Last Updated Nov 29, 2018 11:33 AM EST
President Trump was dismissive of his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, after the news that Cohen pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress.
“Michael Cohen is lying and he’s trying to get a reduced sentence for things that have nothing to do with me,” the president said as he left the White House Thursday morning. He added that Cohen “is not a very smart person.”
Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Trump real estate project in Russia, CBS News confirmed. Cohen worked as Mr. Trump’s lawyer for years, and his deep knowledge of the president’s business dealing makes him a key person for Mueller’s investigation.
The president said that, even if he had gone through with the deal, it wouldn’t matter.
“Here is the thing, even if [Michael Cohen] was right, it doesn’t matter, because I was allowed to do whatever I wanted during the campaign,” Mr. Trump said.
Asked why he would employ someone whom he deemed incompetent for so long, Mr. Trump said Cohen did him “a favor a long time ago.”
Mr. Trump spent part of his morning Thursday tweeting his frustrations with Mueller’s investigation. The president has frequently described Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt” and “illegal.”
“When will this illegal Joseph McCarthy style Witch Hunt, one that has shattered so many innocent lives, ever end-or will it just go on forever? After wasting more than $40,000,000 (is that possible?), it has proven only one thing-there was NO Collusion with Russia. So Ridiculous!” the president tweeted early Thursday.
Mr. Trump has distanced himself from Cohen, who testified in court in a separate case that the president directed him to carry out what amounted to campaign finance violations. Cohen pleaded guilty to those campaign finance violations over the summer.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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