FBI raid Michael Cohen's office

[_Res Ipsa]

Schmo, I’ve given up trying to understand what or how the guy thinks. Like it does with everything, my brain keeps trying to make some sense out of what he says and does. But it just can’t.

[_Doctor Steuss]

I’m guessing that if there’s enough evidence to convict Cohen on something which would result in jail time, Trump will end up pardoning him.

The fallout from him pardoning Cohen would likely be nil amongst Republicans. Democrats would scream and holler until the next nutty and/or scumbaggy thing done by Trump diverts their attention. Amongst Trump cultists, it’ll likely be seen as a triumph of Trump standing against the corruption and conspiracy against him and those who believe in ‘murica.

[_Hawkeye]

Apparently, Mueller referred the case to a New York prosecutor.

ETA: Mueller referred to Rosenstein, who referred to a Federal Prosecutor in New York.

In a nice bit of irony, the Federal Prosecutor is Geoffrey Berman, appointed by the Trump administration upon their firing of Preet Bharara.

He actually recused himself.

[_MissTish]

He actually recused himself.

Yes, I've read that in the time since the raid. I wonder if this recusal is upsetting the Orange one the way the Sessions recusal is. I hope so.

[_Some Schmo]

...the Orange one...

For some reason, that just sounds apropos.

Out of all the ways you can describe this ass clown, doesn't "orange" seem somehow extra poignant, given it's the one word everyone points to as non-rhyming? It's an acknowledgment it doesn't play well with others, and neither does orange.

[_Res Ipsa]

He actually recused himself.

Yes, I've read that in the time since the raid. I wonder if this recusal is upsetting the Orange one the way the Sessions recusal is. I hope so.

Did he recuse himself or was he recused? I’ve seen it reported both ways.

[_MissTish]

The most recent stories I've seen are reporting he recused himself. Earlier i had read that Rosenstein recused Berman, but now it's being reported that Rosenstein approved the recusal and gave the go ahead for Khuzami to replace Berman.

[_moksha]

My understanding is that this was referred to the Southern District of New York.

The US Attorney for the Southern District is Geoffrey Berman. Berman is a Trump appointee who donated money to the 2016 Trump campaign and is a longtime Trump ally and supporter. Berman was recused because of this strong Trump tie-in and Rosenstein himself was notified of the recusal after the decision was made. So this attempt to do an end run against the justice system was in part foiled. The question is whether information of this raid was leaked to Cohen in advance of the raid.

Berman, who named Robert Khuzami, who will handle the case, as his top deputy. Deputy U.S. Attorney Khuzami spoke at the 2004 Republican convention in support of George W. Bush.

[_moksha]

Over at the Fox Kabuki Theater, Sean Hannity announced that “Mueller has ostensibly tonight declared war against the president of the United States".



*** Hannity would make a much better samurai than a Kabuki dancer, what with swinging a sword and making loud incomprehensible guttural grunts.

[_Hawkeye]

The DOJ just confirmed this is a criminal investigation.