What was Rudy Giuliani doing, going on TV and saying Michael Cohen paid off a porn star at Donald Trump’s direction and that Trump fired James Comey for reasons entirely different from the one Trump gave at the time? I speculate we’re seeing a newly aggressive legal strategy that might lead to the firing of Robert Mueller and others at the Justice Department, while Noah Rothman thinks that would be insane if true, and Abe Greenwald referees. Also, the Iran deal advocates—are they kidding with the way they reacted to the Israeli seizure of Iranian nuclear documents, or what? Give a listen.

Subscribe to The Commentary Magazine Podcast in Apple Podcasts (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in Apple Podcasts or by RSS feed.

There are 8 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Albert Arthur Coolidge
    Albert Arthur
    @AlbertArthur

    I really must object to the first sentence of the written description, although I haven’t listened to the episode. 

    Ricochet Audio Network: What was Rudy Giuliani doing, going on TV and saying Michael Cohen paid off a porn star at Donald Trump’s direction

    Literally not what Rudy said. Completely to the opposite, Rudy said that Trump reimbursed Cohen for attorney services rendered and wasn’t aware of the specifics. Note -> reimbursed implies after the fact, not at the direction of.

    Ricochet Audio Network: and that Trump fired James Comey for reasons entirely different from the one Trump gave at the time

    Trump said at the time that he was going to fire Comey anyway for not saying that Trump wasn’t under investigation. It caused a huge hellabaloo at the time. 

    • #1
  2. Israel P. Inactive
    Israel P.
    @IsraelP

    John, “living in an attic” is not a weird Anne Frank reference. It’s a weird Jane Eyre reference.

    • #2
  3. Duane Oyen Member
    Duane Oyen
    @DuaneOyen

    Albert Arthur (View Comment):

    I really must object to the first sentence of the written description, although I haven’t listened to the episode.

    Ricochet Audio Network: What was Rudy Giuliani doing, going on TV and saying Michael Cohen paid off a porn star at Donald Trump’s direction

    Literally not what Rudy said. Completely to the opposite, Rudy said that Trump reimbursed Cohen for attorney services rendered and wasn’t aware of the specifics. Note -> reimbursed implies after the fact, not at the direction of.

    ……..

    I think that this is right.  Now, it is quite possible that this is deliberate strategic ignorance, but every president has had cases where he consciously did not want to know.  I suspect that Cohen’s job is routinely to clean up Trtump’s messes, and the bill for the next three months is boosted a bit to cover expenses.

    But surely this is all so disillusioning for those who thought that Washington politicians and thrice married tycoons were mostly pure as the driven snow in their private lives.

    I did not vote for Trump.  He is a 4 year old, and too lazy to bother doing the necessary homework for his job.  Given a decent alternative, I’ll vote against him in the 2020 primary and donate to a different candidate. 

    But I am really tired of the prissiness and priggishness of some of my fellow neverTrumpers.  This preening self-righteousness gets a bit old after the 700th iteration. 

    • #3
  4. JuliaBlaschke Lincoln
    JuliaBlaschke
    @JuliaBlaschke

    Duane Oyen (View Comment):
    But I am really tired of the prissiness and priggishness of some of my fellow neverTrumpers. This preening self-righteousness gets a bit old after the 700th iteration. 

    You don’t have to be prissy or priggish to expect some standards of behavior in the person asking for your vote. There are indeed 700 iterations and there will be more. Unfortunately Trump will keep providing fuel.

    • #4
  5. JuliaBlaschke Lincoln
    JuliaBlaschke
    @JuliaBlaschke

    Albert Arthur (View Comment):
    Literally not what Rudy said. Completely to the opposite, Rudy said that Trump reimbursed Cohen for attorney services rendered and wasn’t aware of the specifics. Note -> reimbursed implies after the fact, not at the direction of.

    Trump wasn’t aware of the specifics? You mean he sleeps with so many women he can’t keep track of who Cohen pays off?

    • #5
  6. Joe D. Inactive
    Joe D.
    @JosephDornisch

    After reading plenty of Mark Steyn for years, and seeing the way law enforcement conducted themselves in Wisconsin regarding tea partiers, and the way they held protesters at gunpoint in Ferguson. If you ask me if I believe that FBI agents behaved like storm troopers, my answer would be, do they know how to behave in any other way?

    • #6
  7. Albert Arthur Coolidge
    Albert Arthur
    @AlbertArthur

    Joe D. (View Comment):

    After reading plenty of Mark Steyn for years, and seeing the way law enforcement conducted themselves in Wisconsin regarding tea partiers, and the way they held protesters at gunpoint in Ferguson. If you ask me if I believe that FBI agents behaved like storm troopers, my answer would be, do they know how to behave in any other way?

    Stormy Troopers.

    • #7
  8. Albert Arthur Coolidge
    Albert Arthur
    @AlbertArthur

    JuliaBlaschke (View Comment):

    Albert Arthur (View Comment):
    Literally not what Rudy said. Completely to the opposite, Rudy said that Trump reimbursed Cohen for attorney services rendered and wasn’t aware of the specifics. Note -> reimbursed implies after the fact, not at the direction of.

    Trump wasn’t aware of the specifics? You mean he sleeps with so many women he can’t keep track of who Cohen pays off?

    Did Rudy say Cohen paid Daniels “at Trump’s direction” or that Trump “didn’t know the specifics”? I don’t care whether you believe it or not. The Commentary crew should accurately describe what Rudy actually said and not 100% misrepresent it. After they accurate quote Rudy, they can go on to say their version of “we don’t believe him.”

    • #8
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.