Manafort was convicted the same day Trump’s ex-lawyer pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations. Here’s what we know so far

On any given day the Trump administration has proven itself capable of compressing what would under any other presidency be weeks worth of news into a few scant hours. The sheer rate of controversies compels us to move onto the next before the last has been fully digested. It’s safe to say that Tuesday, however, was not just any other day, as Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to a raft of campaign finance violations shortly after a guilty verdict arrived in the case of Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman, for bank and tax fraud.

To update Lenin, sometimes there are minutes when decades happen. It may yet take a while to fully unpack the extent of yesterday’s overstuffed news cycle, but here’s what we know so far.

Cohen guilty

While Manafort’s conviction had long been anticipated, it was Cohen’s guilty plea that triggered the most significant shockwaves on Tuesday afternoon. Cohen, who pleaded guilty to bank fraud, tax fraud and campaign finance violations, admitted that he attempted to circumvent campaign finance laws by hiding “hush money” payments he made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, on behalf of Trump, and disguising them as legal services rendered, among other financial crimes.

Cohen, who will be sentenced in December, is expected to serve between four to five years in prison.

Was Trump involved?

Most potentially troublesome, Cohen told prosecutors he specifically made the payments at the behest of the president, though he referred to him in court simply as the “candidate”, something Trump has changed his own story on multiple times.

Play Video 4:47 Russia inquiry: how Trump's inner circle could bring him down – video explainer

What next for Cohen?

The president’s Michael Cohen problem may have only just begun. Long one of his most trusted advisers, Cohen seems to have significantly soured on Trump. Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, said yesterday Cohen would not accept a pardon even if offered.

“Not only is he not hoping for, he would not accept a pardon,” Davis said. “He considers a pardon from somebody who has acted so corruptly as president to be something he would never accept.”



Of more confounding interest to Trump, is that Davis has suggested Cohen might have evidence to that effect. He told MSNBC his client has “both knowledge about a conspiracy to corrupt American democracy by the Russians, and the failure to report that knowledge to the FBI”.



The Senate Intelligence Committee has stated that it would like to speak to Cohen again regarding reports that he knew about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting involving Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, Manafort and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.



How many of Trump's close advisers have been convicted – and who are they? Read more

Manafort’s conviction

Manafort was likewise convicted of financial crimes, including eight counts of bank fraud, tax fraud and failure to report a foreign bank account. The conviction of Manafort, who put “himself and his money above the law”, as the court heard, stemmed from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged connections between Trump’s campaign and the Russian government, with whom the onetime campaign chairman has had extensive dealings.

Has Trump turned on Manafort?

Quite the contrary. While he didn’t mention either at a rally in West Virginia on Tuesday evening just a few short hours after the jury’s verdict, speaking beforehand to reporters the president insisted: “This has nothing to do with Russian collusion. These are witch hunts and it’s a disgrace,” he told reporters, and continued by calling Manafort a “good man” and listing off his lengthy resume of working for figures such as Ronald Reagan.

He praised Manafort, saying he was “brave” and that he had refused to “break” by cooperating with Mueller or taking a plea deal.



Wait, how many guilty Trump associates is that now?

Manafort and Cohen’s undoing brings the number of Trump campaign or administration officials that have either been convicted or pled guilty to crimes to five. Previously, Michael Flynn, briefly the national security adviser, pled guilty to lying to the FBI, for which he struck a plea deal with Mueller and awaits sentencing.

Rick Gates, a co-conspirator of Manafort’s, and his deputy on the campaign, admitted to committing financial crimes at his behest. He has yet to be sentenced. George Papadopoulos, the former foreign policy adviser to Trump, has also confessed to making false statements to the FBI and reportedly can expect to be sentenced to six months’ prison time.



How are Republicans reacting?

As you might expect! Paul Ryan, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, released a statement saying he was aware of the outcome of the Cohen case, but would need more information before commenting.

Senator Lindsey Graham attempted to highlight the failure to tie any of the legal mess to Russia. “Thus far, there have yet to be any charges or convictions for colluding with the Russian government by any member of the Trump campaign in the 2016 election,” he said.



What now for Trump?

More of the usual. In an interview with Fox News he denied the payments Cohen made came from campaign funds. Audio recordings of Trump instructing his longtime fixer to make the payments were revealed last month.