Already fed up with the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, President Donald Trump took direct aim on Friday morning at the Congressional testimony this week of his one time personal lawyer, going on Twitter to lambaste former aide Michael Cohen in a series of tweets.
![Michael Cohen Manuscript For Sale Michael Cohen Manuscript For Sale](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125867825/890072999.jpg)
'He is totally discredited!' Mr. Trump wrote, hours after flying back from Vietnam, where the President was unable to secure a nuclear disarmament deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump campaign unveils ‘Pencil-neck Adam Schiff’ T-shirts for sale. 69 26 comments. Trump's small-business health insurance plan struck down. Michael Cohen’s book manuscript shows that he committed perjury on a scale not seen before. He must have forgotten about his book when he testified. Owner of the National Enquirer has.
In a series of posts on Friday morning, the President expressed specific irritation at questions being raised about his finances, accusing Democrats of using Cohen in the hope to find anything questionable about his past business dealings, as he said Cohen made 'fraudulent and dishonest' statements in testimony before the House Oversight Committee.
Oh’ I see! Now that the 2 year Russian Collusion case has fallen apart, there was no Collusion except bye Crooked Hillary and the Democrats, they say, “gee, I have an idea, let’s look at Trump’s finances and every deal he has ever done. Let’s follow discredited Michael Cohen.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019...and the fraudulent and dishonest statements he made on Wednesday. No way, it’s time to stop this corrupt and illegally brought Witch Hunt. Time to start looking at the other side where real crimes were committed. Republicans have been abused long enough. Must end now!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019Congress must demand the transcript of Michael Cohen’s new book, given to publishers a short time ago. Your heads will spin when you see the lies, misrepresentations and contradictions against his Thursday testimony. Like a different person! He is totally discredited!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019Michael Cohen’s book manuscript shows that he committed perjury on a scale not seen before. He must have forgotten about his book when he testified. What does Hillary Clinton’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, say about this one. Is he being paid by Crooked Hillary. Using her lawyer?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019The President's tweets came on the heels of an interview aired Thursday night with Sean Hannity on Fox News, in which Mr. Trump denied playing a role in approving a $130,000 payment made by Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen says the payment was directed by the President, as Mr. Trump's former lawyer produced copies of checks from both President Trump and the Trump Organization in 2017, paying Cohen back for fronting that money.
Cohen, who plead guilty to charges that the $130,000 payment was an illegal campaign contribution on behalf of the President, has said both in federal court - and this week in Congress - that Mr. Trump orchestrated the payment, worried that news of his affair with Daniels could cause trouble for his election bid.
Sean Hannity to Trump in tonight’s interview, on Michael Cohen and the hush-money payments: “I can tell you personally, he said to me at least a dozen times, that he made the decision on the payments and he didn’t tell you.”
— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) March 1, 2019Cohen testified three days this week before three different committees in Congress; he will return on March 6 for another closed door session with the House Intelligence Committee.
“We learned a lot,” said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), a member of that panel.
“Trump surrounded himself with crooks, of course he wants this to end. He’s getting very desperate,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA).
Donald Trump accused his former lawyer of perjury on Friday, saying Michael Cohen’s scathing testimony to Congress this week contradicted a manuscript he wrote last year that complimented the US president.
worldUpdated: Mar 03, 2019 09:20 ISTDonald Trump accused his former lawyer of perjury on Friday, saying Michael Cohen’s scathing testimony to Congress this week contradicted a manuscript he wrote last year that complimented the US president.
“Wow, just revealed that Michael Cohen wrote a ‘love letter to Trump’ manuscript for a new book that he was pushing,” Trump tweeted Friday.
“Book is exact opposite of his fake testimony, which now is a lie!”
The president called on Congress to demand the transcript, given to publishers a short time ago and yet to go on sale.
“Michael Cohen’s book manuscript shows that he committed perjury on a scale not seen before,” Trump added.
Cohen, who worked for the president for a decade as his top “fixer” at the Trump Organization, assailed his ex-boss as “a racist... a conman... a cheat” in testimony Wednesday to the House Oversight Committee.
In a book proposal Cohen sent to publishers in early 2018 -- before he was sentenced to three years in prison, partly for crimes related to his work for Trump -- the attorney promised a glowing picture of the real estate billionaire.
The manuscript was entitled “Trump Revolution: From the Tower to the White House, Understanding Donald J. Trump” -- and according to the Daily Beast, it was aimed at offsetting books deeply critical of the president.
The proposal was pulled back after FBI agents raided Cohen’s home and offices in April 2018 in an investigation probing the attorney’s taxes and hush payments he arranged for women who claimed affairs with the president.
“Some time in early 2018, Mr. Cohen was offered a substantial advance for a proposal regarding a book on understanding Donald Trump,” Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis said.
“Mr. Cohen ultimately elected not to proceed.”
In the months after the raids, Cohen went from being a close ally of Trump to a foe, providing testimony in a plea deal with prosecutors ethat the president ordered him to make one hush payment and reimbursed him.
Trump scorned him as “a rat.”
Cohen eventually pleaded guilty to felony charges of misuse of campaign funds in the hush payment, tax evasion and lying to Congress.
In five hours of testimony Wednesday, he compared employment with Trump to working for a “mobster.”
Republican lawmakers however attacked Cohen as an unreliable witness, citing his earlier false testimony, and accused him of trying to cash in on his work for Trump with book and film deals.
Cohen said there were no deals in the works, but confirmed he had been approached and was open to the idea.
First Published: Mar 02, 2019 11:54 IST