President Trump ran for office solely for publicity and did not expect to win, his former lawyer will tell Congress on Wednesday.
Michael Cohen will say in his opening statement, which he will deliver to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, that Trump "ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great," The New York Times reports. Trump, Cohen alleges, had "no desire or intention to lead this nation — only to market himself and to build his wealth and power," and he would "often say, this campaign was going to be the 'greatest infomercial in political history.'"
Running for president was "always a marketing opportunity" for Trump, Cohen adds, saying he never expected to win the Republican primaries let alone the general election.
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At another point in the testimony, Cohen will say that Trump lied about his negotiating of a building project in Moscow because he "never expected to win the election."
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