SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"I don't think it's a mystery who is donating. U.S. politics are a complete, enduring mess," wrote The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald in response to the so-called "Michael Cohen Trust Fund." (Photo: Screengrab/GoFundMe)
As Lanny Davis Begs Americans to Donate to 'Scumbag' Michael Cohen, GoFundMe 'Truth' Campaign Decried as Brazen Con Job
"Michael Cohen doesn't need half a million dollars to help him 'tell the truth,' and he's not a #Resistance hero. He's an absolute scumbag who is telling the truth because otherwise he'll spend the rest of his life in jail."
Aug 22, 2018
Just hours after President Donald Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen admitted to taking part in a criminal conspiracy and pleaded guilty to eight felony charges, Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis shamelessly fished for the sympathy and cash of the American public by setting up and promoting a GoFundMe page called the "Michael Cohen Truth Fund" with the highly questionable goal of covering the potentially prison-bound fixer's legal fees.
Writer David Klion and many others immediately denounced the "Truth Fund"--which was first posted online late Tuesday--as an obvious effort by Davis to "con the libs into giving him money for no particular reason."
"Lanny Davis is my go-to example of why we needed to crack down on the kind of stuff [Trump's former campaign manager Paul] Manafort was doing several administrations ago," Klion wrote, referring to Davis' long history of lobbying on behalf of dictatorial regimes. "Michael Cohen doesn't need half a million dollars to help him 'tell the truth,' and he's not a #Resistance hero. He's an absolute scumbag who is telling the truth because otherwise he'll spend the rest of his life in jail."
With a goal sum of $500,000, the widely derided GoFundMe effort raised zero money in the first seven hours of its existence, but the cash finally began to roll in and the campaign reached "trending" status after Davis begged for donations on the corporate media circuit Wednesday morning. As of this writing, the so-called "transparent trust account" has raised over $45,000.
"I don't think it's a mystery who is donating. U.S. politics are a complete, enduring mess."
--Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
While the GoFundMe page was initially open to public comments, Davis--who previously served as a special counsel to President Bill Clinton--apparently disabled the comment function after the page was inundated with comments ripping Cohen, Davis, and the entire crowd-funding campaign.
Unable to ridicule Davis and Cohen directly on the GoFundMe page, commentators took to Twitter instead to denounce the campaign as "genuinely absurd."
\u201cSTOP CONTRIBUTING TO MICHAEL COHEN\u2019S GOFUNDME PEOPLE WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU\u201d— Robert Swartwood (@Robert Swartwood) 1534947795
During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday morning, Davis insisted that Cohen's family is "suffering" and implored "everybody who is interested in Michael being able to tell the truth to help him out."
Quipping that Cohen definitely doesn't need $500,000 because "prison is rent-free," Daily Beast reporter Olivia Messer pointed out that Cohen "bought a Manhattan apartment last month for $6.7 million"--an indication that he is not exactly in dire financial straits, as Davis would like the American public to think.
The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald also highlighted Cohen's luxury apartment purchase and argued that Davis' GoFundMe campaign is even further evidence that "U.S. politics are a complete, enduring mess."
"I don't think it's a mystery who is donating," Greenwald wrote, implying that the money of self-styled Resistance Democrats is filling the coffers of the "Michael Cohen Truth Fund."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Just hours after President Donald Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen admitted to taking part in a criminal conspiracy and pleaded guilty to eight felony charges, Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis shamelessly fished for the sympathy and cash of the American public by setting up and promoting a GoFundMe page called the "Michael Cohen Truth Fund" with the highly questionable goal of covering the potentially prison-bound fixer's legal fees.
Writer David Klion and many others immediately denounced the "Truth Fund"--which was first posted online late Tuesday--as an obvious effort by Davis to "con the libs into giving him money for no particular reason."
"Lanny Davis is my go-to example of why we needed to crack down on the kind of stuff [Trump's former campaign manager Paul] Manafort was doing several administrations ago," Klion wrote, referring to Davis' long history of lobbying on behalf of dictatorial regimes. "Michael Cohen doesn't need half a million dollars to help him 'tell the truth,' and he's not a #Resistance hero. He's an absolute scumbag who is telling the truth because otherwise he'll spend the rest of his life in jail."
With a goal sum of $500,000, the widely derided GoFundMe effort raised zero money in the first seven hours of its existence, but the cash finally began to roll in and the campaign reached "trending" status after Davis begged for donations on the corporate media circuit Wednesday morning. As of this writing, the so-called "transparent trust account" has raised over $45,000.
"I don't think it's a mystery who is donating. U.S. politics are a complete, enduring mess."
--Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
While the GoFundMe page was initially open to public comments, Davis--who previously served as a special counsel to President Bill Clinton--apparently disabled the comment function after the page was inundated with comments ripping Cohen, Davis, and the entire crowd-funding campaign.
Unable to ridicule Davis and Cohen directly on the GoFundMe page, commentators took to Twitter instead to denounce the campaign as "genuinely absurd."
\u201cSTOP CONTRIBUTING TO MICHAEL COHEN\u2019S GOFUNDME PEOPLE WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU\u201d— Robert Swartwood (@Robert Swartwood) 1534947795
During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday morning, Davis insisted that Cohen's family is "suffering" and implored "everybody who is interested in Michael being able to tell the truth to help him out."
Quipping that Cohen definitely doesn't need $500,000 because "prison is rent-free," Daily Beast reporter Olivia Messer pointed out that Cohen "bought a Manhattan apartment last month for $6.7 million"--an indication that he is not exactly in dire financial straits, as Davis would like the American public to think.
The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald also highlighted Cohen's luxury apartment purchase and argued that Davis' GoFundMe campaign is even further evidence that "U.S. politics are a complete, enduring mess."
"I don't think it's a mystery who is donating," Greenwald wrote, implying that the money of self-styled Resistance Democrats is filling the coffers of the "Michael Cohen Truth Fund."
Just hours after President Donald Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen admitted to taking part in a criminal conspiracy and pleaded guilty to eight felony charges, Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis shamelessly fished for the sympathy and cash of the American public by setting up and promoting a GoFundMe page called the "Michael Cohen Truth Fund" with the highly questionable goal of covering the potentially prison-bound fixer's legal fees.
Writer David Klion and many others immediately denounced the "Truth Fund"--which was first posted online late Tuesday--as an obvious effort by Davis to "con the libs into giving him money for no particular reason."
"Lanny Davis is my go-to example of why we needed to crack down on the kind of stuff [Trump's former campaign manager Paul] Manafort was doing several administrations ago," Klion wrote, referring to Davis' long history of lobbying on behalf of dictatorial regimes. "Michael Cohen doesn't need half a million dollars to help him 'tell the truth,' and he's not a #Resistance hero. He's an absolute scumbag who is telling the truth because otherwise he'll spend the rest of his life in jail."
With a goal sum of $500,000, the widely derided GoFundMe effort raised zero money in the first seven hours of its existence, but the cash finally began to roll in and the campaign reached "trending" status after Davis begged for donations on the corporate media circuit Wednesday morning. As of this writing, the so-called "transparent trust account" has raised over $45,000.
"I don't think it's a mystery who is donating. U.S. politics are a complete, enduring mess."
--Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
While the GoFundMe page was initially open to public comments, Davis--who previously served as a special counsel to President Bill Clinton--apparently disabled the comment function after the page was inundated with comments ripping Cohen, Davis, and the entire crowd-funding campaign.
Unable to ridicule Davis and Cohen directly on the GoFundMe page, commentators took to Twitter instead to denounce the campaign as "genuinely absurd."
\u201cSTOP CONTRIBUTING TO MICHAEL COHEN\u2019S GOFUNDME PEOPLE WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU\u201d— Robert Swartwood (@Robert Swartwood) 1534947795
During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday morning, Davis insisted that Cohen's family is "suffering" and implored "everybody who is interested in Michael being able to tell the truth to help him out."
Quipping that Cohen definitely doesn't need $500,000 because "prison is rent-free," Daily Beast reporter Olivia Messer pointed out that Cohen "bought a Manhattan apartment last month for $6.7 million"--an indication that he is not exactly in dire financial straits, as Davis would like the American public to think.
The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald also highlighted Cohen's luxury apartment purchase and argued that Davis' GoFundMe campaign is even further evidence that "U.S. politics are a complete, enduring mess."
"I don't think it's a mystery who is donating," Greenwald wrote, implying that the money of self-styled Resistance Democrats is filling the coffers of the "Michael Cohen Truth Fund."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.