Trump ex-lawyer pleads guilty to lying about Moscow tower project

[webfact]

Trump ex-lawyer pleads guilty to lying about Moscow tower project

By Brendan Pierson and Jeff Mason

 

Lawyer Michael Cohen enters Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 16, 2016. Picture taken December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

 

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former longtime personal lawyer, pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Organisation skyscraper in Moscow, prompting the president to lash out at Cohen as a liar and "weak person."

 

The unexpected plea stemmed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's intensifying investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 election and whether Trump's campaign conspired with Moscow to boost his chances, and put new pressure on the president.

 

Cohen, a former member of Trump's inner circle who in the past called himself the president's "fixer," described efforts to pursue Trump's ambitious Moscow real estate project deep into the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, later than previously disclosed.

 

He entered his guilty plea in federal court in Manhattan to one count of making false statements to two congressional panels about the project. According to a court document, Cohen briefed Trump on the project more than three times, as well as members of his family.

 

Not long after Cohen entered his plea, Trump abruptly cancelled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled to take place during this week's Group of 20 industrialized nations summit in Argentina, citing the current Ukraine crisis.

 

Cohen had pleaded guilty in August to eight criminal charges, including tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations, in a separate case brought by federal prosecutors in New York. His sentencing in that case is scheduled for Dec. 12.

 

Cohen said in court on Thursday that in 2017 he submitted a written statement to Congress saying all efforts relating to the real estate project in Moscow had ceased by January 2016. Cohen said that in fact those efforts continued until June 2016, after Trump had clinched the Republican presidential nomination.

 

The proposal to build a tower bearing Trump's name in the Russian capital ultimately did not materialise.Cohen provided false statements to both the Senate and House intelligence committees to create the impression the project had ended by the time the political primary season began, the charging document said.

 

Trump on Thursday distanced himself from Cohen, who last year told an interviewer he would "take a bullet" for the president.

 

"He's a weak person and not a very smart person," Trump said to reporters. "He's got himself a big prison sentence. And he's trying to get a much lesser prison sentence by making up this story."

 

Trump, who last week submitted written answers to questions posed in Mueller's investigation, called the Moscow project a "deal that didn't happen" mostly because he was busy running for president, but defended its propriety.

 

"Even if he was right, it doesn't matter because I was allowed to do whatever I wanted during the campaign," Trump said. "I was running my business, a lot of different things during the campaign.

 

"Everybody knows about this deal. I wasn't trying to hide anything."

 

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said the president had provided written answers to questions from Mueller on the Moscow project. Asked whether there was anything in those answers that contradicted Cohen on the project, Giuliani told Reuters: "Not that I know of."

 

Cohen said that in his statement to Congress he claimed to have had limited contact with Trump concerning the project, when in fact it had been "more extensive." Cohen also said he falsely told Congress he never took any steps towards travelling to Russia when in fact he had discussed going there, although he never went.

 

'POLITICAL MESSAGING'

"I made these misstatements to be consistent with individual 1's political messaging and out of loyalty to individual 1," Cohen, who previously identified individual 1 as Trump, said in court.

 

Trump has called Mueller's investigation, which has cast a cloud over his presidency, a witch hunt. Mueller also is looking into whether Trump has sought to unlawfully obstruct the probe.

 

Trump, a wealthy real estate developer and reality television star before entering politics, has flirted with building in Moscow several times over the years. During a visit to Russia in 2013 for the Miss Universe pageant he told journalists he was talking with potential Russian partners for a Moscow skyscraper modelled on New York's Trump Tower.

 

The proposed Moscow project also involved Felix Sater, a Russian-born property developer and former business associate of Trump.

 

According to the charging documents, Cohen told an associate who matches the description of Sater that he was willing to travel to Moscow to pursue the project before the July 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, and that Trump could travel to Moscow after the convention "once he becomes the nominee" of the Republican Party.

 

Cohen in January 2016 spoke with an assistant to Putin's press secretary about the project, and requested help in securing land and financing, the charging documents said.

 

Mueller, who took over the Russia investigation from the FBI in May 2017, has secured guilty pleas from several former Trump aides and associates, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, and also has charged a series of Russian individuals and entities.

 

After Cohen's guilty plea in August, Trump described Cohen as one of many of his attorneys and as someone who "did small deals" and "not somebody that was with me that much."

 

Cohen told the court in August that Trump had directed him to commit a crime by arranging payments to silence two women, adult-film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said before the 2016 election that they had affairs with Trump.

 

Asked by reporters if she was concerned about Cohen's plea, top House of Representatives Democrat Nancy Pelosi said, "Of course. He lied to the American people."

 

Mueller's team said on Monday Manafort had breached his plea deal by lying to federal investigators. Trump said on Wednesday he had not ruled out granting a pardon to Manafort.

 

Joshua Dressler, an Ohio State University law professor, noted that Cohen's plea came after Trump submitted his written responses to Mueller.

 

"If Trump was asked anything relating to the matters about which Cohen has now admitted he lied, then the president could be found to have lied to the special prosecutor, which is a crime and impeachable offence," Dressler said.

 

Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, noted that Trump called his client a liar. "Who do you believe?" Davis asked on Twitter.

 

(Reporting by Brendon Pierson and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson, Nathan Layne and Karen Freifeld; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Bill Trott and Jonathan Oatis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-30

[mtls2005]

The Trump crime family must be a bit more worried tonight.

 

Don Jr. is probably re-checking his "go bag". He too lied to Congress on this and other matters.

 

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5331441/Cohen-False-Statements-Criminal-Information.pdf

 

http://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5331549/Cohen-Plea-Agreement.pdf

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by mtls2005

[Lungstib]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

prompting the president to lash out at Cohen as a liar

Now that truly takes the biscuit!  If lying was a serious offense we would be seeing a president standing in the dock accused of multiple incidents. Mr Trump and the truth are only vaguely connected.

[Boon Mee]

As Trump has stated, Cohen is a "weak person" who is only lying to get himself a lighter sentence. 

[worgeordie]

A lawyer lies,....! lets see how weak Trump is if he

ever goes under a real investigation,I think he would

fold like a cheap deck chair.

regards worgeordie

[klauskunkel]

Trump had a weak and not very smart person as a longtime personal lawyer?

That is just sooo out of character.

[stevenl]

And I thought lying was a compliment in Trump's book.

[Becker]

9 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

As Trump has stated, Cohen is a "weak person" who is only lying to get himself a lighter sentence. 

Now that's just lame Boon Mee - even for you.

[bendejo]

2 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Don Jr. is probably re-checking his "go bag". He too lied to Congress on this and other matters.

 

Maybe he's asking "hey, what's the name of that island with no contact with the outside world?"

Or when he said he wanted to  leave the country he was asked what country he wanted to go to, he said "Wyoming."

[pssst!  that was a movie reference}

 

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by bendejo

[riclag]

Something smells very foul with the 13 angry Dem lawyers appointed by Mueller! So PT goes to a Putin summit in Helsinki, bam! news conference with Rosenstein,12 Russians being indited !
Now PT goes to a Summit in Argentina, Bam ! Cohen goes to a unexpected court appearance in NY, confessing to a lie to Congress! Rudy will slice and dice all of this new nonsense ! Process crimes and composing ! The greatest lawyer in modern day America will debunk this conspiracy concert!  Soon Mr. Wittaker will be holding the rights to the biggest book report in modern day politics!

[Briggsy]

55 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

As Trump has stated, Cohen is a "weak person" who is only lying to get himself a lighter sentence. 

I believe that was a veiled message from Trump, dangling a pardon.

 

Of course, Trump has a long history of reneging on promises. Just ask pretty much anyone who has worked for him, lent him money or done business with him.

[Becker]

13 minutes ago, riclag said:

Something smells very foul with the 13 angry Dem lawyers appointed by Mueller! So PT goes to a Putin summit in Helsinki, bam! news conference with Rosenstein,12 Russians being indited !
Now PT goes to a Summit in Argentina, Bam ! Cohen goes to a unexpected court appearance in NY, confessing to a lie to Congress! Rudy will slice and dice all of this new nonsense ! Process crimes and composing ! The greatest lawyer in modern day America will debunk this conspiracy concert!  Soon Mr. Wittaker will be holding the rights to the biggest book report in modern day politics!

13 angry dems....Guiliany greatest lawyer in modern day America!!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

 

[mtls2005]

22 minutes ago, riclag said:

Soon Mr. Wittaker will be holding the rights to the biggest book report in modern day politics!

Deputy AG Rosenstein (nominated by trump and confirmed by Congress) continues to oversee the Mueller investigation.

 

Acting AG Whitaker probably realizes his "exposure" come January 3, 2019, so he is limiting his meddling. Plus I doubt he could write a book report.

 

Stick a fork in trump, junior, ivanka, they're done. Eric, meh, he's probably too stoopid to do anything illegal.

 

So much of the "dirty" dossier is proving to be true.

 

The end for trump will be ugly; he'll not go quietly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by mtls2005

[spidermike007]

1. It is very typical of Trump to hire low quality people (weak as he says). Perhaps he is too cheap to pay for real talent? In his administration, one person after another is what can be referred to as low quality and weak.

2. When Trump says Cohen was "one of many of his attorneys and as someone who "did small deals" and "not somebody that was with me that much, we know for certain that is a lie. Just another lie. He lies as much as he tweets.

3. Trump is in really big trouble. This is just getting started. I smell a noxious blend of fear, guilt and panic coming from the Oval office. His statements yesterday, look like a man who is coming unhinged. It must be taken into account, that he has never in his life faced this level of scrutiny. In the private sector he was allowed to get away with alot. I do not think he considered how bad this could get for him. He is not dealing well, with this level of pressure. At a minimum, he will leave office in 25 months, in disgrace, and return to a totally battered empire, that is already in tatters. His name is completely radioactive, at this point in the game. 

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

As Trump has stated, Cohen is a "weak person" who is only lying to get himself a lighter sentence. 

Get real, your hero is a lying, corrupt Russia, Saudi lover who only cares about his own money and doesn't give a hoot about people like you.

[johnnybangkok]

30 minutes ago, riclag said:

Something smells very foul with the 13 angry Dem lawyers appointed by Mueller! So PT goes to a Putin summit in Helsinki, bam! news conference with Rosenstein,12 Russians being indited !
Now PT goes to a Summit in Argentina, Bam ! Cohen goes to a unexpected court appearance in NY, confessing to a lie to Congress! Rudy will slice and dice all of this new nonsense ! Process crimes and composing ! The greatest lawyer in modern day America will debunk this conspiracy concert!  Soon Mr. Wittaker will be holding the rights to the biggest book report in modern day politics!

The delusion of you Trump fans is really something to behold. It would be quite impressive if it wasn't so scary.

So correct me if I'm wrong but your whole point seems to be that this is some sort of Democratic conspiracy/witch hunt despite the fact that Trump appointed a Republican attorney general (now ex of course), Sessions who in turn appointed his Republican Deputy AG (Rosenstein) who in turn appointed a Republican former FBI director (Mueller) to head up the investigation? But somehow this is a democrat thing. 

And the correct spelling for the word you are looking for is 'indicted'.

You should learn that. I've got a feeling you'll be using it a lot more over the next few months.

 

 

 

[mtls2005]

trump might consider staying in Argentina?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by mtls2005

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, riclag said:

Something smells very foul with the 13 angry Dem lawyers appointed by Mueller! So PT goes to a Putin summit in Helsinki, bam! news conference with Rosenstein,12 Russians being indited !
Now PT goes to a Summit in Argentina, Bam ! Cohen goes to a unexpected court appearance in NY, confessing to a lie to Congress! Rudy will slice and dice all of this new nonsense ! Process crimes and composing ! The greatest lawyer in modern day America will debunk this conspiracy concert!  Soon Mr. Wittaker will be holding the rights to the biggest book report in modern day politics!

Name those 13 Democrats.

[mtls2005]

A $50 million penthouse for Putin.

 

Tasty.

 

Clearly, when he labels Hillary as "Crooked" he is projecting.

 

"Believe me, I know crooked."

 

 

 

 

[helpisgood]

As reported by ABC News:

 

"Cohen has spent more than 70 hours in interviews with Mueller's team. The questioning has focused on contacts with Russians by Trump associates during the campaign, Trump’s business ties to Russia, obstruction of justice and talk of possible pardons, sources familiar with the discussions have told ABC News."  [Bold added.]

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/michael-cohen-expected-plead-guilty-lying-congress-collusion/story?id=59491450

 

Geez, seventy hours!  This is with someone who should know best, with the possible exception of the kids, where the bodies are all buried.  Imagine the treasure trove of info that Mueller's team now has.  And, Cohen is the guy who Trump trusted to silence the women he had affairs with.  What other sensitive info does Cohen know?   

 

An orange jumpsuit would look good on Donald.   

[johnnybangkok]

10 minutes ago, helpisgood said:

As reported by ABC News:

 

"Cohen has spent more than 70 hours in interviews with Mueller's team. The questioning has focused on contacts with Russians by Trump associates during the campaign, Trump’s business ties to Russia, obstruction of justice and talk of possible pardons, sources familiar with the discussions have told ABC News."  [Bold added.]

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/michael-cohen-expected-plead-guilty-lying-congress-collusion/story?id=59491450

 

Geez, seventy hours!  This is with someone who should know best, with the possible exception of the kids, where the bodies are all buried.  Imagine the treasure trove of info that Mueller's team now has.  And, Cohen is the guy who Trump trusted to silence the women he had affairs with.  What other sensitive info does Cohen know?   

 

An orange jumpsuit would look good on Donald.   

I disagree!

You won't be able to tell where the jumpsuit ends and the man begins.

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, riclag said:

Something smells very foul with the 13 angry Dem lawyers appointed by Mueller! So PT goes to a Putin summit in Helsinki, bam! news conference with Rosenstein,12 Russians being indited !
Now PT goes to a Summit in Argentina, Bam ! Cohen goes to a unexpected court appearance in NY, confessing to a lie to Congress! Rudy will slice and dice all of this new nonsense ! Process crimes and composing ! The greatest lawyer in modern day America will debunk this conspiracy concert!  Soon Mr. Wittaker will be holding the rights to the biggest book report in modern day politics!

 

Sorry, but your greatest lawyer, is a washed up, has been. They have been deliberately keeping him away from the cameras, as he has been embarrassing both himself and Trump, with nearly every appearance. He is about as unhinged as Trump. Remember his infamous "Truth is not truth" statement? That one went down into the history books. Criminal law professors will be mentioning that for decades to come, to their aspiring young students. Trump is falling down. He will depart in disgrace, and the entire planet will celebrate. 

Edited November 30, 2018 by spidermike007

[Basil B]

2 hours ago, Tug said:

What someone who worked for Donald lied!!!oh boy we are just getting started wait till the people get a look at your taxes.Better hope your (loyal) judges are enough 

I would say anyone associated with the fat fool has lost all credibility...

[ParadiseLost]

3 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

As Trump has stated, Cohen is a "weak person" who is only lying to get himself a lighter sentence. 

So, a liar, calling a liar a liar... Who would have thunk? ????

Edited November 30, 2018 by ParadiseLost

[Basil B]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

At a minimum, he will leave office in 25 months, in disgrace, and return to a totally battered empire, that is already in tatters. His name is completely radioactive, at this point in the game. 

Unfortunately the American legal system moves so slow justice for the fat fool will probably not come in this world... 

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

As Trump has stated, Cohen is a "weak person" who is only lying to get himself a lighter sentence. 

Cohen plead guilty to all counts with NO plea agreement.

He had no guarantee that any plea agreement would even be offered.

When he was asked why he placed himself in that kind of criminal jeopardy, he said it was for his family.

That's called strength of conviction (yes pun!) to rehabilitate oneself.

Something Trump and his supporters surely do not understand.

[Srikcir]

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

A $50 million penthouse for Putin.

If an American citizen or legal entity such as a corporation or foundation offers a bribe to a foreign official to obtain material benefits such as certain rights and privileges in a foreign country, that is a US federal crime. As this Putin offer allegedly occurred before Trump was POTUS, Mueller could subpoena Trump who would have no protection of Executive Privilege.

[Briggsy]

Cohen is now Mueller's most useful witness. He has a lot of dirt on the Trump family crime syndicate. The Trump family crime syndicate is a vassal organisation of the Putin crime syndicate, a much larger and more powerful organisation which has all the tools and assets of the Russian state at its disposal.

 

The Trump family crime syndicate is now between a rock and a hard place. They need to flip Cohen back as they did with Manafort and Corsi and will stop at nothing to achieve that.

[Jingthing]

Remember drain the swamp?

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Becker]

8 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

If an American citizen or legal entity such as a corporation or foundation offers a bribe to a foreign official to obtain material benefits such as certain rights and privileges in a foreign country, that is a US federal crime. As this Putin offer allegedly occurred before Trump was POTUS, Mueller could subpoena Trump who would have no protection of Executive Privilege.

This is looking better and better

Let's hear it for the POS:

Lock him up, lock him up, lock him up!!!