President Trump’s embattled longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen just distanced himself from Trump in an unprecedented way. And it’s difficult not to read it as a sign that he might flip on Trump.
.. Cohen just withdrew as a deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee
.. “As the son of a Polish holocaust survivor, the images and sounds of this family separation policy is heart wrenching,” Cohen wrote in his letter to the RNC. “While I strongly support measures that will secure our porous borders, children should never be used as bargaining chips.”
.. The most interesting part of this is that Cohen didn’t stop there. Instead, he saw fit to offer an additional justification unrelated to his legal troubles — and he chose a disagreement with Trump.
Perhaps he truly feels that strongly because of his family history, which would be totally understandable. But it’s also an extremely curious decision — not least because some other reports Wednesday from the Wall Street Journal and CNN indicate that he isn’t thrilled with his treatment by Trump. He also just hired a new attorney. And it’s all a notable departure from a guy who previously pledged almost complete loyalty to Trump.
.. At the least, Cohen may be sending up a trial balloon — a signal that his loyalty to Trump isn’t as absolute as it once was, and that perhaps Trump should do something to regain that loyalty (a pardon?). Cohen had to know that registering this policy difference would lead to this kind of speculation, even if he’s not necessarily committed to flipping.
The plot thickens.
Trump’s Michael Cohen problem just keeps looking more ominous
During the presidential campaign, National Enquirer executives sent digital copies of the tabloid’s articles and cover images related to Donald Trump and his political opponents to Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen in advance of publication, according to three people with knowledge of the matter — an unusual practice that speaks to the close relationship between Trump and David Pecker, chief executive of American Media Inc., the Enquirer’s parent company.
Although the company strongly denies ever sharing such material before publication, these three individuals say the sharing of material continued after Trump took office.
“Since Trump’s become president and even before, [Pecker] openly just has been willing to turn the magazine and the cover over to the Trump machine,” said one of the people with knowledge of the practice.
During the campaign, “if it was a story specifically about Trump, then it was sent over to Michael, and as long as there were no objections from him, the story could be published,” this person added.
.. During the presidential campaign, National Enquirer executives sent digital copies of the tabloid’s articles and cover images related to Donald Trump and his political opponents to Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen in advance of publication, according to three people with knowledge of the matter — an unusual practice that speaks to the close relationship between Trump and David Pecker, chief executive of American Media Inc., the Enquirer’s parent company.Although the company strongly denies ever sharing such material before publication, these three individuals say the sharing of material continued after Trump took office.
“Since Trump’s become president and even before, [Pecker] openly just has been willing to turn the magazine and the cover over to the Trump machine,” said one of the people with knowledge of the practice.
Why Competition Won’t Bring Down Drug Prices
Martin Shkreli is in prison, but Daraprim still costs $750 per pill. Heather Bresch was hauled before Congress, but EpiPens still cost three to six times more than they did in 2007.
.. This phenomenon, what economists call “sticky pricing,” is common in pharmaceuticals. It has raised the price of drugs for serious conditions including multiple sclerosis and diabetes, even when there are multiple competing drugs.
The problem is that companies have decided it is not in their interest to compete.
.. There’s cover in numbers.
When you’re driving on the highway where a speed limits is 55 and most everyone’s going 70, you’re likely to increase your speed, too. Why should you feel bad? Why would the cop pick you? Someone else in a flashy car is probably doing 90. (For drug makers, Mr. Shkreli would be the hot-dogger who gives others cover.)
.. The parties are not really colluding. They’re not calling one another up to agree to drive too fast; no manufacturer (one hopes) is sitting at a country club agreeing to keep his prices high. This makes drug makers difficult to prosecute under racketeering or restraint of trade laws.
.. But while drug prices in America are going up, many of the same drugs are cheaper — and often coming down in price — in other developed countries, where governments step in to regulate prices.
.. Now you know why Novartis might have paid $1.2 million to Michael Cohen, the president’s personal lawyer and “fixer,” after hearing the candidate’s threats.
.. Britain’s National Health Service sets a price it is willing to pay pharmacists for medicines they dispense. The pharmacists, who are in business for themselves, can then source the medicine from any wholesaler. The cheaper they can procure the medicine, the more they profit.
Publisher of National Enquirer Subpoenaed in Michael Cohen Probe
Corporations are barred from making contributions to candidates under federal election law. If investigators find evidence that Mr. Cohen pressed American Media to buy Ms. McDougal’s story to protect Mr. Trump’s campaign, prosecutors could bring charges against Mr. Cohen, the company or both, legal experts said.
In such a case, prosecutors would have to prove Mr. Cohen coordinated with American Media to provide Mr. Trump something of value for the purpose of influencing the election, said Douglas Spencer, a professor of law and public policy at the University of Connecticut. Proving coordination would likely be the most difficult prong of such a case, he said.
.. In time, AMI employees wouldn’t pitch any more critical articles about Mr. Trump, one of the ex-employees said, which is how Mr. Trump became known within the company as a “FOP,” or Friend of Pecker.