Trump says Michael Cohen is lying about lying to Congress
President Trump is asserting that his former lawyer Michael Cohen's admission that he lied to Congress is, itself, a lie.
Cohen on Thursday pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress, saying he lied by claiming that talks of building a Trump Tower in Moscow ended in January 2016 when they actually continued until June, reports The Associated Press. Trump in response told reporters that Cohen, who was "convicted of various things unrelated to us," is trying to reduce his sentence by "making up a story" about "a project that everybody knew about." The potential deal with Russia, Trump insisted, was "a well known project." Although Trump did not go through with the deal, he argued that even if he did, "there would have been nothing wrong."
When Trump was asked why he employed Cohen for over a decade when he's supposedly so weak and dishonest, Trump said "a long time ago, he did me a favor," not offering any further explanation.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Thursday's developments came after Cohen had previously pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and implicated Trump in court, after which Trump said on Twitter he would "strongly suggest" not retaining his former lawyer's services. Watch Trump's comments on Cohen below. Brendan Morrow
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Metaverse: Zuckerberg quits his virtual obsessionFeature The tech mogul’s vision for virtual worlds inhabited by millions of users was clearly a flop
-
Frank Gehry: the architect who made buildings flow like waterFeature The revered building master died at the age of 96
-
Is MAGA melting down?Today's Big Question Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Laura Loomer and more are feuding
-
Kushner drops Trump hotel project in SerbiaSpeed Read Affinity Partners pulled out of a deal to finance a Trump-branded development in Belgrade
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
