Trump calls Cohen probe ‘witch hunt’
Reports: Lawyer may flip on prez
WASHINGTON — President Trump and top White House aides publicly defended the president’s personal attorney Michael Cohen and suggested that Robert Mueller’s probe, which spurred the FBI raid that could end in federal charges against Cohen, has exceeded its limits.
The public defense of Cohen comes amid several reports that Cohen — facing potential federal indictments, mounting legal bills and a possibly lengthy prison sentence for campaign finance and financial crimes — could cooperate with Mueller to reveal evidence that could be damaging to Trump or members of his team.
“A complete witch hunt,” Trump tweeted yesterday of the ongoing Mueller probe, one day after defending Cohen in a tweet calling him “a fine person with a wonderful family.”
“He is defending someone who he has worked with and known for a dozen-plus years, Dana, who he thinks is being treated unfairly,” Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway told CNN’s Dana Bash yesterday.
“In these tweets, he is saying, this is a fine family man who he worked with for many years. He thinks he is being treated unfairly,” Conway said.
The new messaging marks a stark departure from the White House’s previous practice of avoiding the subject of Michael Cohen, referring questions about his case to Trump’s legal team and saying little about him publicly.
The media and Twitter blitz also comes ahead of a busy week for the White House in Washington. French President Emmanuel Macron arrives today for a three-day trip that includes talks with Trump on issues including the Iran nuclear deal, trade deals and climate change. Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court takes up the challenge to his travel ban targeting entrants from mostly Muslim-majority countries.
Trump’s choice for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, also faces a crucial Senate Foreign Relations Committee vote tonight as he faces a tough confirmation battle, just weeks ahead of a highstakes bilateral meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Still, Cohen and the ongoing Mueller probe were top of mind for Trump throughout the weekend.
“Kim Strassel of the WSJ just said, after reviewing the dumb Comey Memos, ‘you got to ask, what was the purpose of the Special Counsel? There’s no there there,’ ” Trump tweeted yesterday, referring to last week’s release of memos former FBI Director James B. Comey made public.
“I think that we all have frustrations that we believe that the scope has gone well beyond what was intended to be investigations into meddling in the election,” White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short said yesterday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”