Politics roundup: Michael Cohen gets three years in prison

Lawyer Michael Cohen get sentenced to three years in prison for “blind obedience” to Trump. Oh, and also for tax evasion and perjury.

Cohen is sentenced

On Wednesday, lawyers and former presidential confidante Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison. He was charged with multiple accounts of lying about Trump’s campaign contacts with Russians, campaign finance violations, and tax evasion to the tune of $1.4 million in taxes. A judge ordered Cohen to pay $1.39 million to the IRS and give up $600,000, including a $100,000 fine. Cohen will report for prison in March.

Cohen repeatedly told the judge that he did all of this out of “blind loyalty” to the president. The “dirty deeds”, as Cohen described them, included payouts to two women, adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy centerfold Karen McDougal.

The women both claimed that they had taken part in affairs with the married Trump. They were then allegedly paid for their silence or essentially forced into it. The combined payments to both were estimated at $280,000. Neither of those payouts, naturally enough, were reported as campaign contributions.

This could all be pretty bad for Trump, considering that Cohen has said he will continue talking with investigators. If Cohen has even more substantial information on matters such as Russian ties to the 2016 presidential election, the President could face consequences of his own, such as impeachment. Cohen may be especially motivated if such cooperation reduces that three-year sentence.

Maria Butina pleads guilty

Michael Cohen was not the only person to fess up to their misdeeds in court this week. On Thursday, the alleged Russian agent Maria Butina pled guilty to a charge of acting as a foreign agent for an organized Russian campaign to influence American conservatives.

According to released court papers, Butina admitted to her role in an effort to court high-ranking members of the National Rifle Association (NRA), as well as prominent Republicans. Her goal? Ostensibly, to convince people that Russians were friendly allies, rather than tricky foes who may have sort-of rigged an election.

Butina, who has been held in jail for five months already, may be sentenced to time served or a short term in prison. Afterward, according to reports, she will almost certainly be deported back to Russia.

Maria Butina has agreed to cooperate with investigators, though it is unclear what she has to say. Prosecutors have backed away from allegations that she was connected to Russian intelligence agencies and acted as some sort of Cold War femme fatale.

However, that’s no reason people shouldn’t be nervous, especially if they came into contact with Butina. The NRA and other conservative bastions are now under considerable scrutiny, thanks not only to Butina’s friendliness, but to her connections with other Russians such as Russian politician Aleksandr Torshin, who acted as Butina’s advisor during her time in the United States.

President’s inauguration spending under investigation

The particulars of campaign spending and donations are always at least a little suspect. To be fair, the world of politics as it is would not be able to function if it weren’t for money. Even Bernie Sanders has to make a campaign poster every once in a while. But, all too often, the matter of who spends what, and to what benefit, gets distressingly murky.

At least, it should be distressing for the people involved in the January 2017 presidential inauguration. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan is investigating just how that inauguration committee spent $107 million in donations. Only about $61 million of that has been accounted for.

Federal authorities are also looking into allegations that some high-paying donors forked over money in exchange for closer access to the White House and influence in policy decision. Big donors who gave $1 million or more include AT&T and Boeing.

Where did all of this come from? Michael Cohen. That’s the former attorney and “fixer” to the now President who’s now staring down three years in jail for financial misdeeds. During the course of the inquiry into Cohen’s situation, investigators apparently uncovered evidence that the inauguration committee wasn’t entirely honest with its spending. Anyone who may have misused funds or donated to gain entre could be facing federal corruption charges.

May survives no-confidence vote, but her Brexit deal is still in doubt

Earlier this week, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May was facing a no-confidence vote from members of her own Conservative Party. If she failed the ordeal, her position would be in serious trouble. Instead, Conservative members of the British Parliament voted in favor of May by 63 percent. Now, she will be free from the specter of another no-confidence vote for at least a year.

That is surely a relief for May and her supporters, but there may not be time to breathe easy. A significant number of Conservative MPs voted against May, delivering a serious blow to her credibility.

Meanwhile, May’s controversial plan for exiting the European Union next year may still be in peril. She likely won’t garner enough votes for the current version of the plan to pass. Leaders in the EU, who are hardly friendly to the notion of a Brexit in the first place, aren’t likely to make this process easy, either. All the while, the March 29 deadline looms. If Britain doesn’t have a plan in place by that date, too bad, says the EU. The relationship will automatically break, meaning that British industries, trade, and transportation could be thrown into major chaos.

The House of Commons, one of the branches of the U.K. Parliament, has voted that May’s government is in contempt of Parliament, all because May and her lawyers are reluctant to release information on Brexit. This is the first time that a Prime Minister’s government has been the focus of such a move.

And, finally, your palate cleanser

For as long as there has been makeup, it seems like there has also been someone willing to talk it down. You know what I mean: that it’s frivolous, time-consuming, and even an elaborate form of lying. Some might even claim that it’s bad for your health — think of all the clogged pores!

Of course, sensible people will know all of that to be a hypersensitive kind of fear mongering. In general, it’s usually safe to ignore someone who has a lot of unsolicited opinions of your appearance, after all.

Now, the history of makeup is pretty long and, yes, full of people who can’t decide of they love it or hate it. Makeup could historically be used to project power via beauty. Think of Queen Elizabeth I in 16th century England. There’s some debate as to how much of that white lead-based ceruse she caked on, but chances are she used a fair amount.

A queen with makeup — especially a queen regnant without a king to boss her around, but with a Privy Council and Parliament that’s happy to do the job — might be able to project more authority. She’s young and strong, it might say, or she’s a remote, quasi-human figure that won’t brook human meddling.

Yes, that lead-filled makeup probably wasn’t great for her skin. It wasn’t for other people who habitually used the stuff. There is an equally long and often sad history of toxic makeups that ruined the health of many users.

If you want to learn more about the social history of makeup, check out this article from Slate on the historical accuracy of Elizabeth I’s makeup in recent films. Then, head on over to an online exhibit at the National Museum of American History.