Swamp Things: Ford Says “Thanks, but No Thanks” to Offer of Consulting Services From Trump Fixer

Last updated on: May 11, 2018 at 11:06 pm by Susan Wright

Swamp Things: Ford Says “Thanks, but No Thanks” to Offer of Consulting Services From Trump Fixer 2018-05-11T23:06:26-04:00 Susan Wright

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Donald Trump has spent his adult life surrounded by sketchy characters. He employed them, associated with them, and by every account, was one of them.

But he’s the president now, and this is getting ridiculous.

If you needed an example, one such sketchy character would be his longtime personal attorney and “fixer,” Michael Cohen.

Cohen was the subject of a raid on his home and office in early April, in search of financial records, relating to the payoff of Trump’s former mistress, porn star Stormy Daniels (real name: Stephanie Clifford).

Cohen set up a limited liability company called Essential Consultants, in order to transfer $130,000 to Daniels’ account in October 2016.

Since Cohen found himself in the harsh glare of an investigatory spotlight, it’s like federal authorities took a good whack at a piñata, and all his shady dealings came tumbling out.

In the latest news, it would appear that after the election of his client, Cohen fashioned himself as a lobbyist, reaching out to corporations, with promises of access to the new president.

Some of those corporations, like Novartis, a pharmaceutical company based out of Switzerland, paid for absolutely nothing at all.

The line used was that after meeting with Cohen, they found there was nothing he could do for them, but that they were locked into a contract, so he was still to receive his $1.3 million payment.

AT&T paid Essential Consulting $600,000 for consulting on various issues, but most notably, the possible merger with Time-Warner.

All the publicity must have rubbed the company the wrong way and they admitted to a “big mistake.”

“Our company has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons these last few days, and our reputation has been damaged,” AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson wrote. “Our Washington D.C., team’s vetting process clearly failed, and I take responsibility for that.”

They mentioned on Wednesday that Robert Mueller’s team had reached out to them and that they were in full cooperation.

It didn’t stop with Novartis and AT&T. Apparently, Cohen reached out to Ford Motor Company, with an offer to provide consulting work, as well.

Cohen reached out to Ford’s Washington, D.C. office in January 2017 and highlighted his relationship with Trump in a short phone call with Ford’s head of government affairs, Ziad Ojakli, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The invitation was denied, and there were no additional conversations about the issue, sources familiar with the situation said.

Let me just give kudos to the Ford Company for wisely avoiding this snake oil salesman.

This particular encounter also did not escape the long gaze of Mueller’s team. He requested all the pertinent emails and records associated with Cohen’s offer.

Was there anything illegal about presenting himself as a lobbyist?

No, not really. At this point in time, we expect there to be lobbyists in Washington. It’s just the normal course of business, whether we like it, or not.

That being said, this wasn’t just Michael Cohen playing lobbyist. His long relationship with the president and the nature of their association could prove troublesome.

As one Trump associate said of Cohen: He knows where all the bodies are buried.

That’s the kind of incestuous Washington entanglement that grows the swamp. It certainly doesn’t drain it.

Previous Post

May 11, 2018

John Kelly Wants You to Know There's No Turmoil in the Trump White House

Next Post

May 12, 2018 Oklahoma Moves to Protect Faith-Based Adoption, the Usual Players Lose Their Minds

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2021 November 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz