Trump claims unrevealed Cohen book manuscript shows testimony was ‘total lie’

President Trump on Sunday renewed his attacks against his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, claiming that a manuscript Cohen allegedly wrote proved that the attorney’s congressional testimony last week was a “total lie.”

“After more than two years of Presidential Harassment, the only things that have been proven is that Democrats and other broke the law,” Trump tweeted. “The hostile Cohen testimony, given by a liar to reduce his prison time, proved no Collusion!”

Trump has insisted that Cohen wrote a manuscript last year that was a “love letter” to Trump, contradicting his criticism of Trump in his congressional testimony. No manuscript has been publicly released, and Cohen’s publisher said he never turned one in.

Trump on Sunday maintained that Cohen’s unseen book manuscript proved his testimony was a lie. He said in a separate tweet that the “Fake Media won’t show it.” 

“I am an innocent man being persecuted by some very bad, conflicted & corrupt people in a Witch Hunt that is illegal & should never have been allowed to start – And only because I won the Election! Despite this, great success!” Trump said. 

Trump cites Imaginary ‘just released’ book manuscript to attack Cohen

President Donald Trump said Saturday that a “just released” manuscript of a book written by Michael Cohen would show his longtime personal lawyer had lied to Congress, without offering further evidence for the explosive claim.

“Virtually everything failed lawyer Michael Cohen said in his sworn testimony last week is totally contradicted in his just released manuscript for a book about me. It’s a total new love letter to “Trump” and the pols must now use it rather than his lies for sentence reduction!” Trump tweeted.

It’s not yet clear whether the manuscript exists, if Trump has actually seen it or if he is simply continuing a line of attack started on Friday, when the president demanded Congress obtain the alleged manuscript as proof that Cohen was lying in his testimony.

“The brand new manuscript for a new book by failed lawyer Michael Cohen shows his testimony was a total lie! Pundits should only use it,” Trump tweeted minutes later.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment

Last May, the Daily Beast reported that Cohen had written a book tentatively titled “Trump Revolution: From The Tower to The White House, Understanding Donald J. Trump,” but its release was stalled by legal issues.

During congressional testimony this week, Republicans pressed Cohen on whether he had a book deal lined up. Cohen would not rule out that possibility. However, Cohen’s potential publisher has said it “never saw a manuscript” and a lawyer for Cohen said the book never went beyond a preliminary proposal.

[Politico]

Trump Revives Year-Old Feud With LaVar Ball in Weird Tangent on Chinese President Xi Jinping

President Donald Trump relitigated his year-old beef with sports media personality LaVar Ball, whose son, along with two other players, was apprehended in China for theft while he was playing basketball for UCLA in 2017.

“I said, ‘It would be a great thing if you could possibly let them out?’ He goes, ‘So be it. They’re out.’ I said, ‘is this different than our country, eh? Just a little bit different?’” Trump said, repeating the discussion he had with President Xi Jinping to a group of governors at the White House today. “We got them out. Then we came back and the one father said, ‘Well we don’t know that Trump helped. I sent a consultant.’ That consultant would have gotten nowhere.”

Trump has previously stated that the UCLA athletes, who were allegedly caught stealing from a Louis Vuitton store in China, were “headed for 10 years in jail” had it not been for his intervention.

The president repeated that claim this morning.

“I wasn’t happy with those three players because they never gave our country much credit for having gotten them out, and believe me they’d be in jail stealing in a store in China is a very big offense,” he said.

Ball, who has made a name for himself in the sports media world by saying outlandish things amid the rise of his NBA player son Lonzo Ball, repeatedly attacked Trump for the claims. The father even shared an animated GIF on Twitter showing him dunking on Trump.

[Mediaite]

Reality

Donald Trump is again trying to take credit for intervening with the Chinese government for the release of Lonzo Ball for stealing Louis Vuitton bags in China, but Trump didn’t get involved until after the students were already released.

Trump rips Harry Reid, falsely states he ‘got thrown out’ of the Senate

President Trump on Monday lashed out at former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid after the Nevada Democrat criticized him in a new interview with CNN.

In an early-morning tweet, the president falsely stated that Reid — who did not run for reelection and retired from the Senate in 2017 — “got thrown out.”

Trump also said Reid, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, is “working hard to put a good spin on his failed career.”

“He led through lies and deception, only to be replaced by another beauty, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer,” the president added. “Some things just never change!”

In his interview with CNN, Reid, who said his cancer is now in remission, did not hold back in his criticism of Trump.

“I just have trouble accepting him as a person, so frankly I don’t see anything he’s doing right,” Reid said.

Reid, who was a sharp critic of former President George W. Bush, said he pines for the last Republican to hold the office.

“He and I had our differences, but no one ever questioned his patriotism. Our battles were strictly political battles,” Reid said of Bush. “There’s no question in my mind that George Bush would be Babe Ruth in this league that he’s in with Donald Trump in the league. Donald Trump wouldn’t make the team.”

Reid said calls for Trump’s impeachment — voiced by some Democrats in Congress — would be a “waste of time” because the Republicans in the GOP-controlled Senate are “so afraid of Trump that they’re not going to get involved in this.” (The Senate would need to vote to proceed with Trump’s impeachment.)

But Reid also said Democrats in Congress need not worry about a backlash if they do decide to introduce articles of impeachment against the president.

“I don’t think there would be a backlash,” he said. “Because the vast majority of the people know something’s wrong with Trump.”

[Yahoo]

Trump accuses Spike Lee of ‘racist hit’ against him in Oscars acceptance speech

President Donald Trump started his Monday by blasting director Spike Lee as “racist” in an early morning tweet following Sunday night’s Oscar ceremony.

Trump said Lee’s acceptance speech amounted to a “racist hit” against him.



Lee won his first Oscar Sunday night when “BlacKkKlansman” won best adapted screenplay (an award he shared with Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott.)

In his acceptance speech, Lee referred to his family’s history in the U.S., which he said could be traced to the first slaves being brought over from Africa.

“Before the world tonight, I give praise to our ancestors who have built this country into what it is today along with the genocide of its native people,” Lee said. “We all connect with our ancestors. We will have love and wisdom regained, we will regain our humanity. It will be a powerful moment.”

He added that the 2020 presidential election was just “around the corner.”

“Let’s all mobilize,” he continued. “Let’s all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let’s do the right thing! You know I had to get that in there.”

Lee did not mention Trump by name in his address.

“BlacKkKlansman” is based on the true story of Ron Stallworth, the first black detective to serve in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Taking place in the 1970s, Stallworth, alongside a veteran white colleague, Flip Zimmerman, set out to infiltrate and take down the Ku Klux Klan.

“BlacKkKlansman” is based on the true story of Ron Stallworth, the first black detective to serve in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Taking place in the 1970s, Stallworth, alongside a veteran white colleague, Flip Zimmerman, set out to infiltrate and take down the Ku Klux Klan.

The conclusion of the film features footage from the August 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a group of neo-Nazis and alt-right activists marched against the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The marchers chanted slogans like “Jews will not replace us,” and one attendee drove into a group of counter-protesters, killing one.

The film then included Trump’s response to that rally, when he said there was “blame on both sides” for the violence.

“You had some very bad people in that group,” Trump said. “But you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”

Lee has been sharply critical of Trump during his presidency, nicknaming the president “Agent Orange” and saying Trump is “a man of hate, violence, and can’t be trusted to make moral decisions.”

[NBC News]

Donald Trump Blasts Jussie Smollett On Twitter: “What About MAGA?”

“What about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments?” President Donald Trump asked Empire actor Jussie Smollett, who Chicago cops now say staged his own January assault Smollett had said was perpetrated by men wearing MAGA hats.

Smollett staged the hoax because he was “dissatisfied with his salary” on the Fox series, and to promote his career,  according to “angry” Chicago Supt. Eddie Johnson at a Thursday morning presser carried on all the cable news networks and ABC News, which is now maybe wishing it had not scored that exclusive Smollett interview on Good Morning AMerica, when he was still pushing his victim of hate crime storyline.

Smollett turned himself in today at 5 AM Chicago time, after which Windy City police held a presser on the actor’s arrest.

Johnson said Smollett paid siblings Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo $3,500 to participate in the phony attack.

The Empire actor, Johnson said, “took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career. This publicity stunt was a scar that Chicago didn’t earn, and certainly didn’t deserve.”

Trump, apparently exercised that MAGA wearers were not portrayed as victims here too, tweeted to that effect.

POTUS previously had joined in the chorus of politicos decrying the “attack” on the actor, when he got asked about it by CNN contributor April Ryan.

[Deadline]

Frazzled and furious Trump attacks McCabe, Mueller and the media in hours-long Twitter meltdown

President Donald Trump closed Presidents Day weekend with a repeat performance of his late Sunday night into early Monday morning tweetstorm. For the second night in a row the President was up late Monday launching angry – and this time, juvenile – tweets, attacking his favorite targets: the Mueller investigation, former Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, and, as usual, the media.

And accusing some, like McCabe, of “Treason!”

Trump was clearly watching Fox News’ Sean Hannity when he tweeted that attack, and clearly he liked the “lying & leaking” part because about 30 minutes later, this juvenile attack:

Less than nine hours later, Trump was back with the attacks, again, quoting Fox News:

And then, minutes later, the media:

And then, the Democrats. Trump has literally no idea how the U.S. court system works. He thinks California has the option of filing a lawsuit in, say, Maine. They don’t. The 9th Circuit has jurisdiction over California, but Trump doesn’t understand that, so he displays his ignorance time and time again. But he’s also wrong: it’s 16 states, not cities, led by California.

“As I predicted, 16 cities, led mostly by Open Border Democrats and the Radical Left, have filed a lawsuit in, of course, the 9th Circuit! California, the state that has wasted billions of dollars on their out of control Fast Train, with no hope of completion, seems in charge!”

All in all, 10 tweets in 10 hours, including, quite ironically – and an amazing self-own – this:

[Raw Story]


Trump dismisses Cliff Sims as ‘low-level staffer,’ ‘mess;’ lawsuit threat over tell-all book

President Donald Trump is distancing himself from Cliff Sims, the former conservative blogger turned presidential adviser, just as the Alabama’s native’s tell-all book about his time in the White House is released.

In a Tuesday morning tweet, Trump described Sims as a “low-level staffer” and “a mess.”

“A low level staffer that I hardly knew named Cliff Sims wrote yet another boring book based on made up stories and fiction. He pretended to be an insider when in fact he was nothing more than a gofer. He signed a non-disclosure agreement. He is a mess!,” Trump tweeted.

Michael Glassner, chief operating officer of Donald J. Trump for President Inc., wrote on Twitter that the campaign planned to sue Sims to violating a nondisclosure agreement.

Sims’ book, “Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House,” was released Tuesday following a round of media appearances by Sims. The book details infighting and dysfunction inside the White House.

Founder of the conservative blog Yellowhammer, Sims took a leave of absence from that job in 2016 to work for the Trump presidential campaign. In 2017, he was named Assistant to the President and Assistant Communications Director for White House Message Strategy.

Sims left the White House in May amid claims of tension with other staff and reports he was moving to a new role with the Secretary of State. That appointment never occurred, however.

Sims is the latest Trump staffer to write about their time in the White House. Former aides Sean Spicer and Omarosa Manigault Newman have previously penned works.

[AL.com]

Trump tweets ex-Starbucks CEO Schultz lacks ‘guts’ to run for president

President Donald Trump wrote online on Monday that former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz “doesn’t have the ‘guts’ to be president,” lashing out at the coffee mogul who said over the weekend that he is weighing an independent 2020 bid for the White House.

“Howard Schultz doesn’t have the ‘guts’ to run for President! Watched him on @60Minutes last night and I agree with him that he is not the ‘smartest person.’ Besides, America already has that! I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!” the president wrote on Twitter Monday morning.

During a pre-taped interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, Schultz told journalist Scott Pelley he was “seriously thinking of running for president.” Though he characterized himself as “a lifelong Democrat,” Schultz said he would run as a “centrist independent outside of the two-party system,” criticizing both Democrats and Republicans for failure to meet the needs of the American people.

Many, including former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, a Democrat who announced his own 2020 campaign on Jan. 12, warned that an independent candidate like Schultz could boost Trump’s reelection chances by siphoning voters away from a Democratic candidate.

In recent decades, candidates running independent campaigns for president have caused a stir, but never come close to winning. Billionaire Ross Perot placed third in 1992 with 19 percent of the vote, enough that many have credited him with drawing support from then-incumbent President George H.W. Bush, allowing President Bill Clinton to unseat him.

In 2000, Consumer advocate Ralph Nader ran as the Green Party’s presidential candidate, pulling enough votes from Democrat Al Gore to help President George W. Bush secure the presidency in that year’s razor-thin election.

[Politico]

Trump accuses Hillary Clinton of being behind Russia dossier in Twitter rant after Roger Stone arrest

Donald Trump attacked the media and Hillary Clinton following the arrest of his former adviser Roger Stone, accusing the 2016 Democratic candidate of paying for the infamous dossier alleging ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

The president sent out a series of angry tweets attempting to distance himself from his campaign ally and divert attention towards Ms Clinton late on Saturday.

The FBI arrested Mr Stone on seven charges in connection with Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference, including giving false statements and witness tampering.

“CBS reports that in the Roger Stone indictment, data was ‘released during the 2016 Election to damage Hillary Clinton,’” Mr Trump tweeted. “Oh really! What about the Fake and Unverified ‘Dossier,’ a total phony conjob, that was paid for by Crooked Hillary to damage me and the Trump Campaign? What…”

The Russia dossier, also known as the Steele dossier, refers to a private report compiled by former MI6 officer Christer Steele on behalf of Fusion GPS which came to the attention of US intelligence services, setting out allegations of conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

In his following tweet, Mr Trump went on to accuse the “fake media” and “crooked Hillary” of being in cahoots in alleged attempts to damage him during the 2016 race.

“…about all of the one sided Fake Media coverage (collusion with Crooked H?) that I had to endure during my very successful presidential campaign,” he added on Twitter. “What about the now revealed bias by Facebook and many others. Roger Stone didn’t even work for me anywhere near the Election!”

Mr Stone’s arrest could have serious implications for the president. The charges reveal the special counsel’s intertest in how exactly the Trump campaign might have sought information about hacked emails related to Ms Clinton and the Democrats during the 2016 presidential election.

But Mr Stone told Fox News he plans on pleading not guilty, claiming several aspects of his indictment “are simply not true.” He also told CNN he has never contacted Mr Trump about a potential pardon.

He is the sixth former Trump associate implicated in Mr Mueller’s investigation into his campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia in the 2016 election.

After leaving the courthouse on Friday, Mr Stone – who has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back – raised his arms in Mr Nixon’s infamous double “V” pose.

The Nixon Foundation attempted to distance itself from Mr Stone following his arrest, pointing out he was only “a junior scheduler on the Nixon re-election committee”.

[Yahoo News]

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