Washington Post – Page 27

August 24, 2018June 16, 2020

Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort Convicted on 8 Counts Each

Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen, two men who have had close and long association with Donald Trump, were both convicted of federal offenses within minutes of each other, in separate parts of the country, on August 21. Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, was convicted of financial fraud. Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer and “fixer,” pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws, as well as other federal financial laws. Cohen and Manafort were each found guilty on eight felony counts, and Manafort be tried again on additional charges.

A jury in Virginia found Paul Manafort guilty on two counts of bank fraud, one count of failure to file a report of accounts in a foreign bank, and five counts of tax evasion. A mistrial was declared on ten additional counts. Prosecutors could decide to try Manafort again on those ten counts. Currently, he faces seven to nine years in prison.

It was known that even before his involvement in the Trump campaign, Manafort had extensive ties to Russia. He participated in the 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian Lawyer, and was the only non-member of Trump’s family who was present. The meeting, we now know, was arranged with the expectation of obtaining incriminating information on Hillary Clinton.

The New York Times stated on Tuesday, “Mr. Manafort’s conviction was a win for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, if only in denying the president more ammunition for his campaign to discredit Mr. Mueller.”

Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws, as well as to several counts of bank fraud and tax evasion. In the ever-changing narrative about whether Donald Trump paid “hush money” to an adult film star and a Playboy model with whom he allegedly had affairs to (Did he pay them off? Did he have Cohen pay them off? Did Cohen pay them off without Donald Trump’s knowledge?) Cohen’s guilty plea is significant.

The payments to the two women were made during the 2016 presidential campaign, and, as Cohen’s attorney, Lanny Davis, stated, were made “for the principal purpose of influencing an election.” Not only did Michael Cohen arrange payments to the two women for their silence, he testified that he did so at the request of “the candidate…to shield him from politically damaging disclosures.”

Cohen has also stated that if questioned by Robert Mueller, he would “tell him the truth about Trump.” Davis has hinted that Cohen would have some “interesting” things to tell Mueller.

One would point out that neither Manafort nor Cohen have inspired faith that they would be credible witnesses in Robert Mueller’s investigation. Trump has already tried to discredit them, as he does with anyone who criticizes or bears witness against him. But Donald Trump himself is not known for his good relationship with truth, or with ethical behavior. (The Washington Post has kept tabs on Trump’s untruths, and they average nine per day.)

The convictions of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen may be the first significant crack in the armor of Donald Trump’s strange appearance of invincibility. Donald Trump’s administration and inner circle are littered with people who have said and done unethical things. But, as NPR’s Domenico Montenaro writes, the convictions of Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort (were) “the closest Trump has been tied to something potentially criminal as president.”

Opinion | Is this the worst day of Trump’s presidency? | Washington Post [2018-08-21]

What to know about the Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort verdicts | Fox Business [2018-08-21]

August 10, 2018June 10, 2020

Stephen Miller is Coming for Legal Immigrants Now

Stephen Miller and Donald Trump want Americans to associate all immigrants – even legal immigrants – with crime, with “taking our jobs,” and with “taking advantage of the system,” i.e., depending on public assistance (“welfare”). And to ensure that all bases are covered regarding the definition of public assistance (and thus, the idea that immigrants are taking advantage of the system), White House immigration czar Miller has proposed a policy that would broaden the scope of what counts as public assistance. Then, Stephen Miller’s policy would make it harder for legal immigrants who have received any public benefits to obtain U.S. citizenship.

It has already been a longstanding U.S. policy to deny citizenship to applicants who are expected to be dependent solely on welfare, but Stephen Miller’s policy, with its much wider definition of “government assistance” – makes it much easier and more convenient to deny citizenship, even to legal immigrants, based on welfare “dependency.”

Though legal immigrants wouldn’t be denied benefits, their use of any that are on Stephen Miller’s list would count against them. In this case, “government assistance” stretches to include not only Medicaid and food stamps, but also programs such as ACA (Obamacare) health care subsidies and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Under the guise of concern for American taxpayer dollars, Stephen Miller and the Trump administration claim that immigrants are a drain on the system. The reality, however, is that immigrants, according to a study by the Cato Institute, “are less likely to consume welfare benefits and, when they do, they generally consume a lower dollar value of benefits than native-born Americans.”

Another reality is that most Americans, not just immigrants, have benefited in some way from what Stephen Miller now wants to define as “welfare.” One example is the Earned Income Tax Credit. Another example is the tax-deductible aspect of our health insurance, even if we get it from our employer (the government is actually paying part of the premium by making it tax-deductible).

So, even if a legal immigrant is legitimately working and paying taxes, if he or she has taken a tax deduction on even employee-provided health insurance, or claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit, Stephen Miller and his proposed policy may be coming for them.

Frank Sharry, Executive director of America’s Voice, a pro-immigrant group, says, “Trump and Miller have concluded that the best 2018 political strategy is a divisive and desperate three-step: 1) do something cruel to immigrants; 2) sit back as Democrats, the fact-based media and the majority of Americans denounce the cruelty; 3) step in and claim that the President is standing up for his white base and against ‘the other’ while working to define Democrats as doing the opposite,” Sharry said. “They did this on DACA. They did this on family separation. Now they are planning to do the same on public charge.”

The Trump administration continues to think of innovative ways to purge the U.S. of immigrants. Stephen Miller and his ilk show little interest in what is ethical or lawful regarding the issue, and now it seems that since they can’t use existing laws to deport all groups of immigrants, they’re willing to make something up so that even legal immigrants will fail at becoming full Americans.

Trump Administration Continues Its War On Immigrants | All In | MSNBC [2018-08-07]

Trump plans to make the Citizenship application for legal immigrants harder | Attorney Shah Peerally [2018-08-07]