So, It Turns Out There are Actual Trump Ties to McCarthyism

I just read this excellent and ghastly Politco article here by Michael Kruse, "He Brutalized for You."  It tells of how Roy Cohn became the mentor of Donald Trump.

Well, that now explains a lot.  

As the article puts it, yes, that Roy Cohn.  The vicious, odious lawyer who was henchman for Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI), and who mercilessly ruined lives, many if not most quite innocent; had mob ties; was disbarred in 1986 for “'fraud, deceit and misrepresentation'— for lying on a bar application, for taking a client’s money, for altering the will of an incapacitated man, among other things;" who journalist Ken Auletta called, “One of the most reptilian characters I’ve ever met;” who was a "Jewish anti-Semite and homosexual homophone'" and had a philosophy best-described as "Say anything. Win at all costs."  Who Trump would often tell people he was negotiating with that they could either talk to him or -- as the ultimate threat to be avoided at all costs-- they could deal with Roy Cohn.

That Roy Cohn.

In 1980, Cohn told the New York Times that he was  “not only Donald’s lawyer, but also one of his close friends.”  An article in Vanity Fair said that they spoke to one another “15 to 20 times a day.”  

When Cohn's connections to the mob became news, though, and Trump had to answer questions from New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement and Casino Control Commission, author Kruse writes that "Trump distanced himself from a man he once had called 'a genius,' his attorney whose name, face and reputation he would brandish as a weapon."

Similarly, if not more cold-heartedly, when Trump learned that Cohn had AIDS, he began cutting all ties with the lawyer and began moving his business to other attorneys.

That Roy Cohn.  Donald Trump's mentor.  Say anything.  Win at all costs.  It explains SO much.  

Is it fair to paint someone like Donald Trump because of his connection to a person who had ties to someone else?  No, not necessarily.  But that "not necessary" is an important qualifier.  Because when that connection employs many of the very tactics he used previously and acts as a bridge between parties to become a mentor then, yes, it not only is fair but right and proper.  And in this case, necessary.

Check out the full article here .