On Wednesday, convicted felon and former personal attorney/fixer for President Donald Trump testified before the House Oversight Committee about how is ex boss is a "racist," "conman," and a "cheat" who directed him to break the law on multiple occasions. While Cohen is not the most reliable of narrators (he is headed to prison), he certainly weaved a wild tale of scamming and deceit, and Twitter was particularly interested in one name that came up.
During questioning, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked Cohen if Trump ever inflated his assets to insurance companies, to which Cohen replied "yes." When she followed up by asking who else may know about the president's alleged fraud, Cohen rattled off a list of names: Allen Weisselberg, Ron Lieberman, and Matthew Calamari.
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WATCH: Rep. Oscasio-Cortez questions Michael Cohen about President Trump's taxes. pic.twitter.com/1oWTcqbSmy
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 27, 2019
It was the third name that caught everyone's attention.
Matthew Calamari absolutely cannot be a real person
— Kathryn VanArendonk (@kvanaren) February 27, 2019
"Matthew Calamari" is such a perfect name for a Cohen associate
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) February 27, 2019
Although "Matthew Calamari" sounds like the name of a mobster character in Michael Scott's Threat Level Midnight, he is in fact, a real person and has been a trusted associate of Trump since the 80s. BuzzFeed News wrote about Calamari in August of 2017 in an expansive piece about Trump's inner circle. According to a 1993 biography, when Trump asked Calamari if he would kill for him, the bodyguard responded quickly, "Yes, sir."
Calamari, who was once a linebacker, has been open about his loyalty to Trump, telling Bloomberg in 2015, "I love the guy. My thing is, I've always promised I would, knock on wood, never let anything happen to him."
The longtime associate hasn't yet been caught up in the web that is the Mueller probe and is not formally under investigation. Given how long Calamari has been with Trump though, one can assume his thick mustache really is full of secrets.
Matthew Calamari? I haven’t heard that name in years... pic.twitter.com/Bu2gRIO2cY
— Brett ______ (@BrettRedacted) February 27, 2019
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