6:05 P.M. There’s a possibility that this is all part of Trump’s master strategy to ‘ Drain The Swamp ‘…

From THE LAST REFUGE :

Those who follow closely will note Speaker Pelosi’s plan to weaponize congressional oversight is a carefully orchestrated campaign with three key figures : Adam Schiff , Elijah Cummings and Jerry Nadler.

Representative Jody Hice questions Michael Cohen about the construct and background of his congressional appearance. Within the answer Cohen admits his handler , democrat operative Lanny Davis , coordinated with key congressional leadership to include Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings and HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff.

The way to defeat the Pelosi / Schumer impeachment scheme is to expose the cornerstone of the political fraud the scheme relies upon.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has worked closely with House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings to use President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen as the cornerstone to a carefully planned democrat impeachment effort.

Working collaboratively with current officials inside the U.S. Department of Justice , specifically Robert Mueller and the Southern District of New York , Speaker Pelosi organized a deferment of prison sentence for Mr. Cohen so he could testify to the House committees. Toward that end , and in fulfillment of his agreement to House Democrats via Lanny Davis , we see the Cohen testimony.

Depending on how well the media is able to exploit the damaging testimony from Cohen , Special Counsel Mueller will time his investigative report to AG William Barr.

The background battle between Pelosi/Schumer’s congress and Attorney General William Barr will be aided by the leverage Pelosi , Adam Schiff ( HPSCI ) , Elijah Cummings ( Oversight ) , and Jerry Nadler ( Judiciary ) are able to generate from Michael Cohen. That’s why Cohen’s public testimony was never optional.

All of this is carefully designed. None of this is organic. All of the participants have networked contacts acting as intermediaries ( like Lawfare ) to provide arms-length plausible deniability to the larger political scheme. These plans and schemes are all professional Democrats spend time thinking and talking about. This is what they do. This is all they do. This is their purpose in life ; nothing else matters.

In the new House Rules Pelosi unveiled last December , HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff has until April 15th to organize his summer hearing schedule for attacks against the White House. Pelosi hasn’t tried to hide the plan ; heck , she’s published it for all to see.

Expose the scheme , by outlining the sequence of events prior to their ability to trigger them , and the fraudulent House of sketchy cards collapses.

Much more to come , I’m sure …

 

Source: Michael Cohen Admits to Coordinating Scripted Testimony With Lanny Davis, Adam Schiff and Elijah Cummings… | The Last Refuge

5:30 P.M. YEAH !!! … Totally sexist !!! … Not fair at all !!! …

3:33 P.M. Entertainment galore !!! …

Right into the Michael Coen circus for the American public right … but while on a 35 minute recess I stumbled across this … 

It’ll have to wait … The Cohen schtick is just far too entertaining !!! …

From studies on northern transportation systems, to helping protect whales from toxins , to window washing – SNC-Lavalin has extensive federal ties amounting to tens of millions of dollars in contracts , big and small.

The Montreal-based engineering and construction firm could see its revenue stream from federal contracts dry up if it’s convicted on corruption charges and subsequently ruled ineligible to receive federal work – a possibility under the government’s integrity regime.

The Trudeau government faces accusations that prime ministerial aides improperly pressured former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to overrule the public prosecutor and make such an agreement happen.

Wilson-Raybould did not overturn the prosecutor’s decision and was shuffled in January to a new cabinet portfolio, though the government denies it inappropriately leaned on her to help SNC-Lavalin.

If SNC-Lavalin is eventually barred from bidding on federal contracts, it would prevent the company’s involvement in projects that touch numerous federal departments and agencies …

More on this later …

The recess in the Cohen trial is just about finished … Gotta get back to that ! …

Source: From bridge design to whale toxins: SNC-Lavalin’s vast, extensive federal contracts – National | Globalnews.ca

6:15 A.M. FINALLY !!! … Something worth tuning in for on the TV !!! …

 

 

First , from CBS …

Cohen knows a lot about Trump and his business dealings throughout the last decade. ” He knows where the proverbial bodies are buried ” as Brower says.

That puts Cohen in a position to paint a damning portrait of Trump , the private businessman. The Wall Street Journal reports that Cohen ” will make public some of Mr. Trump’s private financial statements ” and tell Congress that Trump inflated or deflated his net worth to dodge taxes.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform is expected Wednesday to ask Cohen about matters such as potential corrupt practices in contracting for Trump towers overseas , potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or about his knowledge of whether Trump has paid property taxes.

Brace for theatrics

Trump has already been accused of witness tampering , after he tweeted ominously to ” watch “Cohen’s father-in-law. Last month , Cohen withdrew his commitment to testify , with his lawyer citing ” threats against this family ” by the president. On the eve of Cohen’s Wednesday testimony , Republican congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida also tweeted a warning , hinting at disclosures about Cohen’s ” girlfriends ” to his wife.

Cohen is expected to testify about the intimidation on Wednesday. He will also reportedly tell lawmakers about alleged racist statements the president has made in his presence , a potential revelation that wouldn’t so much have any legal implications as it would further damage Trump’s character.

” If Michael Cohen says , ‘Yes , I heard the president use the N-word in my presence numerous times , and I have recording after recording of that , and I’m going to share them on the internet for all the world to hear ‘, well , that’s not a crime ” Zeldin said. ” That’s theatre. And people will do with it as they want “.

Impugning the president’s character isn’t really a legal matter , but it is salacious. A number of House progressives on the panel , including Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , will get a chance to grill Cohen before live TV cameras.

Testimony that embarrasses the president is one thing ; testimony that suggests criminal liability is quite another , and it will demand corroboration , said Mark Osler , a criminal law scholar and expert on sentencing.

And the FoxNews take …

A Congressional oversight hearing must serve a legislative purpose. What legislation is Congress working on that Michael Cohen can shed light on ? …

Chairman Elijah Cummings , D-Md., justifies the hearing this way : “ Congress has an obligation under the Constitution to conduct independent and robust oversight of the executive branch, and this hearing is one step in that process ”.

Nobody would disagree with the committee’s jurisdiction to oversee the executive branch. The problem with this hearing , however , is that the witness was never part of the executive branch. Any testimony he provides is only relevant to events that took place prior to the election of the president.

Chairman Cummings’ press release says the hearing is to “ address the president’s payoffs , financial disclosures , compliance with campaign finance laws , business practices, and other matters ”. The Oversight Committee has agreed not to inquire about the Russia investigation , but only because that topic is reserved for the Intelligence Committee in a hearing the following day.

None of the stated reasons for the hearing have any relevance to Donald Trump as president , legislation , the executive branch , or any other government function.  Michael Cohen was never a government employee.

The Oversight Committee has the broadest investigative scope of any Congressional committee. It can investigate “ anything, anywhere ” But the Supreme Court has imposed clear boundaries on the committee and Congress.

In Watkins v. United States the Supreme Court ruled , “ There is no general authority to expose the private affairs of individuals without justification in terms of the functions of the Congress … Nor is the Congress a law enforcement or trial agency … An inquiry … Must be related to , and in furtherance of, a legitimate task of the Congress ”…

I’ll be tunin’ in to this one … Usually absolute crap on TV these days … But THIS is Entertainment !!! …

 

Source: Jason Chaffetz: Michael Cohen hearing’s only purpose is to publicly flog Trump during meeting with Kim Jong Un | Fox News