Trump rigged an auction so his portrait would go for the highest price, then acted surprised, Cohen alleges

published 27 February 2019

The Michael Cohen public testimony hasn't even begun yet, and already the lawyer's statements are at odds with President Trump's public image of himself. Cohen — who is frequently described as Trump's loyal "fixer," but has since flipped to cooperate with investigators — describes in his opening statement a time in 2013 that "Mr. Trump directed me to find a straw bidder to purchase a portrait of him that was being auctioned at an Art Hamptons Event."

Cohen goes on to say:

The objective was to ensure that his portrait, which was going to be auctioned last, would go for the highest price of any portrait that afternoon. The portrait was purchased by the fake bidder for $60,000. Mr. Trump directed the Trump Foundation, which is supposed to be a charitable organization, to repay the fake bidder, despite keeping the art for himself. [Michael Cohen via CNN]

While that would be juicy enough on its own, the real scandal is that Trump publicly feigned surprise about the whole scheme in a 2013 tweet:

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"And yet, I continued to work for him," Cohen concludes. "Mr. Trump is a conman." Watch Cohen testify live at 10 a.m. Eastern here.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.