Donald Trump is a kind of delayed re-emergence of this dirty pool transactional type of politics that now really is verging onto a type of fascism.
Democracy Now! (1/28/19)
Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone, who was arrested on Friday, and Donald Trump share a unique history: Both were heavily influenced by the infamous attorney Roy Cohn, who served as a chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare in the 1950s and would later become a leading mob attorney.
Cohn represented Trump for years and once claimed he considered Trump to be his best friend. Cohn is the subject of a new documentary at the Sundance Film Festival titled “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” We speak to the film’s director, Matt Tyrnauer.
Link to Story, Transcript and 36-Minute Video
- The Intercept: Roger Stone Made His Name As A Dirty Trickster, But The Trump-Russia Coverup May Finally Bring Him Down — THE GOVERNMENT WAS shut down, but Robert Mueller kept working. That became clear early Friday morning, when FBI agents arrested Roger Stone at his Florida home in connection with Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation. Stone later appeared in federal court to face charges that include witness tampering and making false statements to Congress. Stone, a longtime ally of Donald Trump, a frenetic character with a reputation as a Republican dirty trickster, and one of the most colorful figures in the Trump-Russia story, has finally been brought to heel. With this latest indictment, the special counsel is drawing ever closer to Trump’s inner circle. … Read the Rest
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How The Fascist ‘Proud Boys’ Became Roger Stone’s Personal Little Army — When Roger Stone waived his Nixonian salute on the steps of a federal courthouse in Florida last week following his arrest on the orders of Robert Mueller, he was joined by some unusual supporters: the Proud Boys. On Tuesday, Stone will be arraigned in a Washington, D.C. courthouse on charges he lied about dealings with WikiLeaks and the Trump campaign in 2016. Stone has spent the past two years as the most outlandish character in the Trump-Russia saga, with his colorful quotes and flamboyant wardrobe. At the same time, he’s grown tighter with the violent ultra-nationalist group, hiring them as security and participating in the group’s videos—even repeating its slogan. With Trumpworld distancing itself from Stone, it was up to Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio to defend him. … Read the Rest
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To learn more about the career of Roy Cohn and his impact on our politics and the moral morass from which the Trump swamp oozes, check out this 1988 biography by the great journalist Nicholas von Hoffman. It is out of print but can be found through online book sellers. The 1992 film “Citizen Cohn”, starring far right Trumpie James Woods is, ironically, another good source.
