This morning's Trump tweet makes me think Maddow's theory from last night may be spot-on.

[Miles Archer]

Donald J. Trump
‏
Verified account

@realDonaldTrump

Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer’s office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!

5:10 AM - 21 Jul 2018

Link to tweet

Rachel Maddow exposes evidence showing Trump’s team was behind Cohen tape leak

“So that means the only people who would have had access are [Trump and] Michael Cohen’s lawyers,” she said. “His lawyers apparently didn’t leak this thing… it means by process of elimination that president Trump’s lawyers did.”

Maddow said that Trump’s lawyers leaking the tapes mean that they serve his own interests.

“Don’t get your chain yanked on this one,” she said. “President Trump’s lawyers found out this tape existed. For obvious reasons they realized it may be a pretty ugly thing. So today the president’s lawyers themselves appear today have leaked the existence of this tape to get out ahead of this story… You should know the reason we got those headlines is because the president’s legal team decided you should see this story today. They did it themselves.”

[manor321]

1. Yes

And who better to go to other than the loathsome Maggie Haberman?

[oberliner]

3. Why do you call Maggie Haberman loathsome?

[irisblue]

11. Habermanns mother is a big part of trumps NYC PR team. That's not well known

Citjourno.org has more info. Maggie girl has been covering trump for yrs & yrs, A bit cozy.

[Hortensis]

19. Lots of anti-Hillary dishonesty in her only columns also.

[riversedge]

45. For a long while, I stopped reading her--esp. during the gen. election. I really

do not read her much now even.

[Hortensis]

54. Me either. Dishonest is dishonest.

[joshcryer]

39. Nice.

Looks like these people have more pieces of the puzzle. Thanks.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Trump is trying to blend himself with Obama's popularity

in a subliminal way. The public is easily manipulated.

[Iliyah]

6. You mean his cult is easily manipulated

the rest knows shithole and crew are jut plain evil.

[irisblue]

13. My thought as well. nt

[Roy Rolling]

29. That was a hanging curve in the middle of the plate

"Your favorite president"? Of course Obama is okay.

[erlewyne]

5. Maddow is the best, smart!

She knows more but cannot say it because of legalities.

[ewagner]

21. Right on! n/t

[pioche4]

40. Yes

As long as Maddow is still free to report on this, our democracy is still functioning ....at least the freedom of the press part.

[FirstLight]

51. great point!

I know we are all feeling like it's very dark...but we still have some semblance of Free Press...

I worry for the safety and sanity of our true Journalists and Scholars though. I hope we can make it through this without seeing something sinister happen to any of them.

[dalton99a]

7. Yep.

[Ninga]

8. Seems as though the internets his morning, are falling for the ploy. I totally see Maddow's

reasoning....and this morning's tweets support it.

[Hortensis]

23. Yes. Plus, a journalist last night reported WH insiders

as saying Trump was disagreeing with his advisers as usual about how to handle the horrible Russia mess and wanted to continue the diversion of the national subject -- but now back to rabble-rousing social conservative issues, including going after NFL protesters. And this morning that is what he is doing, although its coherence shows he didn't actually write this tweet himself.

Link to tweet

[Timmygoat]

31. So - kneeling for the national anthem is unpatriotic

So I wonder what cosying up to the enemy and selling out the US is!
Perhaps espionage!

[Hortensis]

33. Career destroying "unpatriotic." For sure

he's selling out this handful of earnest, principled athletes to please his red-in-tooth-and-nail base.

He's clearly displaying loyalty to Putin over the U.S -- selling out.

As for espionage, interesting. Is it espionage if you're president and you claim passing information is part of your job? We've proof he's given top secret information to Russia before, of course, and virtually everyone believes he does frequently. Right on stage before the world even.

You know, I can kind of understand how some on the right couldn't believe what we say is happening. Even with minds wide open, who'd believe this?

[Croney]

9. What does early in the morning have to do with anything?

The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the worm's sordid criminal information.

[Mc Mike]

15. It's performance art. Just sort of let it wash over you.

Also great how he pretends legally executing a warrant is a criminal felony b & e.

[oasis]

10. Rachel made a strong case.

Makes plenty sense to me.

[marble falls]

16. Getting in front of bad news to blunt its shock value before all the details are released ...

is one of the things a good defense attorney does. If you can't bury it, dig it up first and early. The earlier it gets done generally the better it is for the defendant. In a way this shows how damaging it is to cheetolini. Just think, there's literally over a million pieces of evidence just for the Cohen trial, and this is only one piece of it.

[oasis]

25. This, and Cohen's interview with Rev. Al. Looks as if Atty. Lanny Davis

is earning his pay (if he's getting paid ).

[marble falls]

27. I bet its more likely Cohen won't stiff Lani Davis than that cheetolini won't stiff ...

that old stiff himself, Rudy Giuliani. Lawyers do not stiff lawyers.

[TimeToGo]

36. Well yea but

If they did it it means that it is no longer privileged. Seems preset shortsighted to me.

[marble falls]

55. It was declared non-privileged by the court appointed expert. Fighting it would only give it ...

credence. Popping it out first is the courtroom equivalent of whistling past a graveyard.

Cohen's not going to go scot-free. He's a co conspirator. But there's no real bodies. Yet. Its not as if he would even want go into witness protection. I mean there's got to be a book, a movie, something here.

[TimeToGo]

57. Not according to the news report

Rachel said it was one of the privileged ones.

[pioche4]

41. And about shock value news... If you didn't catch this article on DU a couple of days ago,

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-trial-runs-for-fascism-are-in-full-flow-1.3543375

[marble falls]

53. The video at the top of that news piece has this image of cheetolini dry humping ...

the flag.

"Patiotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."

[colinmom71]

61. Much like how the "pee tape" was the first thing...

We publicly heard about the Steele dossier - pick something that sounds so unbelievably egregious and hit it hard publicly, so that most folks have a hard time taking it seriously once the entire matter becomes publicly available.

[marble falls]

64. Turned a rock into a joke. Now its not any sort of mis-step, its a punchline. If they'd ...

release a pee tape now, peopled start laughing. If it had been released when it was first brought up it might have brought Trump down and we'd be stuck with Pence - all cheetolini's fascist inclinations with no comedic moments.

But you're right, the tapes definitely kept people interested when they might have gone onto other things.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. On other hand, don't dash all hopes.

Trump's lawyers probably base their assessment on what tRump told them about it. We know how faulty tRump's memory is and how little understanding he has of the complexities of law. He may have effectively as good as lied to them.

[suprcali]

44. Audio

Per Maddow, it was shared by Cohen's lawyers with Trump's lawyers. I took that as Cohen actually providing the recording. But the VF reporter, Emily Jane Fox, said there's a contradiction between the two of who suggested cash payment.

[kentuck]

14. It is very possible that this was the "most acceptable" tape in their possession...

...and they wanted to set the tone before others are released. For example, it is "illegal" and they have "never heard of a lawyer" doing such a thing, according to his tweet this morning. It is very possible this was conceived by Trump and Guiliani.

[ewagner]

24. Good Point!!!

I'll bet the others are real damaging!

[kentuck]

34. Yes. The others could be much more damaging ...

The Trump lawyers may go to court to prevent the others from being made public ?

[suprcali]

47. Maddow

Rachel's show last night sounded like this is the only damaging one for trump. She said a reason why trump's lawyers would release it is to ruin Cohen's chances of making a deal with prosecutors. In order to make a deal, you must offer something more important than what you've done. It just seemed odd for trump's​ side to do this if there are more damaging recordings. But then again he can't be advised and likes to do whatever he wants.

[dalton99a]

17. Trump has a long history of secretly recording calls, according to former associates

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-has-a-long-history-of-secretly-recording-calls-according-to-former-associates/2017/05/12/b302b038-372d-11e7-b412-62beef8121f7_story.html
Trump has a long history of secretly recording calls, according to former associates
By Marc Fisher | May 12, 2017

Throughout Donald Trump’s business career, some executives who came to work for him were taken aside by colleagues and warned to assume that their discussions with the boss were being recorded.

“There was never any sense with Donald of the phone being used for private conversation,” said John O’Donnell, who was president of the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in the 1980s.

For O’Donnell and others who have had regular dealings with Trump through the years, there was something viscerally real about the threat implied by the president’s tweet Friday morning warning that fired FBI director James B. Comey “better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”

“Talking on the phone with Donald was a public experience,” said O’Donnell, author of a book about his former boss, “Trumped: The Inside Story of the Real Donald Trump.” “You never knew who else was listening.”

[pioche4]

42. Wow! Thank you for the link!

[Tavarious Jackson]

18. Yep, it's to distract from Russia sanctions being lifted..

Possible govig away Ukraine and other things.

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN1KA2VS

[displacedtexan]

20. Remember Don Jr. did the same thing.

He pretended to be the innocent hero when he announced the existence of the damning emails about that Russian June meeting at Trumpie Tower. Didn't help then and doesn't help now because Lordy, there are tapes.

[HipChick]

22. Ist he the government? How is any of this Presidential?

[greatauntoftriplets]

26. "Your favorite president"!!!!!!

[SamKnause]

28. ......your favorite president..................

Fuck off and die Trump.

I can not think of one nice thing to say about you.

You have zero redeeming qualities.

You are a waste of space, oxygen, food, and water.

The world would be a better place if you had never been born.

Your are a walking billboard for abortion.

Now, does that sound like you are my favorite president ????

[sellitman]

30. +1 N/T

[smirkymonkey]

58. +1000

Hate him with a passion.

[Corgigal]

32. Troll has to troll.

Media stop reporting on this story.

Back to traitor news, please.

[pioche4]

43. Yes

[H2O Man]

35. Yes, of course

it was Trump's team. There is no question about that.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

37. Hmmmmm, is that anything like Trump's goons breaking into the office of the "doctor"

who decided to tell the truth about Trump dictating the ludicrously false medical assessment and manhandling him? Except for you know, the fact that they were not officers of the law?

[FakeNoose]

38. "My favorite President did nothing wrong" - I'm so glad to hear that

Hillary is in the clear on this!

[bitterross]

46. Yep, his attempt to change the conversation.

He wants to change the conversation to the legality of the tapes rather than the content and away from Putin.

[SeattleVet]

48. The reply I just put on FB commenting on the Orange Asshole's tweet:

From the "Oh, give me an effin' break" department:

Donald J. Trump
Verified account
@realDonaldTrump 5h 5 hours ago
Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer’s office (early in the morning) - almost unheard of. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client - totally unheard of & perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong!
--------------------

My comments:
1. They didn't 'break in'; they executed a valid search warrant issued by a judge that had been presented hard evidence of a crime being committed, and seized the evidence in the 3 places authorized related to those crimes and itemized in that warrant. Your (former?) lawyer has stated that the agents executing the warrant were polite and professional, and he even thanked them when they were done.

2. A mob lawyer has to protect himself, too. Not really that unheard of - many lawyers do record conversations to make it easier when they write up reports or have other paperwork prepared after the fact, as a memory refresher and to maintain accuracy (most delete these after they are through, though, but your dumbass lawyer even managed to keep those 'burner' phones with all the call records!!) Remember, your own lawyers have previously stated that whenever they dealt with you they always made sure that there were TWO lawyers in the room, since you had a little habit of denying what you had said, or what had been agreed upon, and they needed to have the corroboration to keep you in check and prevent getting screwed over by you.

3. You're absolutely right about one thing in that entire tweet - MY favorite president did nothing wrong, no matter what FoxNews and Breitbart have been shouting for the past 10 years. You, on the other hand, are well-known to all real New Yorkers as having been a corrupt, lying, money-laundering, philandering, second-rate real estate crook since the 1980's.

[Demovictory9]

49. your favorite president? How does he get away with such nonsense. Bring on the midterms

[Initech]

50. On a list of 45 presidents, Trump wouldn't rank 45th!

And yes this was a correct use of the word "wouldn't", BTW.

[pnwmom]

52. Except she also said attorney client privilege means its inadmissible in court.

So why would they have to get it out there?

I doubt that this is the most serious piece of evidence Cohen had to bargain with, so that possibility doesn't seem right, either.

[jimlup]

56. Well now it's admissible ...

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/21/politics/trump-cohen-recording-privilege/index.html

[Pachamama]

59. Avenatti this morning didn't seem to think it was Trump's team that leaked it....

I wonder who is correct....

Avenatti has a good hit rate so far in his predictions....

[Awsi Dooger]

60. I'll always take my chances opposing Rachel Maddow's instincts

On something like this

She is a compiler and story teller, not a competent analyst or forecaster

[AnnieBW]

62. Inconceivable!

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

[Amaryllis]

63. For what purpose would Trump;s lawyers leak them? To distract from Russiagate?