Cohen spills Trump secrets

PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer said he is providing “critical information” as part special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance and other charges last month, said he is providing the information to prosecutors without a cooperation agreement.

Trump’s longtime fixer-turned-foe could be a vital witness for prosecutors as they investigate whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russians. For more than a decade, Cohen was Trump’s personal lawyer, and he was a key power player in the Trump Organisation and a fixture in Trump’s political life.

Cohen pleaded guilty in August to eight federal charges and said Trump directed him to arrange payments before the 2016 election to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and a former Playboy model who had both alleged they had affairs with Trump. It was the first time any Trump associate implicated Trump himself in a crime.

On Thursday night, Cohen tweeted: “Good for (at) Michael Cohen212 for providing critical information to the (hash) Mueller Investigation without a cooperation agreement. No one should question his integrity, veracity or loyalty to his family and country over (at) POTUS (at) real Donald- Trump.”

ABC News reported that Cohen has met several times — for several hours — with investigators from the special counsel’s office. The television network, citing sources familiar with the matter, said he was questioned about Trump’s dealings with Russia, including whether members of the Trump campaign worked with Russians to try to influence the outcome of the election.

Cohen’s attorney Lanny Davis had asserted last month that his client could tell the special counsel that Trump had prior knowledge of a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer, Trump’s son-in-law and Trump’s eldest son.