Turning on Trump

The Cohen revelations

Q What is the impact of Michael Cohen’s testimony? A

Cohen made a series of damning claims about Mr Trump in his testimony before Congress, including that he directed him to make illegal hush-money payments to women alleging affairs during the election and implicitly told him to lie to Congress. Ultimately, these paint a very negative picture of the US president by a man who served at his side for a decade. But it is difficult to prove from Cohen’s testimony that Mr Trump intentionally engaged in extreme misconduct – or even illegal activity.

Perhaps the biggest impact of yesterday’s testimony is the fact that it shifted attention away from Mr Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong-un in Hanoi. Cable news channels carried Cohen’s questioning live all day – paying little heed to the negotiations in Vietnam. The president’s son, Donald Jr, tweeted: “Only Democrats could hate someone so much that they would try to disrupt nuclear peace talks with testimony from a convicted felon.” The president was reportedly planning to stay up overnight to watch the testimony on TV.

Q

What does it mean for the Russia investigation? A

It emerged yesterday that Cohen is still co-operating with prosecutors in the hope of getting a reduced prison sentence. He told the members of Congress he was aware of other wrongdoing and illegal acts involving Mr Trump that he could not discuss because they are being probed by prosecutors in New York.

Q

Will Donald Trump be impeached? A

It is unlikely Congress would trigger proceedings without clear evidence of wrongdoing. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee which grilled Cohen suggested they were a long way from considering impeachment. However, Cohen’s testimony has paved the way for Mr Trump’s children to be called to answer questions – something that would inflict further political damage on the president.