Stormy Daniels Plays Herself in Star-Studded 'SNL' Cold Open

Scarlett Johansson, Ben Stiller, Martin Short and Jimmy Fallon also appeared in the busy opener.

Saturday Night Live packed its cold open on May 5, bringing in several characters from the White House as played by current cast members and a slew of celebrity guests, including Stormy Daniels.

Ben Stiller anchored the sketch with a reprisal of his impression of Trump fixer Michael Cohen,
frantically trying to get on the same page as Trump about the Stormy Daniels scandal. Alec Baldwin, of course, reprised his Trump impression. Stiller's Cohen assured him that the line was secure, but a quick cut revealed that the FBI was totally listening. The sketch then devolved into a lengthy multi-caller phone conversation between Cohen and several key players in Trump's world.

Martin Short played Trump's doctor Harold Bornstein. When Stiller's Cohen asked if he could call him back, he replied: "I have zero commitments personally and professionally, but if you ever want to do drugs, I can get you all the drugs!"

Kate McKinnon played Rudy Giuliani, "Trump's lawyer and worst nightmare." Aidy Bryant appeared as Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Cecily Strong was Melania Trump. She had a question "for a friend": "If her husband is accused of a crime, does she have to testify? What if she wants to?" Fellow current castmember Leslie Jones also appeared in the busy cold open: "Hi, it's Omarosa, and I'm still pissed off." And Beck Bennett briefly showed up as Mike Pence.

Scarlett Johansson and Jimmy Fallon made cameos as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who Cohen said was pretty much expendable. Baldwin's Trump mentioned that he had an upcoming meeting with his new chief strategist Kanye West.

Then for the final surprise appearance, Stormy Daniels played herself. "Everyone knows it's just an act," Baldwin's Trump said, telling her to stop talking about him. "I work in adult films; we're not really known for our acting," she replied. "I know you don't believe in climate change, but a storm's a coming, baby," Daniels said.

The adult film actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford and who allegedly had an affair with the president in 2006, is suing Trump for defamation and to be released from a non-disclosure deal she agreed to days before the 2016 election in exchange for $130,000. The payment was made by the president's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. Trump has denied knowledge of the payment, although his lawyer Rudy Giuliani claimed the president repaid Cohen the $130,000 on a television appearance on Wednesday.

'SNL' Tackles Kanye West's Trump Tweets in 'A Quiet Place' Parody

Friday, May 4, 2018

Ukraine halts investigations into Manafort as it finalizes weapons deal with US:

The crooks are using American foreign policy to hide thier crimes...

Ukraine halts investigations into Manafort as it finalizes weapons deal with US:
report http://hill.cm/cJA7L5P

Ukraine's chief prosecutor froze four pending investigations into President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort as the U.S. finalized a weapons sale to the Eastern European country.
Those cases were put into the "long-term box," one Ukrainian lawmaker, Volodymyr Ariev, told The New York Times, so as to avoid upsetting President Trump, who has bristled publicly and privately at special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

"In every possible way, we will avoid irritating the top American officials," Ariev told the Times. "We shouldn’t spoil relations with the administration."

The decision to halt the investigations came shortly after the U.S. approved the sale of 210 Javelin anti-tank missiles and 35 launching units to the Ukrainian government, the Times reported.

The move shows how Ukraine, a country heavily reliant on U.S. assistance, has sought to avoid activities that could irritate Trump. The country receives about $600 million annually in direct aid from the U.S.

The four investigations involving Manafort were initially among roughly 3,000 cases opened by special prosecutor Serhiy Horbatyuk, who is probing alleged corruption in the administration of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted in 2014.

The investigations involving Manafort hinged on his consulting work for Yanukovych and his political party.

In April, however, shortly after the Pentagon gave final approval for the weapons sale, an order was issued to effectively halt the Manafort investigations.

Horbatyuk told the Times that the order did not end the probes, but barred him from issuing subpoenas or conducting witness interviews.

"We have no authority to continue our investigation," he said.

In the U.S., Manafort has emerged as a key figure in Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. He is facing charges of money laundering, tax evasion and failing to register as a foreign agent in that probe.

Trump has blasted Mueller's investigation as a "hoax" and a "witch hunt," and has insisted that no one on his campaign conspired with Moscow to help sway the result of the 2016 election. Mueller is seeking to interview Trump as part of the probe.

The Times previously obtained a list of questions Mueller's team is hoping to ask the president in a potential interview. One of those questions touches on what Trump may have known about Manafort's outreach to Russia during the campaign.

Tags Robert Mueller Paul Manafort Donald Trump Ukraine Russia Investigation Special Counsel investigation