Trump: If I’m impeached markets will crash and everyone will be very poor
DONALD Trump warned yesterday that the US economy will suffer a devastating crash if he is impeached.
After his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen implicated the US President in a federal crime earlier this week, Mr Trump said any proceedings against him would only cause more turmoil.
‘ I will tell you what, if I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash,’ he told US TV show Fox and Friends. ‘I think everybody would be very poor. I don’t know how you can impeach somebody who has done a great job.’
On Wednesday Mr Trump’s opponents declared it ‘ a Watergate moment’ as Mr Cohen put himself forward as a supergrass – with representatives saying he was ‘more than happy’ to ‘spill all’ the President’s secrets.
Many analysts believe Mr Cohen’s potential co- operation with the inquiry into alleged collusion between the Trump electoral campaign in 2016 and the Russians increases the likelihood of impeachment proceedings against the president.
In court, Mr Cohen directly accused Mr Trump of being his partner in the criminal act of paying hush-money to alleged former mistresses including porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
In a Manhattan courtroom, Mr Cohen pointed the finger at Mr Trump saying he had ‘directed’ him to arrange the payments.
Mr Trump did not appear to dispute this but argued in a tweet that violating campaign finance rules was ‘not a crime’ and suggested Mr Cohen was not very bright for pleading guilty to one.
In a separate development, his former campaign chairman Paul
Yesterday’s Daily Mail Manafort was found guilty on eight charges in a separate court case into financial fraud. Mr Trump branded it ‘a witch hunt’ and praised Mr Manafort for not pleading guilty, saying: ‘ Unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to “break” – make up stories in order to get a “deal”. Such respect for a brave man!’
In his latest interview, Mr Trump suggested that plea-bargaining like that agreed in Mr Cohen’s case ‘almost ought to be outlawed’.
He lauded 69-year-old Mr Manafort for leaving his fate to a jury rather than striking a plea deal – a move that sparked speculation Mr Manafort hopes for a pardon.
Asked if he was considering such a move, Trump said only that he has ‘great respect for what he has done, in terms of what he has gone through’. ‘One of the reasons I respect Paul Manafort so much is he went through that trial,’ Mr Trump added.
Mr Trump also plunged back into criticism of his Attorney General Jeff Sessions, claiming he ‘never took control of the Justice Department’. The president was angered when Mr Sessions stepped aside from overseeing the federal investigation into Russian meddling.
Mr Sessions quickly hit back, declaring that he and his department ‘will not be improperly influenced by political considerations’.
Is Donald’s house of cards about to fold?