The plot thickens

Boy does it.  As ever.

Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels, said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen, within three months after the 2016 presidential election, received about $500,000 from a Russian oligarch who since has been interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller's team.

Avenatti also suggested in a Twitter post that "these monies may have reimbursed the" $130,000 payment that Cohen made to Daniels right before that election.

The money, Avenatti claimed, came from billionaire Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg, who has ties to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

  CNBC

That would provide an explanation for why Trump suddenly admits to paying back Cohen for the hush money. On the other hand, it could possibly just be more Russian mob money laundering business, I'd guess.

Avenatti cited the results of his own investigation but did not offer any sources for his claims.

Those claims include allegations that drug giant Novartis in late 2017 and early 2018 made four separate payments totaling nearly $400,000 to Cohen's company, shortly before Trump had a dinner meeting with the incoming CEO of Novartis.

Novartis had no immediate comment on that claim.

A report prepared by Avenatti's law firm also said that Cohen's company, Essential Consultants, "received $200,000 in four separate payments of $50,000 in late 2017 and early 2018 from AT&T."

In a prepared statement, AT&T told CNBC that Cohen's firm "was one of several firms we engaged in early 2017 to provide insights into understanding the new administration.

What in hell? That's a lot of money for "understanding the new administration." I smell fish.

Avenatti's report also claimed that "Essential also received a $150,000 payment in November 2017 from Korea Aerospace Industries LTD."

Neither CNBC nor NBC News has verified the accuracy of his allegations.

I don't think he's pulling stuff out of his ass. But how did Michael Cohen and his company Essential (that made hush payments and deals with Trump's paramours) become the go-to guy for "dealing" with the Trump administration?

I'm going to have to guess this shit is why Avenatti has been saying since Giuliani opened his trap that Trump will resign before his first term is over.

You want to know the hilarious part? Trump and the White House are still denying he had that affair with Daniels.

Anyway, you can see why Trump desperately needs a war with Iran.

Read the Avenatti report here.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:


No shit.

The Daily Beast is confirming.

“How the fuck did Avenatti find out?” the source asked The Daily Beast.

  The Daily Beast

Trump is screaming the same thing tonight.

Vekselberg himself has holdings all over the world—including a 26.2% stake in Rusal, the aluminum producing giant owned by Oleg Deripaska, the Ukrainian oligarch now infamous for bankrolling former Trump campaign boss Paul Manafort. Both Deripaska and Vekselberg were sanctioned by the U.S. government in early April. But later that month, the U.S. Treasury Department, in effect, slow-rolled the sanctions, giving companies and individuals until late October to get out of business with Rusal, which is appealing Washington’s ruling. “Given the impact on our partners and allies, we are... extending the maintenance and wind-down period while we consider RUSAL’s petition,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

And according to The New York Times, Vekselberg was recently questioned by federal agents working with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. CNN reported that those queries involved the oligarch’s payments to Cohen.

[...]

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani dismissed the news as Avenatti having foresaw the president’s Tuesday withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal—part of “one of the best days of the Trump presidency”—and simply trying to “stink it up as much as possible.”

Yeah, Rudy, we all know who stinks.

There are reportedly concerns in the president’s inner circle that Cohen could begin cooperating with investigators. The greater the legal jeopardy he faces, the greater pressure he will face to cooperate. And he wouldn’t be the only one; former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Trump campaign official Rick Gates are already cooperating with Mueller’s investigators.

Meanwhile, Avenatti is making a sport of riding Cohen in the press.

He's loving every minute of it.

“The constant media/PR pressure has forced Trump, Cohen, et al. to make a series of huge errors and to make damaging admissions helpful to our case,” Avenatti said. “This was not by accident. And we’re not changing.”

  The Atlantic

UPDATE:

UPDATE:  Times confirms.