General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSo Trump admits his willingness to pay off extortionists
"Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties...
...The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations".
That agreement is called a payoff.
Though clearly not his own words, since Trump released them on his own Twitter account, he owns them.
The man is President of the United States. One has to wonder what other types of extortion does he succumb to whether true or false? The whole world now knows that the President of the United States can be extorted. and that he will go to great lengths to hide his compliance with extortion from anyone's view. He said so himself.
If Trump had been President when the Barbary pirates were extorting tributes from America, our current Marines might be singing a different hymn.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,107 posts)Rachel Maddow reminds viewers of former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's history in Ukraine, and reports on the suspension of Ukrainian investigations into Manafort as they dovetail with the Mueller investigation because they don't want to risk upsetting Donald Trump when weapons deals are on the line.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
Gothmog
(145,303 posts)Trump fears the release of the pee tape
greymattermom
(5,754 posts)and Trump fears Putin calling in all of his loans. I think that Trump's net worth is hundreds of millions of dollars under water. I think he fears financial ruin more than anything sexual.
Tom Rinaldo
(22,913 posts)He gives in to threats that risk exposing or embarrassing him, and he covers up his servitude through elaborate means that thwart public disclosure.
And it's not just Putin, though he is the most obvious example. It's leaders in the Gulf States also who exercise tremendous influence over Trump regarding U.S. Mideast policy, who also happen to have had business transactions with Trump.
Anywhere Trump has done business in the world the U.S. now risks extortion.
elocs
(22,582 posts)he tried to bribe her to keep her silence. Old habits die hard.
Tom Rinaldo
(22,913 posts)In a subtle but very real way that is more damning than Trump admitting to a payment to avoid discussing behavior he admittedly participated in. Here he is saying that he will roll over and be blackmailed over any semi-credible embarrassing false accusation. That is a stunning admission from "our President". He's a sitting duck.
Of course it makes it a lot easier to blackmail someone when people actually have "the dirt on you". God forbid if anyone actually has photographs of his genitalia. Oh wait...
Gothmog
(145,303 posts)A man who dispenses cash for secrets this easily is a risky man to have in office
Link to tweet
Putin may have an extensive file on trump including the pee tape. If trump is willing to jump through this many hoops and tell this many lies just for an one-night stand, think what trump will do to keep the pee tape quiet
canetoad
(17,167 posts)That he facilitates payoffs.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transcript-giuliani-interview-with-the-washington-post/2018/05/03/a35c4a3c-4e9b-11e8-af46-b1d6dc0d9bfe_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7204a091db60
Trump didnt know about the specifics of it, as far as I know. But he did know the general arrangement, that Michael would take care of things like this, like I take care of things like this with my clients, Giuliani said. I dont burden them with every single thing that comes along. These are busy people.