After Michael Cohen’s testimony, impeachment is all but inevitable.
The persistent skepticism that has surrounded President Trump’s legal travails arose again toward the end of February when news reports claimed that special counsel Robert Mueller would soon finish his final report. If Mueller was almost done, the thinking went, he couldn’t have much more. The chances of anything touching Trump directly started to appear lower than the nearly two-year investigation’s ending with a whimper.
Michael Cohen’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee all but destroyed that presumption. Trump’s former attorney and fixer alleged not only systematic criminality by his former boss but deep culpability in the Russia scandal itself. In the wake of that hearing, it seems inevitable that Trump will face impeachment in the House (though, given his party’s continued loyalty and the need to obtain the votes of 67 senators, probably not removal). In fact, future historians will likely consider Cohen’s testimony the first hearing in the process.
Cohen’s opening statement reviewed many of Trump’s familiar degeneracies. He is casually racist and habitually criminal, gleefully refusing to pay his contractors and arranging petty scams like using his charitable foundation for self-enrichment. Cohen also produced evidence, in the form of signed checks, that Trump violated campaign-finance law by reimbursing Cohen for payments to Stormy Daniels during the race. Trump signed one of those checks in 2017, as a sitting president. And, incidentally, by signing a Trump Organization check, he broke his promise not to involve himself in any business activities while in office. All of this made for spectacular television, even if Cohen’s explanation of his motivations was self-serving and disingenuous. (The real reason he flipped is simple, amoral, and obvious: He had no choice.)
Denne historien er fra March 4, 2019-utgaven av New York magazine.
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Denne historien er fra March 4, 2019-utgaven av New York magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Trapped in Time
A woman relives the same day in a stunning Danish novel.
Polyphonic City
A SOFT, SHIMMERING beauty permeates the images of Mumbai that open Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light. For all the nighttime bustle on display-the heave of people, the constant activity and chaos-Kapadia shoots with a flair for the illusory.
Lear at the Fountain of Youth
Kenneth Branagh's production is nipped, tucked, and facile.
A Belfast Lad Goes Home
After playing some iconic Americans, Anthony Boyle is a beloved IRA commander in a riveting new series about the Troubles.
The Pluck of the Irish
Artists from the Indiana-size island continue to dominate popular culture. Online, they've gained a rep as the \"good Europeans.\"
Houston's on Houston
The Corner Store is like an upscale chain for downtown scene-chasers.
A Brownstone That's Pink Inside
Artist Vivian Reiss's Murray Hill house of whimsy.
These Jeans Made Me Gay
The Citizens of Humanity Horseshoe pants complete my queer style.
Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes
Less than six months after her Gagosian sölu show, the artist JAMIAN JULIANO-VILLAND lost her gallery and all her money and was preparing for an exhibition with two the biggest living American artists.
WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
Deli Meat Is Rotten