$500,000 Payment From Russian Oligarch To Cohen Was Meant To Buy Access To Trump

According to people in both Trump and Cohen world, the $500,000 payment made to Michael Cohen by a Russian oligarch was meant to buy access to Trump.

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Natasha Bertrand of The Atlantic and MSNBC reported:

Bertrand said, “This is just when Michael Avenatti broke the news on Twitter essentially. I called up Steve Ryan’s cell and said, what is this about? He said he didn’t want to discuss it but did entertain a few of my questions. He said it was not a payment and incorrect to call it a payment. He said he acknowledged this transaction occurred but took issue with calling it a payment. When I spoke to Michael Avenatti later he told me to say it was not a payment is completely inaccurate. Seems they’re parsing a bit but the key is that Michael Cohen was looking for new clients after the election, and after Donald Trump’s inauguration. And whether or not those new clients like the Russian oligarch who hired him and paid him $500,000 were trying to gain access to the administration remains to be seen, but many people in both Trump’s world and in Cohen’s world tell me that it seems clear that this was meant to gain access to the president.”

If people in both Trump and Cohen world believe that the Russians were trying to buy access to the Trump presidency, it raises the question of criminality. If Cohen took the money and Trump met with the oligarch, it isn’t a crime at that point. The criminal liability kicks in if the oligarch got access to Trump, asked him to do something in exchange for money, and he did it, that is a crime.

Political bribery laws are narrow, but the overarching idea that people closest to Trump were selling access to the presidency to Russian oligarchs will do grave damage to this administration.

It is no surprise that the Trump presidency is for sale. The real shock is that Michael Cohen would be dumb enough to openly sell access to Trump to the Russians.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association