Increasing Legal Troubles for President Trump

 

http://www.thedailybanter.com

On Tuesday, there were fast moving developments in legal cases concerning associates of President Trump. The jury in the trial of Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s one time campaign manager, reached a verdict. They concluded that Manafort was guilty on 8 of 18 counts and was deadlocked on the remaining 10 counts. The judge declared a mistrial on those remaining counts. This verdict leaves Manafort with a probable sentencing of decades in prison. The outcome is a major validation for Special Counsel Robert Muller and the credibility of his investigation.

In addition to the charges he faced in the Northern District of Virginia, Manafort will need to undergo a second trial in the in the DC District where he will most likely face a less friendly judge and hostile jury. Many legal observers are questioning whether Paul Manafort will flip and make a deal with the Special Counsel in exchange for a shorter sentence and a dropping of the charges in the upcoming trial. It is unknown what information that Manafort might possess that could be helpful into investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump Campaign and Russia.

Simultaneously in New York, the Deputy US attorney for the Southern District of New York announced a plea deal with Michael Cohen. Cohen pleaded guilty on 8 counts including tax fraud, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations involving the payoff of Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels. However, the most striking takeaway from the plea agreement is that Michael Cohen implicated President Trump by saying that Trump directed him to pay off these women to prevent possible fallout in the final days of the campaign.

This stunning allegation has raised questions in the media about the possibility of impeachment against the president if he committed illegal action during the campaign. Michael Cohen has expressed a willingness to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and might provide useful information because of his long history as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, business advisor, “fixer,” and advisor during the campaign. Specifically, Cohen might have valuable knowledge regarding the parameters of the infamous Trump Tower meeting. These fast moving legal events create an image of President Trump surrounded by legal chaos that might imperil the future of his presidency.

 

Canceled August Recess

http://www.npr.com

Pressured by many members of his conference, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) decided to cancel the month long August recess. The Senate will use the extra legislative time on confirming Trump appointees including the many appointees to the federal judiciary and passing the appropriation bills for the upcoming fiscal year. Congress has decided to pass the appropriations bills in small groupings of funding bills nicknamed “minibuses” in contrast to the large omnibus bill Congress has used in recent years to fund the federal government.

Many Democrats have viewed the cancelation of the August recess as a tactic to prevent incumbent Democratic Senators from campaigning in their home states. In the upcoming 2018 elections, 10 Democratic Senators are up for reelection in states that President Donald Trump won compared to only one Republican senator, Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), who is up for reelection in a state Hillary Clinton won. Democrats are not the only ones who are upset about the cancellation of the August recess. Some GOP Senators like Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) have criticized the Majority Leader’s decision because they say the recess is an important time to talk with their constituents back in their states.