Trump’s lawyer admits to lying
DONALD Trump’s former personal lawyer has pleaded guilty to lying to US Congress about an investigation into Mr Trump’s links to Russia.
Michael Cohen’s admissions about a Trump property deal in Moscow during the 2016 race for the White House puts the US President under intense pressure over his ties to Russia.
Mr Trump dismissed the claims by his former righthand man, calling him “weak” and a “liar” – before abruptly cancelling a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
It’s the latest twist in the US Justice Department investigation into whether Mr Trump or his inner circle colluded with alleged Russian attempts to influence the presidential election.
Mr Cohen (above) admitted he worked on negotiations for a Trump Tower in Moscow deep into the President’s White House campaign.
He said he talked to officials close to Mr Putin as late as June 2016, around the time Mr Trump won the Republican nomination. Previously, he had told Congress talks ended in January.
Federal court documents revealed Mr Cohen talked to Mr Putin’s press secretary to get financing and locate land for the tower. He also discussed setting up a meeting between “the two big guys”, apparently referring to Mr Putin and Mr Trump. Mr Cohen “gave the false impression that the Moscow project ended before the very first (Republican) primary in the hopes of limiting the ongoing Russia investigations”, court documents state.
Mr Cohen, 52, has already admitted to campaign finance violations by handling hush money for two women who claim they had affairs with Mr Trump. He has also admitted to tax evasion and bank fraud, and will be sentenced this month.
Mr Cohen was Mr Trump’s fixer at his Trump Organisation property business for a decade and once said he would “take a bullet” for him.
But the two fell out when Mr Cohen was investigated by a Justice Department special counsel. He has turned against the President by co-operating with investigators and agreeing to a plea bargain deal.
After the guilty plea, Mr Trump said Mr Cohen was a “weak person” who was lying to try to “get a much lesser prison sentence”.