| | | | 3 things we want to know about Michael Cohen and the 'Access Hollywood' tape | | When FBI agents raided Michael Cohen's office and home on Monday, they were looking for -- among other things -- any documents related to the "Access Hollywood" tape that nearly ended Donald Trump's campaign back in the fall of 2016.
That news was first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by CNN. But, beyond those basic facts -- the FBI was looking for anything tied to the lewd tape in the office and home of Trump's personal attorney/fixer -- we don't know much more.
In the absence of further facts, I thought I would pose a few questions that I would like the answers to sometime very soon.
1. Was Cohen involved in some way, shape or form in keeping the "Access Hollywood" tape secret for so long?
Remember the tape was from 2005. It didn't emerge publicly until October 2016. Why not? Trump was a major figure in culture -- albeit reality TV rather than politics -- for the better part of that decade-plus. Did Cohen have something to do with the tape remaining secret for so long?
2. Was Cohen involved in the aftermath of the tape?
Most of Trump's advisers not named Steve Bannon saw the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape as a death blow to Trump's chances. Was Cohen part of the group Trump consulted as he tried to figure out how to react and keep his campaign going? Did Cohen take any actions to mitigate the damage from the tape's release?
3. Was Cohen involved with payments to any other women making allegations against Trump?
We know that Cohen -- through an LLC -- made a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet. And that the FBI raid sought to seize any documents pertaining to the payment made to Playboy model Karen McDougal, who alleged an affair with Trump in the mid-2000s. And, now, that the FBI was looking for any information related to the "Access Hollywood" tape. That starts to look like a pattern in terms of Cohen.
The Point: The Cohen raid continues to yield unexpected storylines -- and suggests Trump's personal attorney may well have had a hand in a whole lot more pots than we thought.
-- Chris | | "Diamond and Silk is not terrorism."
-Rep. Marsha Blackburn to Mark Zuckerberg during the House Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday. Read more about Day 2 of Zuckerberg on the Hill here. | | | NO RE-ELECTION PLANS FOR PAUL RYAN | | Big news Wednesday morning: CNN's Phil Mattingly, Maegan Vazquez and Lauren Fox reported Wednesday that House Speaker Paul Ryan is not seeking re-election. The Wisconsin Republican will retire from Congress after this year, he announced.
"You realize something when you take this job," Ryan told reporters on Capitol Hill. "It's a big job with a lot riding on you ... but you also know this is not a job that does not last forever. ... You realize you hold the office for just a small part of our history. So you better make the most of it."
In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead," Ryan said he has no plans to run for another office.
As Chris noted, Ryan's decision not to seek an 11th term this fall sends a chilling signal to Republicans hoping to keep control of the House in November while also illustrating the impossibilities of serving as an elected GOP leader in Donald Trump's Washington. Read more in Chris' full take on the retirement here.
BTW: Ryan's announcement changes CNN's House Key Race alerts. Now Ryan's -- and six other seats -- move toward Democrats. | |  | | Speaking of Paul Ryan ... he and other Republican lawmakers joined President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday. Trump tweeted the above image on the group posing with their thumbs up. | | | Rage Against the Machine, Led Zeppelin, Metallica and Grateful Dead are among Paul Ryan's favorite bands (as CNN has previously reported). So H/T CNN's Z. Byron Wolf for today's pick, inspired by the Wisconsin Republican's music taste: "Goin' to California." | | IN OTHER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE NEWS... | | | CNN's Jennifer Hansler reports: Former Speaker of the House John Boehner is heading for the boardroom of a cannabis company. His decision to join the board is a marked shift -- in 2009, Boehner said he was "unalterably opposed" to legalization, according to Bloomberg. "I'm joining the board of #AcreageHoldings because my thinking on cannabis has evolved," the Ohio Republican tweeted Wednesday. Read more here. | | President Donald Trump warned Russia on Wednesday that it should "get ready" for a missile strike on Syria, vowing to thwart any missile defenses. Chris points out that there's a lot going on in that tweet -- and a lot wrong with it.
1. Twitter isn't the place to kind of, sort of announce a military strike
2. What happened to not telegraphing our military actions?
3. No one knows how seriously to take this
Read Chris' full take here. | | Puerto Rico: Men are making less money on average than women. Whoa! I mean, the gap is less than $1K, but still, it's the only place in the United States where the wage gap is flipped, probably due to women being slightly more educated. When taken as a whole, American women make an average of 75% of what men make.
CNN's AJ Willingham has more here. | | Here's why Brenna chose this GIF, in her own words: "Today Chris sent us a press release from Sen. Joe Manchin's office promoting his trip to a pop-up restaurant celebrating the 'West Virginia delicacy' known as a pepperoni roll. Now, since I literally had no idea what that was, I consulted Wikipedia, which said: 'the classic pepperoni roll consists of a fairly soft white yeast bread roll with pepperoni baked in the middle.' So, basically, a Hot Pocket?"
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