoyt]

6. He was running for attention and PR. I too thought he was resigned to losing,

even on Election Day.

But all Cohen tells us was that trump was a racist, Cad, conman and probably worse. But over 40% still support the loser. Better than him saying nice things, I support.

[tblue37]

8. What did he say about Sean Hannity? nt

[kentuck]

9. He said Trump sort of blew his top when he heard that Hannity was supporting Ted Cruz...

...but that Hannity agreed to be all in for Trump. Etc..

[tblue37]

11. Thank you! nt

[mitch96]

14. See #1... Maddow and Cohn did not mention his name but when the printed quote came on

the screen it said Hannity... oopsy.....
m

[tblue37]

16. What was the printed quote about? nt

[ARPad95]

20. I think it's this one on page 219 after Cohen claims Corey Lewandowski had been feeding sh!t to

Trump about Hannity being a Ted Cruz supporter. BTW, Cohen can't stand Lewandowski.

"Mr. Trump, Lewandowski's a piece of shit and a liar," Hannity said. "I can't come out publicly to endorse you at this time. It would destroy my credibility as it relates to you. But I want you to know that I am today and have always been behind you."

Pathetic! It reads like a poorly scripted soap opera episode.

[tblue37]

23. Thanks! nt

[Hekate]

15. For a long time I've thought this is a man who is seeking redemption...

It’s been a hard fall, but he’s taking his punishment without excuses, which is commendable. It doesn’t mean he is a good man — yet. But his efforts are commendable.

[mitch96]

29. " seeking redemption"

I think a lot of these books about tRump are seeking redemption like you said. Explanation and showing tRump for what he and his are really about also. Bolton, Winston Wolkoff et al.... YMMV
m

[ARPad95]

17. He's a close friend of the Falwells to the point they were the last people he saw before going to

prison and he had talked to them daily. I don't know. Seems like there's a big pile of doo doo that he's protecting either because it incriminates him, the Falwells or both.

[steve2470]

18. It surprised me that he was close to Falwell and his wife

Apparently they have been very supportive to him through his tribulations. He denied there was a quid pro quo with the naked photos of Falwell's wife being destroyed and Falwell enthusiastically supporting Trump. That could be true but... I could easily see him protecting his friends. Overall, I find Cohen very credible.

About Hannity, I wonder if the book has anything interesting to say about him beyond what we all know. Needless to say, I doubt they are friends any longer.

I wish Rachel had asked him about his post-Trump plans. Of course he has to complete his sentence first. His career as a lawyer, at least for now, is destroyed. I don't know if any state bar would ever grant him a license again, but I don't know the details about all that.

[JeaneRaye]

19. Yeah, the whole thing

I found it very credible. He has nothing to lose or gain at this point and he stops short of saying things that he doesn't really know. Bought his book but it may take awhile to get to it. In the middle of Michael Schmitt's book and it is 400 pages long. Apparently, so is Cohen's book. I know I read slow, but Rachel must be a speed reader!!

[NJCher]

26. Daniel Goldman

he stops short of saying things that he doesn't really know.

put it this way: "he doesn't overstate things." Goldman (majority council for the impeachment) said this is something that speaks to his credibility.

[wnylib]

22. I've always been skeptical of the claim that

Trump never expected to win. He does not seem like the kind of person who would put himself forward in a public campaign and risk being a "loser" if he didn't have some expectation of winning.

A couple years before he ran for president, he considered a run for governor of NY. His first demand was that he would not have to face a primary. He wanted the NY Republican Party to endorse him without it. They declined and Trump ended any and all attempts to run for office in NY. He turned his attention instead to national office.

[czarjak]

25. He said "it's rigged folks" because he thought he was going to win?

I call bullshit.

[wnylib]

27. He said he would not accept a loss

in 2016 because a loss would mean that it was rigged against him.

I believe that he said that because he expected to win, knowing that Russia was tipping the vote in his favor and that he had gained the acceptance of the Republican Party. If the election had been declared for Hillary, a litigious personality like Trump would have contested it forever to undermine Hillary and come out strong for the future. But with Republican and Russian help, that would not be necessary.

The idea that Trump's ego would allow him to face a potential loss in front of the nation and the world, after defeating all the Republican candidates in the primary, just does not ring true. He wouldn't even risk losing a Republican primary in NY. But the fact that he explored a candidacy in NY for governor suggests that he had national ambitions then and hoped that NY would launch him.

[calimary]

24. Yep. Savored every moment.

[Mike Nelson]

28. I think...

... the folks at FOX "News" should have had Hannity figured out before any Cohen revelation. I know I did... if they don't know by now, they must be very dumb.

[shrike3]

30. I thought he was very credible.

He could have blown a lot of hot air, but was willing to say, "I have no knowledge," regarding whether Trump ever said the n word, whether he ever paid for an abortion, et. al.

I also believe his version of Trump's relationship with Putin. All about the money, at first. Now a junior dictator in training.

[kentuck]

31. Also, his comments about Don McGahn were very interesting.

McGahn was on the FEC before he was appointed White House Counsel and had made some important vote that was in Trump's favor?