Politics /

Copied 141 comments

(Newser) – In his congressional testimony Wednesday, Michael Cohen blasted President Trump's character—"racist," "con man" and "cheat" aren't exactly endorsements—but so far the media is focused on Trump's possible law-breaking. The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal are all leading with that issue, especially in relation to hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels and Trump's alleged knowledge of WikiLeaks dumping Hillary Clinton's emails. There's also Trump's apparent suggestion that Cohen lie about Trump Tower Moscow negotiations; Trump's awareness of the Trump Tower meeting with Russians; and the $60,000 Trump portrait paid for by Trump's charity. But even with Cohen's supplied documents, can Trump really be charged?

• Willful crimes: A legal expert tells the Times that Cohen's hush-money story (Trump apparently approved the payments) could be part of a campaign-finance charge, but prosecutors will need to prove he willfully violated the law. And knowing about the Wikileaks dump may not be enough, others say; active coordination with Russians would be a real smoking gun.