Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty To 8 Counts, Implicates Trump In Crimes

Update: Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis didn't mince words about what Cohen's plea deal means for President Trump:

Michael Cohen took this step today so that his family can move on to the next chapter. This is Michael fulfilling his promise made on July 2nd to put his family and country first and tell the truth about Donald Trump.

— Lanny Davis (@LannyDavis) August 21, 2018

Today he stood up and testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election. If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?

— Lanny Davis (@LannyDavis) August 21, 2018

And yes, that's the real Lanny Davis' account. 

Earlier: Michael Cohen, President Trump's former personal lawyer, has pleaded guilty to eight charges, including an excessive campaign contribution on October 27, 2016 — the day Stormy Daniels received a $130,000 payment from Cohen.

Counts 1-5. Tax evasion 2012-2016
Count 6 false statement to financial institution Feb 2015-April 2016
Count 7 willful cause of unlawful corporate contribution June 2016-Oct. 2016
Count 8 excessive campaign contribution on Oct. 27, 2016

— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 21, 2018

You can see the full charging document here. 

What's more, Cohen stated in court that he made payments to Daniels and to Playboy model Karen MacDougal, for the purpose of influencing the election, at the direction of Trump (although he did not use Trump's name):

hooboy

*COHEN SAYS HE VIOLATED CAMPAIGN LAW AT DIRECTION OF CANDIDATE

*COHEN SAYS HE ACTED FOR PURPOSE OF INFLUENCING ELECTION

*COHEN: VIOLATED CAMPAIGN LAW AT DIRECTION OF UNNAMED CANDIDATE

— Justin Sink (@justinsink) August 21, 2018

The Washington Post's Aaron Blake points out that this plea agreement implicates Trump in a crime for the first time.

That places Trump much closer to actual wrongdoing than at any other point in the Russia and related investigations, and it suggests this matter may not end with Cohen.

"That's potentially very bad news for Trump, because if he knew about the payments in advance or even agreed to them later, he's looking at liability as a conspirator for what is now a proven crime," said former Justice Department aide Harry Litman.

[The Washington Post]

Even worse for the president, Cohen's plea deal could mean he'll be deposed in the Stormy Daniels case:

One collateral effect of Mr. Cohen's plea agreement is that it may allow Michael Avenatti, Ms. Clifford's lawyer, to proceed with a deposition of Mr. Trump in a lawsuit that Ms. Clifford filed accusing the president of breaking a nondisclosure agreement concerning their affair.

The lawsuit had been stayed by a judge pending the resolution of Mr. Cohen's criminal case. Mr. Avenatti wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that he would now seek to force Mr. Trump to testify "under oath about what he knew, when he knew it and what he did about it."

[New York Times]

Most news organizations are reporting that Cohen is not expected to agree to cooperate with federal investigators, a disappointment to those hoping that Cohen would turn on Trump and provide key information to special prosecutor Robert Mueller. 

However, others are speculating that Cohen may still plan on cooperating with Mueller, even if a cooperation agreement isn't part of today's deal.