The testimony of Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen is going to be devastating for the president. Already, Cohen is pointing out several discrepancies in the president’s claims to Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
In a prepared statement, Cohen states that Trump was well aware that Roger Stone, his longtime associate, “was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails.”
Cohen is specifically citing a phone conversation between Trump and Stone, which he witnessed in July 2016. Cohen stated:
Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign.”
According to Cohen, Trump responded, “Wouldn’t that be great.”
Cohen’s testimony contradicts Trump’s own claims to Mueller, as the president had told the Special Counsel in a written statement that Stone hadn’t told him about any discussions with WikiLeaks.
The president had also claimed to not know about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his son, Jared Kushner, and a Russian lawyer which was promoted as an opportunity to get damaging information about then-rival Hillary Clinton. Cohen is stating that Trump was well aware of the Trump Tower meeting, recalling an incident in June 2016 where Donald Trump Jr. “came into the room and walked behind his father’s desk,” an “unusual” thing for him to do. Cohen stated:
I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: ‘The meeting is all set.’ I remember Mr. Trump saying, ‘Ok good … let me know.’”
While Trump may try to claim Cohen is lying, it will be hard as Cohen’s statements are in alignment with what Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, has said about the president and his son. Cohen said:
Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world. And also that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone – and certainly not without checking with his father.”
Featured image via screen capture
