RNC Confirms Michael Cohen Remains Deputy Finance Director
President Trump’s personal attorney and long-time “fixer” Michael Cohen remains in his position as deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee, even though he’s under criminal investigation related to the payment of $130,000 to the porn star, Stormy Daniels, RNC spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told Cheddar on Friday.
"There's ongoing litigation, and we'll take it step by step, but yes, he is still” in the position within the party, McEnany told Cheddar’s J.D. Durkin.
The Justice Department announced last month that Cohen had been under criminal investigation for months over his business dealings in New York City, and his office and home were raided by the FBI which seized records about Cohen’s clients and personal finances.
According to The Washington Post, among the records seized were those related to Cohen’s 2016 payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, which ensured that she would not discuss her claims to have had a sexual encounter with Trump years before he became president.
Among the avenues of investigation are wire fraud and campaign finance violations related to the payment to Daniels.
In the interview with Cheddar, McEnany was asked if she had concerns with a person being investigated for campaign finance violations also being responsible for overseeing campaign finance at the RNC.
“I have concerns about the violation of attorney-client privilege when the Southern District of New York invaded his office, swept up material, violating the president’s privacy, his client’s privacy, Michael Cohen’s privacy,” she said. “That’s where my concerns lie.”
Only a few days ago, Evgeny Friedman, a business partner of Cohen, who was known as the Taxi King of New York, pleaded guilty to charges of criminal tax fraud and grand larceny and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in state and federal investigations.
The plea deal led to speculation that Friedman could provide the government leverage to pressure Cohen into working with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rnc-stands-by-michael-cohen-despite-ongoing-investigation).
Two murder trials in focus in America — Wisconsin V. Kyle Rittenhouse and Georgia V. Travis Mcmichael, Gregory Mcmichael, and William Bryan, the Men who killed Ahmaud Arbery. Civil rights and criminal defense lawyer Anthony Tall and the Founder and CEO of Kim Crowder consulting Kim Crowder, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D - Arizona) joined Cheddar to discuss the passing of President Biden's Infrastructure Bill and his new book, 'They Called us 'Lucky,' about his time serving in the Iraq War.
Markets were pointing mostly lower to end the week as investors reacted to the threat of a Covid resurgence in Europe. Jeff Schulze, Investment Strategist at ClearBridge Investments joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss Friday's pre-market activity.
A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit against financial services platform Robinhood following the meme stock saga that swept the investment world. The judge said it found no wrongdoing on Robinhood's part after the platform halted trading on popular meme stocks Gamestop and AMC.
Jill and Carlo are back to cover the latest in the Rittenhouse trial, new information on the origins of Covid, return-to-office and more.
JOIN US FOR THE YOUTUBE WATCH PARTY @ 9aET: http://www.youtube.com/cheddarnow
The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Uber after it was discovered that disabled people were being disproportionately affected by extra “wait time” fees. Attorney Jonathan Bell joined Cheddar to discuss.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has been accused by the EU of manufacturing a migration crisis along his border with Poland. But, even as tensions appear to be stabilizing at the moment, Ali Noorani, the president and CEO of National Immigration Forum and the host of the "Only in America" podcast spoke to Cheddar about the ongoing danger to the migrants who hail from countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. "What is going to happen to folks who are in Belarus who came from these countries? Is Lukashenko going to provide them asylum and protection in Belarus, or are they going to continue to be political pawns in a geopolitical battle," he said. "Real people's lives are being put at great risk."
A group of crypto investors has come together to raise millions of dollars in the hopes of owning a rare piece of the U.S. Constitution. According to the crypto group, "Constitution DAO" It is time to put the constitution in the hands of the people. CEO and Founder of Metaversal Yossi Hasson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Polarization is among the defining traits of American politics in the 21st century. Sometimes it seems like the only thing we can all agree on is the fact that we don't really agree on anything. But those divisions don't just stop at whether you vote red or blue.
A new survey from the Pew Research Center finds that rather than just two political buckets, we have nine. The "2021 political typology" as it's called distinguishes between different ideological subsets in the Democratic and Republican party. It encompasses everyone from the loudest revolutionary lefties, to the loudest insurrection apologists on the right.
Andrew Daniller, research associate at the Pew Research Center, joins None of the Above to discuss.
Tanya Snyder, transportation reporter at Politico, joins None of the Above with J.D. Durkin to discuss the bipartisan infrastructure law, what it means for the electric vehicle industry and whether Democrats will be able to capitalize on the legislative victory ahead of the 2022 midterms.
