61. Michael Rothfield and Joe Palazzolo, “Stormy Daniels Sues Trump over Nondisclosure Agreement,” Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2018.
62. US v. Michael Cohen, 1:18-cr-00602-WHP, Information.
63. Kevin Breuniger and Jacob Pramuk, “National Enquirer Boss and Longtime Trump Friend David Pecker Gets Federal Immunity in Michael Cohen Case,” CNBC, August 23, 2018.
64. Allan Smith, “Michael Cohen’s Attorney: The ‘Final Straw’ for Cohen Was Trump’s Disastrous Summit with Putin, and He Now Feels ‘Liberated’ After Making a Deal with Prosecutors,” Business Insider, August 22, 2019.
65. “Lanny Davis: Cohen Knows ‘Almost Everything’ About Trump After ‘Many Years’ as Lawyer,” CNN, August 22, 2018.
66. Bradley Smith, “Stormy Weather for Campaign-Finance Laws,” Wall Street Journal, April 10, 2018.
67. Maggie Haberman, “Obama 2008 Campaign Fined $375,000,” Politico, January 1, 2013.
68. Steven Nelson, “Did Michael Cohen Actually Commit Campaign Finance Violations? Some Legal Experts Aren’t Sure,” Washington Examiner, August 22, 2018.
69. M. J. Lee, Sunlen Serfaty, and Juana Summers, “Congress Paid Out $17 Million in Settlements. Here’s Why We Know So Little About That Money,” CNN, November 16, 2017.
70. Jon Greenberg, “The $130,000 Stormy Daniels Payoff: Was It a Campaign Expenditure?,” PolitiFact, May 3, 2018.
71. Ibid.
72. Ibid.
73. Nelson, “Did Michael Cohen Actually Commit Campaign Finance Violations?”
74. “Michael Cohen’s Lawyer Crowdfunds ‘Truth About Trump,’ Whips Up $120k+,” RT, August 23, 2018.
75. Chuck Ross, “Michael Cohen’s Congressional Testimony Will Be ‘Unsatisfying,’ Lanny Davis Told Lawmakers,” Daily Caller, January 22, 2019.
76. Post Editorial Board, “Why Is CNN Avoiding the Truth About Lanny Davis’ Lies?,” New York Post, August 29, 2018.
77. Jim Sciutto, Carl Bernstein, and Marshall Cohen, “Cohen Claims Trump Knew in Advance of 2016 Trump Tower Meeting,” CNN, July 27, 2018.
78. Allan Smith, “Lanny Davis’s Walk-back of His Bombshell Claim to CNN Is More Complicated than It Looks. And Experts Say It Causes Michael Cohen Some New Problems,” Business Insider, August 28, 2018.
79. Post Editorial Board, “Why Is CNN Avoiding the Truth About Lanny Davis’ Lies?”
80. Smith, “Lanny Davis’s Walk-back of His Bombshell Claim to CNN Is More Complicated than It Looks.”
81. Post Editorial Board, “Why Is CNN Avoiding the Truth About Lanny Davis’ Lies?”
82. Thomas Lifson, “Lanny Davis and Michael Cohen Have Gotten Themselves into a Big Mess Trying to Damage Trump,” American Thinker, August 28, 2018.
83. Ibid.
84. Post Editorial Board, “Why Is CNN Avoiding the Truth About Lanny Davis’ Lies?”
85. Smith, “Lanny Davis’s Walk-back of His Bombshell Claim to CNN Is More Complicated than It Looks.”
86. Ibid.
87. Chuck Ross, “Lanny Davis: Michael Cohen Never Went to Prague as Steele Dossier Claims,” Daily Caller, August 22, 2018.
88. Brooke Singman, “Ex–Trump Attorney Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty to Lying to Congress in Russia Probe,” Fox News, November 29, 2018.
89. Ibid.
90. Ibid.
91. Ibid.
92. Ibid.
93. Ken Bensinger, Miriam Elder, and Mark Schoofs, “These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties to Russia,” BuzzFeed, January 10, 2017; “Company Intelligence Report 2016/080,” December 13, 2016.
94. US v. Michael Cohen, 1:18-cr-00602-WHP, Government’s Sentencing Memorandum, filed December 7, 2018.
95. US v. Michael Cohen, 1:18-cr-00602-WHP, Mueller sentencing memorandum, signed by Jeannie Rhee, Andrew Goldstein, L. Rush Atkinson, Special Counsel’s Office, December 7, 2018.
96. Paul Sperry, “For Trump, Cohen Plea Deal’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Exoneration,” RealClearInvestigations, December 3, 2018.
97. Ibid.
98. Hans von Spakovsky, “Trump’s Ex-Laywer Didn’t Violate Campaign Finance Law, and Neither Did the President,” The Daily Signal, December 11, 2018.
99. Andrew C. McCarthy, “Payoffs to Mistresses as In-Kind Contributions? It’s an Open Question,” National Review, December 14, 2018.
100. Laura Mahmias and Darren Samuelsohn, “Michael Cohen Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison,” Politico, December 12, 2018.
101. Ibid.
102. Ibid.
103. Tyler Stone, “Cummings: I Would Like Cohen to Testify Before Congress,” RealClearPolitics, December 17, 2018.
104. Peter Stone and Greg Gordon, “Cell Signal Puts Cohen Outside Prague Around Time of Purported Russian Meeting,” McClatchy, December 27, 2018.
105. Ashe Schow, “McClatchy Tries to Save Face After Mueller Report Thrashes Cohen-in-Prague Narrative,” The Daily Wire, April 20, 2019.
106. Chuck Ross, “Michael Cohen Shakes Up Legal Team for the Second Time,” Daily Caller, June 28, 2019.
107. Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier, “President Trump Directed His Attorney to Lie to Congress About the Moscow Tower Project,” BuzzFeed, January 17, 2019.
108. Devlin Barrett, Matt Zapotosky, and Karoun Demirjan, “In a Rare Move, Mueller’s Office Denies BuzzFeed Report That Trump Told Cohen to Lie About Moscow Project,” Washington Post, January 19, 2019.
109. Ken Meyer, “New Trove of Documents Suggests Trump Tower Moscow Negotiations Went Beyond Letter of Intent,” Mediaite, February 5, 2019.
110. Ronn Blitzer, “Cohen Blames Postponement of Testimony on Trump ‘Threats,’ as if We Don’t Know the Real Reason,” Law & Crime, January 23, 2019.
111. Jeremy Herb, Gloria Borger, and Manu Raju, “Michael Cohen Apologizes to Senate Panel for Lying to Congress,” CNN, February 26, 2019.
112. Samuel Chamberlain, “Senate Intel Panel Chair Rips Michael Cohen for Asking to Postpone Hearing,” Fox News, February 12, 2019.
113. Maggie Haberman and Nicholas Fandos, “On Eve of Michael Cohen’s Testimony, Republican Threatens to Reveal Compromising Information,” New York Times, February 26, 2019.
114. Larry Neumeister and Michael R. Sisak, “After Surgery, Michael Cohen’s Prison Date Postponed to May,” Associated Press, February 20, 2019.
115. Aiden McLaughlin, “Michael Cohen’s Leaked Testimony Appears to Dispute BuzzFeed’s Trump Tower Report,” Mediaite, February 27, 2019.
116. Madeline Osburn, “6 Things We Learned from Michael Cohen’s Testimony Today,” The Federalist, February 27, 2019.
117. Joseph Wulfsohn, “Cohen Testimony Was ‘Bombshell That Didn’t Explode’: Marc Thiessen,” Fox News, February 28, 2019.
118. Bruce Golding, “WH-Job Diss & Tell Denied,” New York Post, February 28, 2019.
119. Colby Hall, “Michael Cohen: Trump Frequently Told Me ‘Don Jr. Had the Worst Judgment of Anyone in the World,’ ” Mediaite, February 27, 2019.
120. John Podhoretz, “Firing Blanks,” New York Post, February 28, 2019.
121. Rachel Frazin, “WikiLeaks Disputes Cohen, Says Assange Never Talked to Stone,” The Hill, February 27, 2018.
122. CNN, “Cohen Gives Documents to House Panel on Trump Attorney Alleged Changes to 2017 Testimony,” CNN, March 6, 2019.
123. Ryan Bort, “Did Michael Cohen Lie to Congress About Seeking a Pardon from Trump?,” Rolling Stone, March 7, 2019.
124. Rebecca Ballhaus, “Cohen Told Lawyer to Seek Trump Pardon,” Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2019.
125. Wulfsohn, “Cohen Testimony Was ‘Bombshell That Didn’t Explode’: Marc Thiessen.”
126. “Cohen: Fears No ‘Peaceful Transition’ if Trump Loses in 2020,” Reuters, February 27, 2019.
127. Brooke Singman, “GOP Reps Refer Michael Cohen to DOJ for Alleged Perjury During Hearing,” Fox News, February 28, 2019.
128. “Cohen Gives Documents to House Panel on Trump Attorney Alleged Changes to 2017 Testimony.”
129. Maria Bartiromo,
Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, March 3, 2019.
130. Rebecca Ballhaus, “Michael Cohen Begins Serving Three-Year Sentence,” Wall Street Journal, May 6, 2019.
Chapter 8: Collateral Damage
1. Alex Pappas, “Comey Admits Decision to Send FBI Agents to Interview Flynn Was Not Standard,” Fox News, December 13, 2018.
2. Ibid.
3. Olivia Beavers, “GOP Senators Question ‘Unusual’ Message Susan Rice Sent Herself on Inauguration Day,” The Hill, February 12, 2018.
4. George Rasley, “The Mike Flynn Travesty Comes to an End,” Conservative HQ, December 6, 2018.
5. Paul Sonne and Michael C. Bender, “Donald Trump Offers Michael Flynn Role as National Security Adviser,” Wall Street Journal, November 18, 2016.
6. Paul Sonne, “Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn Has Clashed with Intelligence Community, Pentagon,” Wall Street Journal, November 18, 2016.
7. Frank Hawkins, “Understanding Why the Deep State Had to Take Down General Mike Flynn,” American Thinker, January 16, 2019.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Michelle Hackman, “Michael Flynn’s Son Has Left Trump Transition Team,” Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2016.
11. Sonne and Bender, “Donald Trump Offers Michael Flynn Role as National Security Adviser.”
12. Editorial Board, “Eavesdropping on Michael Flynn,” Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2017.
13. Gordon Lubold and Shane Harris, “In Spy-Agency Revamp, Michael Flynn Shows His Influence,” Wall Street Journal, January 6, 2017.
14. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, “Report on Russian Active Measures,” March 22, 2018, https://www.scribd.com/document/377590825/HPSCI-Final-Report-on-Russian-Active-Measures-Redacted-Release#. See also excerpt at https://esmemes.com/i/u-the-committees-investigation-also-reviewed-the-opening-in-summer-56920110520a4899b7ad497bfd5a89f7.
15. Ibid., 26.
16. Ibid.
17. “DiGenova on Mueller Memo: ‘This Was a Frame-up of Flynn to Get Donald Trump,’ ” Tucker Carlson Tonight, December 5, 2018. In addition to serving as a US attorney, diGenova has served as independent counsel and special counsel to the House of Representatives.
18. David Sanger, “Obama Strikes Back at Russia for Election Hacking,” New York Times, December 29, 2016.
19. Devlin Barrett and Carol E. Lee, “Mike Flynn Was Probed by FBI over Calls with Russian Official,” Wall Street Journal, February 15, 2017.
20. David Ignatius, “Why Did Obama Dawdle on Russia’s Hacking?,” Washington Post, January 12, 2017.
21. Adam Entous, Ellen Makashima, and Philip Rucker, “Justice Department Warned White House That Flynn Could Be Vulnerable to Russian Blackmail, Officials Say,” Washington Post, February 13, 2017.
22. Ignatius, “Why Did Obama Dawdle on Russia’s Hacking?”
23. 18 U.S.C. 798 states, “Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates . . . to an unauthorized person, or publishes . . . any classified information obtained by the processes of communication intelligence from the communications of any foreign government, knowing the same to have been obtained by such processes shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.”
24. Brian Cates, “New Evidence Appears to Tie Former FBI Official McCabe to Illegal Leak About Flynn,” The Epoch Times, October 15, 2018. See also “Deputy Director McCabe Office of Professional Responsibility Investigation Part 01 of 01,” Federal Bureau of Investigation, https://vault.fbi.gov/deputy-director-mccabe-office-of-professional-responsibility-investigation/Deputy%20Director%20McCabe%20Office%20of%20Professional%20Responsibility%20Investigation%20Part%2001%20of%2006/view.
25. James Barrett, “Report: FBI May Have Launched Russia Prove to ‘Retaliate’ Against Mike Flynn,” The Daily Wire, June 27, 2017. This story references the story on Circa, which is now defunct.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. Ibid.
29. Christopher Wallace, “Acting FBI Boss Andrew McCabe Faces Pressure, Probes, Uncertain Future,” Fox News, April 25, 2018.
30. Jordain Carney, “Grassley: Why Hasn’t Acting FBI Chief Recused Himself on Flynn?,” The Hill, June 29, 2017.
31. Paul Sonne and Shane Harris, “Michael Flynn’s Contact with Russian Ambassador Draws Scrutiny,” Wall Street Journal, January 13, 2017.
32. “Face the Nation Transcript January 15, 2017: Pence, Manchin, Gingrich,” CBS News, January 15, 2017.
33. Nick Timiraos, “Donald Trump Asks if CIA Director Was ‘Leader of Fake News’ About Him,” Wall Street Journal, January 15, 2017.
34. Entous, Makashima, and Rucker, “Justice Department Warned White House That Flynn Could Be Vulnerable to Russian Blackmail, Officials Say,” Washington Post, February 13, 2017.
35. Carol E. Lee, Devlin Barrett, and Shane Harris, “U.S. Eyes Michael Flynn’s Links to Russia,” Wall Street Journal, January 22, 2017.
36. Devlin Barrett and Carol E. Lee, “Mike Flynn Was Probed by FBI over Calls to Russia,” Wall Street Journal, February 15, 2017.
37. James Gordon Meek and Ali Dukakis, “Former Trump Adviser Michael Flynn Faces $5 Million in Legal Fees amid Pardon Buzz: Source,” ABC News, March 26, 2019.
38. Geoff Earle, “Comey Told Lawmakers Flynn Was Feeding Pence Information on Russia That Was ‘Starkly at Odds’ with Classified Information and He Sent FBI Agents to Interview Him as Part of a ‘Counterintelligence Mission,’ ” Daily Mail, December 18, 2018.
39. Ibid.
40. US v. Michael T. Flynn, 17 CR 232 (D.D.C.), Memorandum in Aid of Sentencing, filed December 11, 2018, by lawyers Stephen P. Anthony and Robert K. Kelner.
41. Ibid.
42. Ibid.
43. Ibid.
44. Ibid.
45. Ibid.
46. Thomas Lifson, “Senator Grassley Appears to Be Preparing to Bust the Frame-up of General Flynn,” American Thinker, May 12, 2018. For background, see Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice, “Report of Investigation: Recovery of Text Messages from Certain FBI Mobile Devices,” December 2018, https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2018/i-2018-003523.pdf.
47. Ibid.
48. Ibid.
49. Ibid.
50. Ibid.
51. Riley Beggin and Veronica Stracqualursi, “A Timeline of Sally Yates’ Warnings to the White House About Mike Flynn,” ABC News, May 8, 2017.
52. Entous, Nakashima, and Rucker, “Justice Department Warned White House That Flynn Could Be Vulnerable to Russian Blackmail, Officials Say.”
53. Ibid.
54. Byron York, “Comey Told Congress FBI Agents Didn’t Think Michael Flynn Lied,” Washington Examiner, February 12, 2018.
55. Ibid.
56. Ibid.
57. Jason Beale, “How Obama Holdover Sally Yates Helped Sink Michael Flynn,” The Federalist, April 8, 2019. Jason Beale is a pseudonym for a retired U.S. Army interrogator.
58. York, “Comey Told Congress FBI Agents Didn’t Think Michael Flynn Lied.”
59. Josh Blackman, “Why Trump Had to Fire Sally Yates,” Politico, January 31, 2017.
60. Kimberly Strassel, “Mueller’s Gift to Obama,” Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2018.
61. Adam Shaw, “Shock Claim About FBI’s Michael Flynn Interview Raises Questions,” Fox News, February 14, 2018.
62. Barrett and Lee, “Mike Flynn Was Probed by FBI over Calls to Russia.”
63. Greg Miller, Adam Entous, and Ellen Nakashima, “National Security Adviser Flynn Discussed Sanctions with Russian Ambassador, Despite Denials, Officials Say,” Washington Post, February 9, 2017.
64. Richard Pollack, “Exclusive: In Final Interview, Flynn Insists He Crossed No Lines, Leakers Must Be Prosecuted,” Daily Caller, February 14, 2017.
65. Barrett and Lee, “Mike Flynn Was Probed by FBI over Calls to Russia.”
66. Ibid.
67. Kaitlyn Schallhorn, “Michael Flynn’s Involvement in Russia Investigation: What to Know,” Fox N
ews, December 18, 2018.
68. York, “Comey Told Congress FBI Agents Didn’t Think Michael Flynn Lied.”
69. Ibid.
70. Byron Tau, “Senior Democrats Ask White House for More Details on Michael Flynn,” Wall Street Journal, February 15, 2017.
71. Evan Perez, “Flynn Changed Story to FBI, No Charges Expected,” CNN, February 17, 2017.
72. Shane Harris, Paul Sonne, and Carol E. Lee, “Mike Flynn Worked for Several Russian Companies, Was Paid More than $50,000, Documents Show,” Wall Street Journal, March 16, 2017.
73. Carol E. Lee, Rob Barry, Shane Harris, and Christopher Stewart, “Mike Flynn Didn’t Report 2014 Interaction with Russian-British National,” Wall Street Journal, March 18, 2017.
74. Michael S. Schmidt, Matthew Rosenberg, and Matt Apuzzo, “Kushner and Flynn Met with Russian Envoy in December, White House Says,” Washington Post, March 2, 2017.
75. Byron Tau and Natalie Andrews, “Panel Chiefs Say Mike Flynn May Have Violated Law over Payments,” Wall Street Journal, April 25, 2017.
76. Ibid.
77. U.S. v. Michael T. Flynn, Crim. No. 17-232 (EGS), Statement of the Offense.
78. Aruna Viswanatha and Shane Harris, “Mike Flynn Pleads Guilty to Lying About Russian Contacts,” Wall Street Journal, December 1, 2017.
79. Ibid.
80. Ibid.
81. Ibid.
82. Judson Berger, “Michael Flynn Pleads Guilty to False Statements Charge in Russia Probe,” Fox News, December 1, 2017.
83. Anna Dubenko, “Right and Left React to Michael Flynn’s Guilty Plea,” New York Times, December 1, 2017.
84. Miles Parks, “The 10 Events You Need to Know to Understand the Michael Flynn Story,” NPR, December 5, 2017.
85. Byron York, “An Unusual Turn in the Michael Flynn Case?,” Washington Examiner, February 15, 2018.
86. Andrew C. McCarthy, “The Curious Michael Flynn Guilty Plea,” National Review, February 13, 2018.
87. York, “Comey Told Congress FBI Agents Didn’t Think Michael Flynn Lied.”
88. Andrew C. McCarthy, “Outrageous Redactions to the Russia Report,” National Review, May 7, 2018.
89. Ibid.
90. Ibid.
91. Ibid.
92. Ibid.
93. Ibid.
94. U.S. Department of Justice, “Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election,” March 2019, https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf.
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