Welcome to the commentary magazine podcast.

Today is Thursday. I think it's the 28th of November or is it the 29th? I'm not sure.

29th I think. 29th of November 2018. I'm John Pajorics, the editor of

Commentary Magazine, the 70-some-odd-year-old monthly of intellectual analysis,

political, property, and cultural criticism. From a conservative perspective, we invite

you to join us at commentarymagazine.com where we give you a few free reads and

ask you to subscribe, $19.95 for a digital subscription, $29.95. For an all-access

subscription, including our beautiful monthly magazine in your mailbox, $11.00 a year,

with me as always, senior editor Abe Greenwald, hi Abe. Hi John.

Associate editor Noah Rothman, hi Noah. Hi John. And social commentary columnist,

Christine Rosen, hi Christine. Hi John. Okay, so this morning comes the news that

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen has entered a plea of guilty to lying to Congress about the extent of his

dealings on behalf of the Trump organization in Russia into the year 2016, which means that

far later than has previously thought, the Trump organization was attempting to procure

rights to build, apparently to build a Trump tower in Moscow, even as Trump was

leading in the polls and going on his inexorable way to become the Republican nominee

for the presidency. And Cohen apparently softeted to lie about this and has decided to plead guilty

and has entered into a cooperation agreement with a special prosecutor Robert Mueller

this comes on the heels of news that Robert Mueller is looking into late night phone calls between

Trump and his longtime political concierge Roger Stone, Roger Stone, who has been advising Trump

on political matters for more than 20 years, was of course for many years in Washington the

partner in the case street firm of black Manafort and Stone Manafort being Paul Manafort,

...