The reckoning is here for Donald Trump and the Republican Party, and it will only get worse for them
John Harwood | @johnjharwood Published 3 Hours Ago Updated 2 Hours Ago
The reckoning has arrived for President Donald Trump. The trouble for him and fellow Republicans — legal and political — will only get worse from here.
Two different federal courtrooms, one in New York and one outside Washington, demonstrated starkly on Tuesday that the 45th president has operated within a circle of criminality. One produced eight guilty verdicts against former Trump campaign boss Paul Manafort; the other eight guilty pleas from former Trump fixer Michael Cohen.
That makes Trump's 2016 campaign chairman, his White House national security advisor and longtime personal lawyer all convicted or admitted felons. Cohen, the personal lawyer, said he committed campaign finance crimes at Trump's direction in the form of hush-money payments to conceal extramarital affairs.
Cohen and former national security advisor Michael Flynn are already assisting the federal prosecutors investigating Trump. Manafort, facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison with another trial coming in weeks, has heightened incentive to cooperate as well.
Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller has only shown a fraction of the evidence he has amassed.
The New York Times has reported that Cohen's longstanding ties to Russian interests include an ownership interest in an uncle's catering hall frequented by Russian organized crime figures. During the 2016 campaign, Cohen sought on Trump's behalf to develop real estate in Moscow.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/22/it-will-only-get-worse-for-trump-gop-after-cohen-manfort-bombshells.html
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