COHEN IMPLICATES TRUMP IN HUSH MONEY PAYOFF SCHEME BEFORE ELECTION

WASHINGTON (AP) — Moments after Donald Trump’s former personal attorney implicated the president of the United States in a felony, Sen. John Cornyn declared “People who do bad things, who break the law need to be held accountable.”

Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, quickly made clear his statement wasn’t aimed at Trump.

For Republicans, Tuesday’s courtroom drama revived an uncomfortable and all-too-familiar predicament. On a seemingly weekly basis, party leaders and lawmakers have found themselves trying to explain away a slew of Trump-generated controversies, hoping that occasionally stern statements can carry them through until the latest round of chaos blows over. It’s a strategy the party has leaned on through Trump’s refusal to unequivocally blame Russia for meddling in the 2016 election, through his statements equally blaming white supremacists and counter protesters for violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, and through his numerous insults aimed at women and minorities.

But Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen’s extraordinary plea deal — it came less than an hour after former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty of eight financial crimes — ups the pressure on the GOP in a midterm election year.

Tuesday was a bad day in court for former associates of President Donald Trump, and it could foreshadow tough days ahead for the president. AP’s Washington Bureau Chief Julie Pace looks at what it all means for Trump’s White House. (Aug. 21)

Cohen’s plea marks the first time a Trump associate has been found guilty of a crime directly related to the 2016 election. And it’s a crime Cohen says Trump was not only aware of, but personally involved in carrying out.

“This is a huge threshold we just crossed today,” said Zac Petkanas, a Democratic operative who specializes in Trump opposition research.

Yet the initial response from Republicans offered little indication that the party planned to treat Cohen’s revelations any different than the numerous other controversies that have dogged Trump during his 17 months in office. Most GOP lawmakers simply said nothing about Cohen’s guilty plea. One of the few statements from Republican leaders came from an unnamed spokesperson for House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said the speaker was aware of Cohen’s plea to “these serious charges” and needed “more information than is currently available at this point.”