Michael Cohen returned to Capitol Hill, this time to testify behind closed doors to the House intelligence committee.
In a damning depiction of Donald Trump, the president’s former lawyer cast him as a racist and a con man who used his inner circle to cover up politically damaging allegations about sex and who lied throughout the 2016 election campaign about his business interests in Russia.
A day after publicly testifying before the House’s oversight committee, Michael Cohen returned Thursday to Capitol Hill, this time to testify behind closed doors to the House intelligence committee.
Cohen, who previously pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, told lawmakers Wednesday that Trump had advance knowledge and embraced the news that emails damaging to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton would be released during the campaign. But he also said he had no “direct evidence” that Trump or his aides colluded with Russia to get him elected, the primary question of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 27,2019. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Cohen, shaking off incessant criticism from Republicans anxious to paint him as a felon and a liar, became the first Trump insider to pull back the curtain on a version of the inner workings of Trump’s political and business operations. He likened the president to a “mobster” who demanded blind loyalty from underlings and expected them to lie on his behalf to conceal information and protect him — even if it meant breaking the law.
“I am not protecting Mr. Trump anymore,” Cohen declared.
“My loyalty to Mr. Trump has cost me everything: my family’s happiness, friendships, my law license, my company, my livelihood, my honor, my reputation and soon my freedom,” Cohen said. “I will not sit back, say nothing and allow him to do the same to the country.”
Cohen’s matter-of-fact testimony about secret payments and lies unfolded as Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. At a Vietnam hotel and unable to ignore the drama thousands of miles away, Trump lashed out on Twitter, saying Cohen “did bad things unrelated to Trump” and “is lying in order to reduce his prison time.”
Later, Trump, speaking at a press conference in Vietnam after the summit with Kim ended early, said he was a “little impressed” that Cohen told Congress there was “no collusion” between his presidential campaign and Russia.
Trump said Thursday he tried to watch as much of Cohen’s marathon congressional hearing as he could. He slammed the hearing as “fake” and said it was a “terrible thing” for Democrats to hold it during the summit.
In testimony that cut to the heart of federal investigations encircling the White House, Cohen said he arranged a hush money payment to a porn actress at Trump’s behest and agreed to lie about it to the public and the first lady.
