Donald Trump's Clueless Lawyer Threatens Press, Says It's Ok To Rape Your Spouse
from the a-graduate-of-thomas-cooley-law-school dept
A few weeks ago, we wrote about the absolute ridiculousness of Donald Trump's "lawsuit" against Univision, which made some bizarre claims about the First Amendment and defamation that clearly did not apply. While there may be a legitimate contractual dispute hidden somewhere in all that mess, there was so much fluff that it made you wonder who is actually advising the entertainer (pretending to be a politician) on legal issues. Apparently, it's some guy named Michael Cohen, who isn't just out of his depth on stuff, but he appears to be actively making things worse. In an astounding article over at The Daily Beast, which was initially over claims of "rape" by Donald Trump's ex-wife Ivana during their divorce proceedings, Cohen not only claimed that you can't rape a spouse, but also threatened to ruin The Daily Beast if they published an article. Lawyering by bullshit threats, apparently.Michael Cohen, special counsel at The Trump Organization, defended his boss, saying, “You’re talking about the frontrunner for the GOP, presidential candidate, as well as a private individual who never raped anybody. And, of course, understand that by the very definition, you can’t rape your spouse.”This is, of course, wrong -- both legally and morally. In NY State, the law got rid of the "marital exemption" to rape laws in 1984 and federal law made it clear that spousal rape is a real crime not long after that. Even if that wasn't the case, is that really a defense? "Oh it's not rape because they're married?" Who thinks that's an okay excuse: "Well, technically, it's not rape." Yikes.
“It is true,” Cohen added. “You cannot rape your spouse. And there’s very clear case law.”
Cohen has now sort of, but not really, "apologized" for what he claims was an "inarticulate comment."
"As an attorney, husband and father there are many injustices that offend me but nothing more than charges of rape or racism. They hit me at my core. Rarely am I surprised by the press, but the gall of this particular reporter to make such a reprehensible and false allegation against Mr. Trump truly stunned me. In my moment of shock and anger, I made an inarticulate comment - which I do not believe -- and which I apologize for entirely," Cohen said in a statement to CNN.Except that it wasn't inarticulate. It was wrong and, many would argue, morally reprehensible.
And notice that he's still blaming the reporter for asking the question. And that brings us to the second crazy bit here: the threats against the reporters. The reporters -- Tim Mak and Brandy Zadrozny -- didn't back down. In fact, they not only published the story but included the rather unhinged threats from Cohen:
“I will make sure that you and I meet one day while we’re in the courthouse. And I will take you for every penny you still don’t have. And I will come after your Daily Beast and everybody else that you possibly know,” Cohen said. “So I’m warning you, tread very fucking lightly, because what I’m going to do to you is going to be fucking disgusting. You understand me?”Cohen appears to come from a very different generation of legal advice -- one in which bogus threats designed to shut people up would actually work, rather than today, when they just provide a great story. Once again, though, this should serve as a reminder for why we need a federal anti-SLAPP law. Cohen has made it abundantly clear that he has no qualms in using bogus lawsuits to try to stifle public discussion of important matters concerning someone who is clearly a public persona and who is even (technically) running for President.
“You write a story that has Mr. Trump’s name in it, with the word ‘rape,’ and I’m going to mess your life up… for as long as you’re on this frickin’ planet… you’re going to have judgments against you, so much money, you’ll never know how to get out from underneath it,” he added.
The fact that Cohen's "apology" for the spouse raping comment still pins the blame on the reporters suggests someone who still doesn't understand what he's talking about. A recent "profile" of Cohen includes him describing his own style as being a "pit bull.":
A 2011 ABC News profile reported that within The Trump Organization he’s called the boss’s “pit bull.”That story also notes that while he may file lawsuits, his threats aren't entirely accurate:
“If you do something wrong, I’m going to come at you, grab you by the neck and I’m not going to let you go until I’m finished,” Cohen, now 48, told the TV network.
To wit: When New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a fraud suit against Trump’s for-profit college in 2013, Cohen threatened Trump’s vengeance: “The damage to the attorney general is going to be very significant,” Cohen told The New Yorker. “So significant that he will possibly have to resign.” (Schneiderman has not resigned. The case is ongoing.)It might make you wonder where Cohen actually got a law degree. And... it turns out that it's from the infamous Thomas M. Cooley law school. We've written about Cooley a bunch of times. It's a bottom tier law school, considered so bad that US News used to list it as "unranked" because it wouldn't provide the necessary info. It now lists the school as "Rank Not Published" which US News notes is "for the schools that are in the bottom 25 percent of the rankings."
In response to this, Cooley came up with its own ranking system, saying it disagreed with US News' methodology. Magically, Cooley came in second in its own ranking system, second only behind Harvard Law. So what kind of methodology did Cooley's own ranking system include? Well, they took out anything having to do with "quality" since they deemed those to be too subjective, and then used a bunch of stuff about how big the library is, including "total library square footage" and "library seating capacity." Apparently, the Thomas Cooley law school has a huge library.
The school has also become infamous for suing critics, so Cohen seems to have taken those lessons to heart. A few years ago it sort of "merged" with Western Michigan University, and used that as an opportunity to change its name to avoid some of the bagggage of the Thomas M. Cooley brand. It now promotes itself as the "Western Michigan University -- Cooley Law School" and who does it promote as a distinguished graduate on its own site? You guessed it. One Michael Cohen of the Trump organization:
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Filed Under: donald trump, first amendment, free speech, ivana trump, michael cohen, press, rape, threats
Companies: thomas m cooley law school
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Judging by his hair, I would've said Chia Pet...
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Tell me: which do you value more: a cowardly idealist or a brazen fool? Because of the two, the idealist is orders of magnitude more dangerous.
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The cowardly idealist. All they need to do is grow a backbone and stand up on their hind legs, something that's happened often in history. A fool's a fool, and will ever remain that way.
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You really can't rape your spouse
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Re: You really can't rape your spouse
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Re: Re: You really can't rape your spouse
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Re: You really can't rape your spouse
That may be consensual so long as neither party complains! But once somebody complains to the authorities - at least in my neighborhood - it can be prosecuted as "domestic violence". The definition of "domestic violence" does not have to include rape, but does not exclude rape either.
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Good for him. Why'd he hire him in the first place? Is he still on Trump's staff?
I think he'd fit right in with the US' notion of prosecutor these days.
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In contemporary linguistic practice, that would be phrased: "... literally raped ..."
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I thought that all lawyers had a de facto relationship, perhaps you could call it a marriage, with the media. So by that definition, he cannot be raped by the media.
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- Remember that Mr 'not a rapist' Trump owns shares in several zoos and wildlife sanctuaries..probably using them as a nursing home for mom.
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I think that you'll find this quote perfectly malleable to your question.
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" In an astounding article over at The Daily Beast, which was initially over claims of "rape" by Donald Trump's ex-wife Ivana "
It makes it seem like the author doesn't believe it's really rape either.
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How strangely appropriate.
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Re: Michael D. Cohen
Keeping the "special" in Special Counsel
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in·ar·tic·u·late
/inärˈtikyələt/
adj.
unable to speak distinctly or express oneself clearly
Makes you wonder what he was really trying to say, doesn't it?
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Which means whichever men/women raped by Donald Trump are about to go public....
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Even the schools baggage is a wreck. Can't get anything right, can it?
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Please vote for this guy!
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Re: Please vote for this guy!
When Trump himself is funnier than anything any comedian can come up with?!? Comedians need straight men, like the Shrub.
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Re: Please vote for this guy!
The problem is that 4 years of gold for comedians also mean 4 years of gold for military-industrial sock puppet players. And those have had a solid gold run since 2001. And it's not like they fared all that bad before that, either. I think they got their last serious opposition from Carter, and the last somewhat effective opposition from Eisenhower.
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Re: Re: Please vote for this guy!
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Is this a thing
But such degrees are not easy to come by, so when an heir is less than academically suitable they throw money and imbicile at a suitable academy until a graduate comes out.
And Cohen is one such end result?
Am I getting the paradigm right?
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Re: Is this a thing
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Simple concept
"Sex without consent is rape."
It doesn't matter if he does it or she does it or they do it. No consent = rape.
You would think that even a Cooley graduate would understand. What would he say if his sister's husband got over aggressive?
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Re: Simple concept
It doesn't matter if he does it or she does it or they do it. No consent = rape.
Won't this exclude any *non-consent* play between the spouses?
There should at least be some leeway when it comes to wooing one's spouse for sex.
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Re: Simple concept
Ah, but marriage is the shrink-wrapped form of consent. "By acceptance of David Cohen's hand in marriage you indicate consent with all forms of sexual intercourse. If you do not agree to that, return the bridegroom in the original packaging to his parents for a refund."
Once the groom no longer fits his wedding suit, you're out of luck.
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Re: Simple concept
"Stop impersonating me!"
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Re: Simple concept
That he's having second thoughts about this threesome?
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Q: What do you call Michael Cohen driving off a cliff?
A: A good start!
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Jesus H Christ, where in God's name did Trump find this man? Couldn't he have hired someone less horrifying, like a war-criminal or a freshly-released serial-killer?
I can't help but feel sorry for Cohen's wife and family. From this time forward, every single person they know is going to look at Mrs Cohen like she's being raped on a daily basis. Surely she can do better than this appalling, mindless thug.
Lawyers are the very definition of people who need to think before they open their mouths, regardless of the provocation.
It speaks directly to Mr Cohen's credibility - on every possible level - that he could not do so, before causing such damage to himself, his business and his family in this manner.
I don't imagine Mr Cohen has much of a future anywhere - and I don't imagine anyone who knows him now will miss him very much.
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Notpology is full of "win"
Not rape or racism. Charges of rape or racism. I swear can feel the privilege from here.
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Re: Notpology is full of "win"
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- Micheal Cohen, 2011
Sounds very rapey
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Good Job Daily Beast
KUDOS to the DailyBeast for standing up to this bully!
This guy represents a part of Donald Trump. The part he sits on.
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Would you like to go feet first?
This tool should heed the "Law of Ken White (Popehat)"
Vague legal threads are a sure sign of legal bullying or thuggery!
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Cooley ranking
You can put in a lot more chairs if you get rid of all those books.
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I Stump For Trump
He's the ONLY guy running that CAN NOT be bought.
what other candidate can you say that about Folks??
No one ever said the President of the United States had to be a Nice guy.
(the world is not a nice place)
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Re: I Stump For Trump
What other candidate can I say that about? All of them. If you believe ANY of the candidates don't have a price, then you're delusional.
And I could care less as to whether you feel whether him being a nice guy is important or not.
He's an asshole, appears to surround himself with assholes, and with power, will likely transform into a bigger asshole.
The world would be a far nicer place with one less asshole, that's for sure.
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Re: Re: I Stump For Trump
The others, assholes without exception, Democrat and Republican. Very sad.
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Re: I Stump For Trump
Because he would not remember what he got the bananas for once he's in a press conference.
Trump's such a tool that you would not even try to buy him. Instead you'd buy access to him so that you get more time than your opponents to manipulate him into doing your bidding.
Trump is greedy for power, and so much so that he probably is the cheapest candidate of all to subvert.
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Re: I Stump For Trump
Oh, of course he can.
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Trump can't be bought
Not because it's priceless. It's because it's crap nobody would buy, nobody sells, and whether or not there's a market for it, there's more coming out after every meal.
E
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Re: Trump can't be bought
I guess you have never heard of human fertilizer
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5394
makes plants grow into a food source for the world to enjoy
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Lie, truth and the LAW
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Re: Lie, truth and the LAW
I don't think anyone seriously believes Trump has a chance in Hades of becoming pres. This is all just icing on the cake of the coronation of the King/Queen. The backroom money has already been spent (spoken). Now, things like Trump's "bump" is color making the coronation interesting for the plebes watching and believing *their* great white hope will succeed, whichever "great white hope" they may be rooting for.
It's a little shocking to realize that US-ians still think this thing is up to them to decide what happens in the end. It's rigged!
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It’s good to know
Beat that, Harvard!
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Sorry, Trump
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Cooley
"During the 2015-2016 application cycle, Cooley admitted 85.8% of applicants. The entering fall 2016 class had a median GPA of 2.90 and median LSAT of 141 (15th percentile of test takers)."
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