monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

Veterans Affairs Secretary David J. Shulkin’s chief of staff doctored an email and made false statements to create a pretext for taxpayers to cover expenses for the secretary’s wife on a 10-day trip to Europe last summer, the agency’s inspector general has found.

Vivieca Wright Simpson, VA’s third-most senior official, altered language in an email from an aide coordinating the trip to make it appear that Shulkin was receiving an award from the Danish government — then used the award to justify paying for his wife’s travel, Inspector General Michael J. Missal said in a report released Wednesday. VA paid $4,312 for her airfare.

Oh, in case people might think I never have anything good to say about the president, he's shown himself to be a great guy by paying off his porn star girlfriend out of his own pocket!

Quote:

Oh, in case people might think I never have anything good to say about the president, he's shown himself to be a great guy by paying off his porn star girlfriend out of his own pocket!

As many in the evangelical community would note, this is what Jesus would do.

Trump (and presumably a good number of his supporters and apologists) appear to believe Putin's denial that anything like this is happening — or ever happened. The self-described great "dealmaker" apparently assumes that his ex-KGB buddy Vlad would never lie to him or countenance such activity. I honestly don't understand the hold Russia seems to have on this guy's imagination. Any theories?

Dems Keep Special Election Hot Streak Alive, Winning GOP-Leaning Florida Seat

“Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly … The payment to Ms. Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone.” - Michael Cohen

He is with the Department of History, University of Chicago.

What level of expertise do you have?

It is truly amazing, you call others retards, folks who are professionals and deal in the truth, science and facts

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, believes that Trump attorney Michael Cohen invalidated a non-disclosure agreement after two news stories were published Tuesday: One, in which Cohen told The New York Times that he made the six-figure payment with his personal funds, and another in the Daily Beast, which reported that Cohen was shopping a book proposal that would touch on Daniels’ story, said the manager, Gina Rodriguez.

“Everything is off now, and Stormy is going to tell her story,” Rodriguez said.

Going to get better, it appears. I hope she has a blue dress that she hasn't had cleaned. That would be rather delightful.

An X-rated cover-up?

Analysis by Anthony Zurcher, BBC Washington

Donald Trump's lawyer and all-around fixer Michael Cohen has said he doesn't plan "further comment" on his six-figure payment to Stormy Daniels. His statements, however, raise more questions than they answer.

While he said the money came from his "personal funds" and was not reimbursed directly or indirectly by the Trump Organization or the Trump campaign, that leaves open the possibility that he was compensated by other parties - including Mr Trump himself.

Why, in his generosity, would Mr Cohen give $130,000 to Ms Daniels? The Wall Street Journal has reported that it was in exchange for a non-disclosure agreement about a decade-old affair between Mr Trump and Ms Daniels. Circumstantial evidence - that Ms Daniels had been in contact with media outlets prior to the transfer and has since gone silent - lends credence to this line.

Even though the alleged affair is long since past, a story about possible hush money and an attempted cover-up just weeks before the presidential election is much more dangerous for a White House already on its heels. And if it turns out there's more to the money trail than has been disclosed, an embarrassing situation could quickly morph into a criminal inquiry.

A Stormy (Daniels) situation: A porn star scandal Trump can't shake
Presentational grey line
"The payment to Ms Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone," Mr Cohen said.

The lawyer has previously said Mr Trump "vehemently denies" it occurred.

The revelations on Wednesday follow US media reports that the porn actress known as Ms Daniels was paid to sign an agreement stopping her discussing an alleged affair.

She first said she had a relationship with Mr Trump in a 2011 interview.

In a 2011 interview with InTouch magazine, the actress said she began a sexual relationship with Mr Trump in 2006, shortly after Melania Trump gave birth to his son Barron.

The reports re-emerged in January when the Wall Street Journal reported that she was paid to sign a non-disclosure agreement in the run up to the 2016 election, which prevented her from discussing the alleged liaison.

Ms Clifford was believed to be in discussion with US media about an television appearance to discuss Mr Trump at the time, the report said.

Responding to questions from CNN about why the payment was made, Mr Cohen said: "Just because something isn't true doesn't mean that it can't cause you harm or damage."

"I will always protect Mr Trump," Mr Cohen added.

On 30 January, Ms Daniels' publicist released a statement in her name denying having an affair with Mr Trump.

But many - including Ms Daniels herself - were quick to note that the signature attached to that denial did not bear much resemblance to another copy of her autograph which had been attached to an earlier statement.

That denial had been released by Mr Cohen on 10 January.

She has since made several public appearances on television and at strip clubs, but has remained tight-lipped when asked directly about Mr Trump in interviews.

Minutes after Mr Trump's first formal State of the Union address to Congress, she gave an interview to late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel.

In it, she refused to directly answer whether she had signed a non-disclosure agreement, or if she had "ever made love to someone whose name rhymes with Lonald Lump".

In preparation for the testimony, here are 10 memorable facts about Mr. Cohen.

1. He has a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan, and he and his wife got rich in the (what some would refer to as sleazeball) world of New York City taxicab medallions.

2. Cohen packs heat: The New York Times has reported that he carries a licensed pistol in an ankle holster.

3. He has deep personal connections to Ukraine. He is married to a Ukrainian, as is his younger brother, Bryan. The brothers dabbled in Ukrainian business, and his name is on two family financial companies in Ukraine incorporated in 1998. He and his younger brother were directors of International Ethanol of Ukraine, according to 2006 filings, Bloomberg reported.

4. Cohen once threatened to ruin a 26-year-old Miss USA contender who claimed the Trump-owned contest was rigged. “It’s going to be my privilege to serve it to you on a silver platter like I did that idiot from Pennsylvania in Miss USA, because I think you’re dumber than she is,” Cohen told a reporter. “Sheena Monnin, another one that wanted to defame Mr. Trump and ended up with a $5 million judgment. That’s going to be nothing compared to what I do to you.” Monnin’s father confirmed the threats.

5. As of last year, Cohen didn’t believe spousal rape is illegal. (It is illegal in all 50 states.) Responding to a call about Ivana Trump’s claim in a divorce case deposition that Trump raped her, the lawyer replied: “nderstand that by the very definition, you can’t rape your spouse. You cannot rape your spouse. And there’s very clear case law.”

6. Cohen likes to threaten journalists. “I will make sure that you and I meet one day while we’re in the courthouse. And I will take you for every penny you still don’t have,” he said to a Daily Beast reporter who called him about the rape claim. “So I’m warning you, tread very ******* lightly, because what I’m going to do to you is going to be ******* disgusting. You understand me? You write a story that has Mr. Trump’s name in it, with the word ‘rape,’ and I’m going to mess your life up…for as long as you’re on this frickin’ planet… You’re going to have judgments against you, so much money, you’ll never know how to get out from underneath it,” he added. He also re-tweeted threats to Megyn Kelly: After she grilled Trump on his treatment of women, he called her a liar and retweeted “Let’s gut her,” as well as others calling her a “snake” and a “psycho.”

7. Cohen went ballistic when Trump lost the cameo role of POTUS in Sharknado 3 to billionaire Mark Cuban. The role included a scene in which the president shoots sharks inside the White House before impaling a Great White with an American flag. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cohen called a producer after Cuban got the part and shouted at him, “‘How dare you? Donald wanted to do this. We’re going to sue you! We’re going to shut the entire show down.'”

8. Earlier this year Cohen tweeted pictures of his college-age daughter in black lingerie to his 218,000 followers. “Jealous?” he tweeted at critics.

9. Donald Trump Jr., himself a Trump-Russia Star of the Week not long ago, hooked Cohen up with his job in the Trump Organization back in 2006.

10. Cohen is such an ardent, lifelong Trump fan that he has let it be known he read Trump’s Art of the Deal twice as a teenager.

http://www.newsweek.com/michael-cohen-trump-personal-lawyer-657344

Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director, estimated on Wednesday that the public display of America’s military might that Mr. Trump has called for could cost between $10 million and $30 million, and said the government would have to come up with a way to cover the cost.

Another school shooting. Yehaw! Let the bells of freedom right loud!