Michael Cohen — who long served as former President Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer — warned Sunday of the potential risk of sending Trump back to the White House with mounting legal fees and financial liabilities.

“We need to be very careful about him as a potential president because he is for sale,” Cohen, now an outspoken critic of the former president, said in an interview on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” on Sunday.

“He needs to figure out where he is going to raise $500-plus million over a short period of time,” Cohen continued.

  • MsPenguinette@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Unfortunately the president gets security clearance inherently with the position. It’s kind of like asking the King/Queen to get a drivers license when those are issued “at their pleasure”.

    • BoofStroke@sh.itjust.works
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      9 months ago

      Before being president, you are a citizen. If you can’t be cleared, you shouldn’t be eligible to run.

      • DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        So you want CIA, NSA and the other intelligence agencies to have a full on veto power ower who can be president?

        As a reminder, its not that long since being gay/trans would disqalify you from getting clearence because “it made you vulnerable to blackmail”.

        • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
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          9 months ago

          Similar to the issue of medical disqualification. Theoretically the parties themselves are supposed to vet these candidates, except the parties themselves have alzheimers and their party platforms are insanity themselves.

          I wonder how many of our elected officials could pass the psychological portions of an aviation medical exam. How many of them are too crazy to fly a Cessna by themselves but just can’t be removed from Congress.

        • prole@sh.itjust.works
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          9 months ago

          Legitimate question: could Jared Kushner be able to run then? He was denied clearance several times after Trump was initially elected in 2016… Anyone want to chime in to remind everyone what happened there?

            • prole@sh.itjust.works
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              9 months ago

              Yes it did…

              But back to the question: anyone remember what happened specifically with Jared Kushner’s security clearance after it was denied over and over and over by the US Intelligence Community?

              Ah fuck it, I’ll just spoil it myself: Trump was able to override it and give him the clearance anyway! Yay checks and balances!

              • DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world
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                9 months ago

                Presidents and politicians in general misusing their power is always an issue. That being said, there is nothing wrong with an elected representative of the people (president) overriding an unelected official who is his employee. At least presidents are accountable to the people in theory.

                • prole@sh.itjust.works
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                  9 months ago

                  Then why even have a vetting process? In what world would anyone (including Democrats) be ok if Biden or Obama did anything close to this… I mean truly, go read the full story of just how many times Kushner was denied clearance and for what reasons. It’s a fucking travesty, and defending it should embarrass you.

                  Also, we’re not talking about just any job, we are talking about trusting this person with the highest level of secrets and sensitive information you can have access to. You don’t just rubber stamp your skeezy son in law into the highest levels of security clearance, and ignore the decisions of the actual people who’s literal career it is to make sure only certain people receive that access. Literally any other person on the planet wouldn’t even have had a second chance, let alone like fucking 8.

                  I don’t think you understand that the president isn’t a king. This country was meant to have checks and balances to protect us from this kind of thing, but turns out all of that shit was based on the honors system. Oops.

                  • DreamlandLividity@lemmy.world
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                    9 months ago

                    Please try to re-read what I wrote. I am by no means defending issuing a clearence to Jared. I am saying the president is given this power by law, and in my opinion for a good reason.

                    Therefore Trump should definitly be held accountable by voters (as in no self-aware being should vote for him), but it is not a legal issue. What he did is (and should remain) legal.

        • uis@lemm.ee
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          9 months ago

          So you want CIA, NSA and the other intelligence agencies to have a full on veto power ower who can be president?

          FSB seems to have. GRU too.

    • gregorum@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      Wasn’t Queen Elizabeth II famous for never having gotten a drivers license and refusing to get one? Iirc, she skated by by only ever driving in private roads.

      • HikingVet@lemmy.ca
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        9 months ago

        From her Wikipedia article

        She trained as a driver and mechanic and was given the rank of honorary junior commander (female equivalent of captain at the time) five months later.[34]

        • gregorum@lemm.ee
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          9 months ago

          yes, she did do that.

          I was referring to her ever getting a civilian driver license, which I believe she famously refused to do. Of course it never mattered because she never drove herself on public roads.

      • deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz
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        9 months ago

        I believe that she’d essentially be giving herself a license (and passport).

        Also, for a person who is always driven or flown somewhere by very special people,who would need one?

        • gregorum@lemm.ee
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          9 months ago

          a driver license and passport are different.

          also, she didn’t need a driver license because she never drove herself except during her military service or on her own properties when/where a license wasn’t required. otherwise, she was always driven.

          • Tangent5280@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            I’m thinking if she’s ever asked for a passport she would’ve just taken a napkin, sneezed into it and consecrated it as a valid license “by direct decree of the queen”