So Cohenâs argument appears to be, I committed a crime so stop the lawsuit so I donât have to plead the 5th? In what world is this even a Hail Mary legal defense?
âWeâve learned moments ago, within the last two hours, that Michael Cohen will be filing a motion tomorrow in our case, an emergency motion to stay â or temporarily stop â our case,â Michael Avenatti, adult film star Stephanie Cliffordâs attorney, told MSNBCâs Nicole Wallace.
âThe grounds for that motion are going to be that it is his intention to plead the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination if our case goes forward, in light of potential criminal jeopardy that he finds himself in,â Avenatti continued. âSo this is a stunning development.â
So you can halt your trial by saying that it proceeding would cause you to incriminate yourself because youâre guilty?
Whoa, wasnât aware of that loophole. 
Trump is on his own now.
This is actually a valid defense in a civil case and can be effective at stalling some aspects of it if the judge agrees. Itâs a smart move on behalf of Cohen.
Civil cases are often stayed if they overlap with criminal cases. My guess is his stay request will be granted.
âYour honor, a trial would prove my guilt, so it must not proceed!â
Itâs legit.
Then what happens to the NDA? It has to wait until his criminal suit is concluded to get it decided?
(and does this mean heâs expecting charges to be pressed on him any moment now?)
Man, this thing is just unraveling faster and faster.
Ok⌠it says something about my general state of mind that I watched that. Not proud.
Putting aside whether the specific terms of the hush-money contract are enforceable, the big threshold question in this case is whether Cohen had Trumpâs authority to execute the contract and structure it the way he did (with the LLC as the signatory and with Trump as a non-signatory who happened to have all of the relevant rights and duties except the duty to pay the hush money).
The problem for poor Mikey is that both possible answers to that question appear to lead to some serious exposure.
If he acted without authority and without Trumpâs knowledge (yeah, right ⌠just play along), the agreement is void for that reason alone and heâll have to answer to the state bar at a minimum.
If the answer is yes, then Trump is a full-fledged party to the contract and a knowing beneficiary of the hush-money payment, with all of the potential exposure that entails.
Just proving once again that these agreements were never meant to see the light of day, and that daylight alone is enough to bring the whole thing down like a ⌠like a cheap ⌠whatâs that expression again?
You ever see those gifs Josh posts? Follow his Twitter feed and get ready to do some wincing because theyâre all those âfailâ videos with people smashing themselves into poles and stuff.
Shit, Iâm looking forward to THIS:
I think the answer to that is probably yes. The legality of the Stormy payment appears to be at issue in both the Civil case and the criminal investigation. The civil court will probably find it appropriate to wait until the criminal case is resolved to protect Cohenâs right against self-incrimination. That being said, I am not aware that criminal charges have yet been filed against Cohen. The court could wait to stay the civil case until an actual criminal case is filed against Cohen. Weâll see.
Robâs right. In a civil case you can subpoena testimony through a deposition and that testimony can be used in the criminal case. Itâs common to stay (hold) the civil case until the criminal case concludes.
In criminal cases you can refuse to testify and it canât be held against you, based on the fifth Amendment of the Constitution. But in civil cases, if you refuse to testify they can make a reasonable inference on why you donât testify. Baxter v. Palmigiano 425 U.S. 308 (1976).
(I always have to look the case name up, because it sticks in my head as Baxter v. Parmesano). I guess I just have cheese on the brain.
Can we please slow down this torrent of information? I have a day job, you know, and canât run to TPM every 10 minutes.
But if it gets Trump out that much faster, keep it coming!
Yeah. Iâm like, what was I going to do today?
On the other hand, Iâve been smiling all day.
Premature to stay anything. We donât know enough about the possible criminal proceedings to determine whether or not there is an âoverlapâ and to what extent any overlap might affect Fifth Amendment protection. Sorry, proceed to discovery. (Which makes me think: maybe the best basis for a halt in the proceedings is that the FBI has all of Cohenâs documents.)