April 9, 2018Gronda Morin

aside President’s Personal Attorney Michael Cohen Threatens Harvard Student

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAMON WINTER / THE NEW YORK TIMES / REDUX

Most of us have figured out that the republican President Donald Trump cannot take a joke at his expense. This explains in part why he refuses to attend the annual  White House correspondents‘ dinner. 

This Trumped-up dinner and accompanying comedy roast, with remarks by the President followed by a featured comedian, has become an annual standard, where those present mingle with actors, models, and other celebrities like Andrea Mitchell and Wolf Blitzer.

The president’s last attempt to deliver some funny lines at an October 2016 Al Smith Dinner, held annually, was a complete dud. His jokes were Don Rickles’ mean to where he was met with open jeers.

As per the 4/28/17 New Yorker by Ian Crouch, we are reminded of the annual event in 2011 when the president did attend:

“The President may try to spin his strategic retreat as a minor victory, but it will be an empty one. If he were a Marvel superhero, or super-villain, a key point in Trump’s origin story would be the 2011 correspondents’ dinner, where President Obama’s lavish mockery of Trump’s political ambitions became, as the mythology now has it, the dark fuel for his eventual run for the Presidency. People in attendance noted Trump’s beet-red face, his locked jaw, his frozen slouch as Obama deftly skewered him, referring to him dismissively as “the Donald.” What greater thrill than to return triumphantly to the scene of his greatest public humiliation and deliver a few remarks from behind the Presidential seal? But even a night of gloating would require from Trump the kind of practical courage that he, until now, has failed to demonstrate. Instead, sensing a potential televised conflict, in which, for a time at least, he’d have to surrender the microphone to a hostile comedian, Trump ducked out, choosing instead to nurse his pride in the comfort of another campaign rally, playing to what comedians would call a friendly room.”

(Evan Vucci/AP)

Here’s the rest of the story…

On April 9, 2018, Hayley Glatter of Boston News penned the following report, “A Harvard Student Said Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Threatened Him” (“After the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine pranked then-candidate Donald Trump, the lawyer allegedly called up Harvard student Tom Waddick and said he would have him expelled.”)

“Stormy Daniels and a staffer at the Harvard Lampoon allegedly have something in common: a threat from President Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen.”

Image result for photos of Tom Waddick of harvard
TOM WADDICK VIA HANDOUT/CBS NEWS Harvard Lampoon staffers stole the Harvard Crimson president’s chair and pretended to be from the student newspaper when they met with Donald Trump in 2015.

“After pulling off an epic prank on then-candidate Trump during the summer of 2015, Tom Waddick, a Harvard senior and member of the historic comedy magazine (Harvard Lampoon), told 60 Minutes in an episode that aired Sunday (4/8/17) he ended up on the receiving end of a fiery call from Cohen.”

Image result for photo of harvard lampoon magazine“It all started when the Lampoon broke into the offices of the Harvard Crimson and made off with the paper’s famed president’s chair. Staffers then reached out the nascent Trump campaign and—posing as the Crimson—offered the candidate the paper’s endorsement. Team Trump, Waddick said, was keen on the idea, so Lampoon staffers lugged the heavy president’s chair to Trump Tower in Manhattan. After a bit of chit chat, Trump posed for a thumbs-up photo with the group of students, whom he still thought represented the Crimson.”

“But a few days later, Waddick told 60 Minutes, the Trump campaign unraveled the prank. The team was less than thrilled with the Lampoon staffers, and Cohen made sure Waddick knew of his discontent.”

“He says, you know, ‘I’m gonna come up to Harvard. You’re all gonna get expelled. If this photo gets out you’ll be outta that school faster than you know it. I can be up there tomorrow,” Waddick told 60 Minutes.”

60 Minutes

✔@60Minutes

Occasionally the Lampoon pulls off an epic prank. Current senior Tom Waddick may have set a new standard by tricking candidate Donald Trump to sit in a chair stolen from student newspaper–and frequent target–The Harvard Crimson. The ruse? The Crimson endorsed Mr. Trump.

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 “Cohen then asked Waddick to send over his Harvard ID, which he did, due to concerns that “he might actually be crazy enough to fly up” to Cambridge.”

“The Lampoon—which counts William Randolph Hearst, Conan O’Brien, and B.J. Novak among its alumni—published its fake Trump endorsement on the website thecrimson.co in July 2015, according to the Crimson, thumbs-up photo and all.”

Image result for photo of harvard lampoon magazine

As per a 4/9/18 Boston Globe report by  J.D. Capelouto, “When the Lampoon eventually published its fake endorsement in July 2015 to a Crimson parody site, thecrimson.co, it went viral for the clever ruse on both Trump and its on-campus rival. The parody site has since become unavailable.”

“Waddick also told “60 Minutes” what it was like taking the now-iconic Trump photo.”

“While we were there they had sort of hairspray and combed it over and stuff. And he said, ‘People don’t think my hair is real, but you can all testify this is very real.’” Waddick said. “. . . So he said, ‘Everyone do the thumbs up,’ so we’re all doing his sort of signature thumbs up around him. And I was just like, ‘We got it.’”

“The Crimson published a story about the Lampoon’s prank in August 2015, reporting that the prestigious student newspaper’s staff were unaware of the joke until Trump’s campaign reached out to talk about the piece — at which point the campaign was told the Crimson had not authorized any such editorial.”

15 comments

    • I’m genuinely curious what the FBI can dig up that can connect to Trump. I’m sure if they can get to Bill Clinton for his extramarital affairs, Trump also had plenty of past indiscretions. Trump shouldn’t have lied about not knowing his lawyer’s payout to Stormy, now he has to confess to the Feds.

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      • Dear 1EarthUnited,

        I don’t know the answer with any certainty. This is why Mr. Mueller is on the job. I keep believing the president is guilty because he acts guilty.

        I truly believe that if the president were not guilty, he would keep quiet. Mr Mueller is fair and operates by the book. If Mr. Mueller cannot find hard evidence against the president, he is off the hook.

        What I can say is that there are those who were working in close proximity to the president who have already been found to be guilty of criminal activity.

        Mr. Cohen who is the president’s personal attorney had his office raided by the FBI today. He is someone who would know were all the bones are buried. This is why this is a big deal.

        Hugs, Gronda

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      • With all due respect, extra marital affair is irrelevant to what we are facing here. What we are facing is a group of criminal gangsters who are way beyond extra marital affairs. They are killers, oppressive, dictatorial, and have no respect for America, its laws or its Constitution.

        Liked by 1 person

        • Dr. Bebawi, I would have to agree with you. More information has been brought to light by our friend Gronda, that’s why the FBI and prosecutors are investigating whether Cohen broke banking or campaign laws in connection with AMI’s payment to McDougal and a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels that Cohen said he paid out of his own pocket.

          The Feds got Nixon for Watergate, Bill for Monica-gate so there has been precedents for bringing down the presidency for cover-ups. Let’s call this case Stormy-gate!

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    • Dear Crustyolemothman.

      I did blog on this event. Ii’s a big deal.that the FBI was able to survive several levels of judicial review to obtain a FBI “no knock” raid of the office of the president’s personal attorney. This means Mr. Cohen is in some serious trouble. I just watched an unhinged president talking on TV surrounded by Generals.

      The president spoke more about the unfairness of the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe than he did about Syria.

      Hugs, Gronda

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  2. What the hell happened to the United States of America. Freedom of expression, speech and the press matter no more? Trump’s Lawyer should be ashamed of himself and should not practice law since he has neither respect for the law nor for the Constitution. This expatriate writer Dr. Sabri g. Bebawi is sick of the Gangster mentality of Don Corleone Trump and his Vegas Gangsters.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Dr. Sabri Bebawi, PhD,

      The president does act like he is the head/ Don of a Mafia organization instead of acting like the 45th president of the USA.

      What happened today is a big deal. The judicial system makes it very difficult for prosecutors to obtain this FBI “no knock” warrant to raid the president’s personal attorney Michael Cohen’s office but that is exactly what happened.

      I am worried about how the president will act within the next 24 hours.

      I keep saying, “this too will pass.” Gronda

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