SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Dori: Michael Cohen scandal is morally reprehensible, but won’t significantly change people’s opinions of Trump

Aug 22, 2018, 8:02 PM

Michael Cohen...

Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, leaves federal court after reaching a plea agreement in New York, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

(AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

The Michael Cohen news came down on Tuesday while we were on the air. And it’s bad. The notion of the president of the United States paying off women with whom he had affairs is ugly.

As you know if you’ve listened to the show for the past two years, the reason I didn’t vote for Trump is because of the way he talked about women. People accuse me of being a Trump apologist, but I didn’t vote for Trump and I don’t excuse his sleaziness. However, I will praise what he’s done for our economy and national defense.

In these times, where people either despise or blindly love the president, I am the rarest creature in all of media. I can’t stand the president’s morals, but I love a lot of his policies. The Trump lovers say that I’m a hater whenever I bring up his morals, and the Trump haters say that I’m an apologist whenever I bring up the economy and the good things that Trump has done. I tune it all out — it means I’m being true to myself.

RELATED: How the case of Trump fixer Michael Cohen went down 

Is he going to get impeached over this? No. I’ll tell you why. If a company is doing very poorly and people are selling the stock, and the earnings report is bad, it usually doesn’t tumble on the day of the earnings. Why? Because all of the negativity was built into the stock price.

The world of politics is similar. The people who love and support the president already know that he is not true to his wife, that he’s had affairs. They’ve already built all of that into their evaluation of him; they’re not going to suddenly abandon him now over this Michael Cohen news.

I did not support the impeachment of Bill Clinton for what he did to an intern with a cigar under his desk — I didn’t feel like that, even with the perjury, rose to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors. Nor do I feel that this business with Trump rises to that level.

People are also saying that this information on Michael Cohen would have changed the 2016 election if people had known about it — that if Christian conservatives in swing states had known that Trump paid these women to be silent, they may not have cast their votes for him. That’s just nonsense. After the Access Hollywood tape was revealed, there was no denying what kind of man Trump was. I decided on that day not to vote for him. If supporters heard that tape and still voted for him, then knowing about these women would not have changed anything.

I think that this is morally reprehensible. But I don’t think Tuesday’s verdict of Michael Cohen revealed anything that has not been built into people’s opinion of the president. And I do not think it rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors. If the Democrats get Trump impeached, it will be for purely political reasons. That is not what impeachment was intended to be for — it was intended for the worst of the worst.

 

Foreign Minister Thorgerour Katrín Gunnarsdottir of Iceland speaks during the 81st session of the ...

Associated Press

Small bites from the UN: Canada’s wider view, one chaotic rumor and reframing someone else’s words

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — China and Russia got their turns to speak at the United Nations on Saturday, but that wasn’t call. Watchers from across the globe could find news that affected their lives at the U.N. General Assembly meetings. Here are a few moments: ___ Redefining Netanyahu’s words The foreign minister of Iceland, Thorgerdur […]

2 hours ago

Members of the Krewe of Dolly lead a second line parade in commemoration of the life of Dolly Parto...

Associated Press

New Orleans celebrates Dolly Parton Day, in photos

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Fans in New Orleans celebrated Dolly Parton Day, declared in honor of the late country music icon, on Sept. 25. There was music, colorful tributes and plenty of Dolly-inspired style, as they joined communities around the country in honoring the widely beloved Parton. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by […]

4 hours ago

FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cell phone in front of an image generated by ChatGPT's Dal...

Associated Press

OpenAI pauses training of latest models after agents probed US government sites in unexpected ways

NEW YORK (AP) — OpenAI said it has paused training of its latest artificial intelligence models as reports of AI agents going rogue mount. The decision to halt development came just hours after the company disclosed Friday that it was reviewing several incidents from the summer in which OpenAI agents searching federal government websites acted […]

5 hours ago

Associated Press

Texas city council candidate who protested ICE shooting faces ‘riot participation’ charge

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas city council candidate was arrested Saturday morning on a misdemeanor charge for “riot participation,” a week after he was part of a protest against the shooting of a Venezuelan man by a federal immigration officer. Public jail records do not specify the date of Misael Ramos’ alleged rioting, but […]

7 hours ago

Foreign Minister Abdul Mateen of Brunei speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations Genera...

Associated Press

They said it: Leaders at the UN, in their own words

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Many leaders saying many things about many topics that matter to them, to their regions, to the world: That’s what the U.N. General Assembly invariably produces each year. And each year, certain voices dominate. Here, The Associated Press takes the opposite approach and spotlights some thoughts from leaders who might have […]

8 hours ago

Associated Press

Hurricane Nolo expected to unleash powerful winds, flash flooding on Hawaii

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Heavy rain and powerful winds are expected to bring flash floods and extreme surf to the Hawaiian Islands over the weekend as Hurricane Nolo bears down on areas still recovering from previous storms. Nolo was churning slowly south of Hawaii’s Big Island on Saturday with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph […]

10 hours ago

Dori: Michael Cohen scandal is morally reprehensible, but won’t significantly change people’s opinions of Trump