Donald Trump knew in advance about Russia meeting, says Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen, who was until recently Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, said last night the US president personally approved a meeting at Trump Tower in which Russians were expected to deliver dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Cohen also said he is willing to repeat his claim to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election.

If true, the allegation “would contradict repeated denials by Trump, Donald Trump Jr., their lawyers and other administration officials who have said that the president knew nothing about the Trump Tower meeting until he was approached about it by The New York Times in July 2017”, CNN reports.

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Trump Jr gave sworn testimony to that effect at a congressional hearing in May 2017.

Cohen made his claims a day after releasing a covert recording of himself and Trump discussing a payment to be made to a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, who says she had an affair with Trump years ago. Trump had also denied knowledge of that payment.

Trump’s present lawyer, Rudi Giuliani rubbished Cohen’s claims, seeking to discredit his predecessor as “not credible”.

“Michael Cohen can’t be believed unless it’s corroborated five times,” Giuliani told NBC News. “Why would you expect it would be true from someone like Cohen? A lawyer who would tape their own client is a lawyer without any character.”

He also told CNN: “He’s been lying all week, he's been lying for years.”