Trump's ex-lawyer Cohen testifies again, this time behind closed doors

[webfact]

Trump's ex-lawyer Cohen testifies again, this time behind closed doors

By Nathan Layne and Andy Sullivan

 

Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, steps off an elevator at the U.S. Capitol as he arrives to testify before a closed House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday to speak behind closed doors with a congressional panel investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. election, capping a week of testimony in which he levelled new allegations of wrongdoing at his former boss.

 

Cohen did not respond to questions as he arrived for his third and final session in Congress this week. His private testimony before the House Intelligence Committee was expected to last into the evening. The panel has been probing Russian election meddling and any collusion with the Trump campaign.

 

In dramatic public testimony on Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee, the one-time "fixer" for Trump accused the president of breaking the law while in office and said for the first time that Trump knew in advance about a WikiLeaks dump of stolen emails that hurt his 2016 election rival Hillary Clinton.

 

Committee chairman Elijah Cummings, a Democrat, said his panel would further investigate issues raised by Cohen's testimony and may try to get the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., and his former accountant, Allen Weisselberg, to testify.

 

"I think there are still a number of other shoes to drop," Cummings told reporters after the hearing.

 

Other Democrats said they would try to verify whether Trump manipulated financial statements to reduce taxes and secure bank loans, as Cohen alleged.

 

Two top Republicans on the committee, Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows, asked the Justice Department to investigate Cohen for perjury, saying he lied during his appearance on Wednesday about his efforts to land a White House job and his work for two foreign companies, among other topics.

 

Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, said Cohen told the truth on Wednesday. He called the Republicans' request baseless and a "sad misuse of the criminal justice system."

 

Cohen has already pleaded guilty to lying to Congress.

 

In 2017, he submitted a statement saying efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow had ceased by January 2016, when those talks in fact continued until June of that year, after Trump had clinched the Republican presidential nomination.

 

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for that lie and other crimes.

 

Democratic House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said in a tweet that on Thursday he planned to dig into the Trump Moscow project, the revelations about WikiLeaks and any White House role in Cohen's prior false statements.

 

"Today Cohen provided the American public with a first-hand account of serious misconduct by Trump & those around him," Schiff said.

 

"Tomorrow we'll examine in depth many of those topics."

 

At Wednesday's hearing, Cohen said Trump never explicitly told him to lie to Congress about the Moscow skyscraper negotiations. But Cohen said he believed he was following implicit directions to minimize their efforts on the tower.

 

Cohen said he had no direct evidence that Trump or his campaign colluded with Moscow during the election campaign, but that he had suspicions that something untoward had occurred.

 

Cohen also testified privately before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday.

 

Possible collusion is a key theme of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, which has dogged the president during his first two years in office. Trump has repeatedly denied the allegation, as has the Kremlin.

 

(Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld, David Morgan, Makini Brice and Eric Beech; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Alistair Bell and James Dalgleish)

 

 -- © Copyright Reuters 2019-03-01

[wayned]

Allen Weisselberg has all of the answers about his finances.  They should subpoena him and give him immunity and then he will be compelled to testify and can not take the fifth!

[lannarebirth]

14 minutes ago, wayned said:

Allen Weisselberg has all of the answers about his finances.  They should subpoena him and give him immunity and then he will be compelled to testify and can not take the fifth!

He has been granted immunity and is thought to be cooperating with the SDNY investigation.. His Wiki entry is kinda funny. The search page header lists him as "a corrupt American businessman" but the entry it links to makes no such statement.

[wayned]

16 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

He has been granted immunity and is thought to be cooperating with the SDNY investigation.. His Wiki entry is kinda funny. The search page header lists him as "a corrupt American businessman" but the entry it links to makes no such statement.

So far he has been granted limited immunity relating to the Cohen campaign finance charges.  He should be granted blanket immunity relating to all of the Trump organization financial  dealings and that way he can not plead the fifth.  At the same time he should request witness protection from the DOJ!

[Chomper Higgot]

50 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

He has been granted immunity and is thought to be cooperating with the SDNY investigation.. His Wiki entry is kinda funny. The search page header lists him as "a corrupt American businessman" but the entry it links to makes no such statement.

“The search page header lists him as "a corrupt American businessman" but the entry it links to makes no such statement.”

 

We hold some truths to be self evident.

[Chomper Higgot]

Felix Sater is next up.

 

Trump needs to get a move on with sweeping prison reforms.

 

 

[user4654364]

Piers Morgan summed him up pretty well.

Michael " Sammy the Bullsh#@t Artists" Cohen.

 

Yes I have lied but I'm not a liar.

Nice try, Cohen. Enjoy your holiday in the big house. I'm no expert but you would think using Clintons attorney would ring alarm bells in anyone's head. For a lawyer, Cohen isn't real bright.

[Tug]

The kids are up next 

[attrayant]

52 minutes ago, sgoodes said:

Piers Morgan summed him up pretty well.

Michael " Sammy the Bullsh#@t Artists" Cohen.

 

Yes I have lied but I'm not a liar.

Nice try, Cohen. Enjoy your holiday in the big house. I'm no expert but you would think using Clintons attorney would ring alarm bells in anyone's head. For a lawyer, Cohen isn't real bright.

 

If Cohen tells you the sky is blue and you could confirm that simply by looking up, you would continue to stare at your shoes just so that you could say "Cohen is lying!"

 

Cohen provided the receipts in the previous hearing, and will continue to do so in the closed session.  Also noted: not one single republican on the committee made one attempt at defending Trump and (just like Morgan) failed to attack the substance of what Cohen said.

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, sgoodes said:

Piers Morgan summed him up pretty well.

Michael " Sammy the Bullsh#@t Artists" Cohen.

 

Yes I have lied but I'm not a liar.

Nice try, Cohen. Enjoy your holiday in the big house. I'm no expert but you would think using Clintons attorney would ring alarm bells in anyone's head. For a lawyer, Cohen isn't real bright.

In the not too distant future New York  Attorneys will Indict Trump for tax fraud relating to his golf courses and businesses in the state.

 

Those indictments will come as a direct result of testimony given by Cohen in response to AOC’s questions.

 

Please feel free to come back and discuss your views on Cohen when that happens.

[Lupatria]

They learned from the Vaticong. When close the doors!

[mtls2005]

1 hour ago, sgoodes said:

Piers Morgan summed him up pretty well.

Michael " Sammy the Bullsh#@t Artists" Cohen.

 

Yes I have lied but I'm not a liar.

Nice try, Cohen. Enjoy your holiday in the big house. I'm no expert but you would think using Clintons attorney would ring alarm bells in anyone's head. For a lawyer, Cohen isn't real bright.

 

A quick refresher course on how Mob prosecutions work.

 

1963 McLellan Hearings, Joe Valachi.

 

 

[wayned]

Giuliani was one and knows that's why he is so worried!

[attrayant]

I'm re-listening to Rep. Cummings's closing statements and after-session interviews with the press and hearing some very inspiring words.  He's presidential material.  Sure wish we could have somebody like that in the White House.

[Proboscis]

3 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Felix Sater is next up.

 

Trump needs to get a move on with sweeping prison reforms.

 

 

And early release for older felons on good behaviour, perhaps.

[sfokevin]

4 hours ago, wayned said:

So far he has been granted limited immunity relating to the Cohen campaign finance charges.  He should be granted blanket immunity relating to all of the Trump organization financial  dealings and that way he can not plead the fifth.  At the same time he should request witness protection from the DOJ!

Or the conman/thugs accountant should go to jail along with everyone else in this mafia styled Trump Organization... 

Edited March 1, 2019 by sfokevin

[Thingamabob]

3 hours ago, sgoodes said:

Piers Morgan summed him up pretty well.

Michael " Sammy the Bullsh#@t Artists" Cohen.

 

Yes I have lied but I'm not a liar.

Nice try, Cohen. Enjoy your holiday in the big house. I'm no expert but you would think using Clintons attorney would ring alarm bells in anyone's head. For a lawyer, Cohen isn't real bright.

Absolutely right.

[mtls2005]

4 hours ago, sgoodes said:

For a lawyer, Cohen isn't real bright.

 

Evidently he fooled trump then?

 

 

[Baerboxer]

4 hours ago, sgoodes said:

Piers Morgan summed him up pretty well.

Michael " Sammy the Bullsh#@t Artists" Cohen.

 

Yes I have lied but I'm not a liar.

Nice try, Cohen. Enjoy your holiday in the big house. I'm no expert but you would think using Clintons attorney would ring alarm bells in anyone's head. For a lawyer, Cohen isn't real bright.

 

I saw one American report that said that the guy who orchestrated Cohen's hearings, often seen standing behind him wearing a nice scarf on TV, is a lobbying and close ally for the Clintons.

 

Can our American posters confirm if this is the case?

[Baerboxer]

2 hours ago, sfokevin said:

Or the conman/thugs accountant should go to jail along with everyone else in this mafia styled Trump Organization... 

 

You seriously believe the Clintons are any different?

 

And old man Clinton lied to the American government and people, insulted their intelligence and got away with it!

[oldrunner]

Lets get a gag on this self serving barred ex-lawyer, certainly NOT Trumps lawyer now, so why call him Trumps lawyer. The Democrat party is sick beyond healing.

[quandow]

For those Trump followers who say there is no evidence, here is a copy of the check Cohen presented. This is evidence of campaign finance fraud, no Republican challenged or disputed it, it's now universally accepted at face value and is being heralded as "the smoking gun." It's dated 1 Aug 2017. Trump was inaugurated 20 Jan 2017. As much as I hate this saying, it fits here: You do the math.

 

Oh, and this is just the beginning.

Edited March 1, 2019 by Scott

[Morch]

26 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

You seriously believe the Clintons are any different?

 

And old man Clinton lied to the American government and people, insulted their intelligence and got away with it!

 

But but but Clinton much?

[sfokevin]

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

 

You seriously believe the Clintons are any different?

 

And old man Clinton lied to the American government and people, insulted their intelligence and got away with it!

My guess is you sit around watching Benghazi reruns hoping for a different ending...

And you still think Obama wasn’t born in the US and he was the first President to wear a tan suit...

 

You have been brainwashed by Fox News... 

 

Edited March 1, 2019 by sfokevin

[Jingthing]

8 hours ago, quandow said:

For those Trump followers who say there is no evidence, here is a copy of the check Cohen presented. This is evidence of campaign finance fraud, no Republican challenged or disputed it, it's now universally accepted at face value and is being heralded as "the smoking gun." It's dated 1 Aug 2017. Trump was inaugurated 20 Jan 2017. As much as I hate this saying, it fits here: You do the math.

 

Oh, and this is just the beginning.

Felony. Among many.

"trump" is subject to indictment and prosecution by state entities.

Justice department "guidelines" about impeaching tweeting presidents do not apply.

[tlandtday]

Cohen looks like a rat weasel character out of a mafia movie.  He should have gone by the name "Shifty" and become an actor. 

Edited March 1, 2019 by tlandtday

[Berkshire]

4 minutes ago, tlandtday said:

Cohen looks like a rat weasel character out of a mafia movie.  He should have gone by the name "Shifty" and become an actor. 

You and Trump keep referring to Cohen as a "rat."  A "rat" is a former insider who flips on his boss and provides law enforcement with evidence of criminal wrongdoing committed by the boss.  Law enforcement would ONLY be interested in testimony from said rat if it was truthful and could be verified.  So yea, Cohen is a rat.    

[attrayant]

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

I saw one American report that said that the guy who orchestrated Cohen's hearings, often seen standing behind him wearing a nice scarf on TV, is a lobbying and close ally for the Clintons.

 

Can our American posters confirm if this is the case?

 

In this photo, Lanny Davis is on the left and Michael Monico on the right.  I don't know what you mean by "orchestrated the hearings".  The House Committee is doing that.  Davis and Monico are Cohen's legal team.

 

 

I don't know who they are otherwise associated with, and why does it even matter?

[xylophone]

6 hours ago, sgoodes said:

Yes I have lied but I'm not a liar.

Nice try, Cohen. Enjoy your holiday in the big house.

There was a point during the investigation when a Republican was having a go at Cohen and said to him, "why should we believe you, you're a pathological liar.............".

 

What I would have liked to have happened next is the following: –

 

– Cohen: "what do you mean by pathological liar".

 

– Republican: "someone who continues lying and cannot help himself".

 

– Cohen: "so you believe such people to be untrustworthy and that they can never tell the truth?".

 

– Republican: "yes I do".

 

– Cohen: "much like Donald Trump you mean?".

 

And that's the irony of some of the questioning by the Republicans, here they are calling Cohen a liar, whilst at the same time defending Donald Trump who is a well-known liar and has proven it time after time over the years – – he just cannot help himself, he opens his mouth and lies just roll-out.

 

How one-eyed and stupid do the Republicans have to be before the American public realises that they haven't got an ounce of common sense between them, and Trump's supporters likewise.
 

[mikebike]

2 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

You seriously believe the Clintons are any different?

 

And old man Clinton lied to the American government and people, insulted their intelligence and got away with it!

Perfect. Next time a Clinton is prez go after them, hard. For now we will focus on the current resident of the White House.