1/ Trump claimed that Michael Cohen “directly� asked him for a pardon, was told “NO,� and then lied about it last week during his House Oversight and Reform Committee testimony. During the testimony, Cohen stated he had “never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from Mr. Trump.� Cohen’s current lawyer, Lanny Davis, acknowledged that Cohen’s previous lawyer discussed the possibilities of a pardon with Rudy Giuliani after the FBI searched Cohen’s home and office in April 2018. Davis said that Cohen was open to the “dangled� possibility of a pardon in implicit statements by Trump’s team. Cohen replied to Trump in a tweet of his own, calling the assertion “another set of lies.� (Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / USA Today)

Bad lawyer and fraudster Michael Cohen said under sworn testimony that he never asked for a Pardon. His lawyers totally contradicted him. He lied! Additionally, he directly asked me for a pardon. I said NO. He lied again! He also badly wanted to work at the White House. He lied!

Just another set of lies by @POTUS @realdonaldtrump. Mr. President...let me remind you that today is #InternationalWomensDay. You may want use today to apologize for your own #lies and #DirtyDeeds to women like Karen McDougal and Stephanie Clifford.

2/ Trump’s inauguration fund took in tens of thousands of dollars from shell companies owned by foreign contributors and others with foreign ties. The three shell companies each gave $25,000 to the fund, and at least one contribution was made by a foreign national who is reportedly ineligible to make political donations under U.S. election law. One of the donations was made through a Delaware shell company on behalf of a wealthy Indian financier. Another was made by a shell company formed in Georgia on behalf of a lobbyist with ties to the Taiwanese government, and a New York-based shell company formed by an Israeli real estate developer made the third $25,000 donation. (The Guardian)

3/ Paul Manafort was sentenced to less than four years in jail in the first of two cases against him. Manafort’s 47 months in prison for bank and tax fraud was far lighter than the 19- to 24-year prison term recommended under federal sentencing guideline...