Long-time President's Lawyer says he was there when Trump learned and OK" from the rally.
Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's long-time personal attorney is ready to tell special advocate Robert Mueller that the Trump-era candidate knew and approved the meeting Trump Tower in June 2016 between his campaign officials and a Russian lawyer who had promised Hillary Clinton, according to a source from Cohen's account, who confirmed a report CNN from earlier on Thursday.
Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law of President Jared Kushner and Trump's campaign president at the time, Paul Manafort, attended the meeting, pre felt like an opportunity for a Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselni tskaya, to share detrimental information about the Democratic presidential candidate.
History Continued Below
After the reports of the meeting surfaced last year, Trump Jr. baderted that only the Russian adoption policy was discussed. He also testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last September that he had not informed his father of the meeting, according to a transcript published by the panel.
The president himself, questioned about the meeting, told reporters on board Air Force One. Last July, "I heard about it two or three days ago." That same month, Jay Sekulow, a member of Trump's legal team, said: "The President was not aware of the meeting, did not attend the meeting," [19659009] Cohen claims that he and several other people were present when Trump Jr. informed his father of the planned meeting, and that Trump subsequently signed it, according to CNN's report. Last Minute Alerts
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The Cohen legal team declined to comment on the record. A spokesman for Mueller's office declined to comment.
The source familiar with Cohen's story stated that CNN's story was an accurate representation of what Cohen claims and what he is willing to say to Mueller. The source also said that Cohen had not yet spoken with the special advisor.
Cohen's allegations undermined the Trump administration's "non-collusion" narrative because there will be evidence presented to the special advisor of a conspiracy with the Russians on
] "Everyone in the room is guilty if an overt act occurred after the meeting, and anyone who knew the meeting before the time and did not call the cops is an accessory or at least a conspirator "The source said.
Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for the Trump organization, said in a statement: "Donald Trump Jr. has been professional and responsible throughout the Mueller and Congressional investigations.We are very confident of the fact. accuracy and reliability of information provided by Mr. Trump Jr. and on his behalf. "
Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told CNN on Thursday that Cohen lacked credibility, citing the publication more early this week of a recording that Cohen has secretly made a conversation with Trump two months before the election of 2016. In the recording, we can hear the two comments on the payments to an old Playboy model.
"He's been lying for years," Giuliani said. "I mean, the tapes we have show a number of very serious lies, a year and a half ago, including his fools, hiding recordings, telling them that they were not registering, lying to them, believing with them, registering his client, which is an offense that can be set aside, I do not see how he has credibility. "
Giuliani added: "There is no one I know who knows him who did not warn me that if his back is against the wall, he will lie like crazy because he has been lying all his life."
Giuliani said that the dispute over whether Trump had approved the meeting with the Russians would be nothing more than a "credibility contest" between Cohen and other leading figures in the campaign of Trump
. the room with the president who can corroborate Cohen, which will not be because it did not happen, "said Giuliani." And then it becomes a credibility contest between two or three witnesses who say one thing and Cohen who says another. "
Trump repeatedly denied that his presidential campaign was complicit with the Russians, calling Mueller's investigation a" witch hunt "."
But the report explosive, if corroborated by Mueller's team, could potentially expose the president and his team to additional legal risk, according to experts.
"The significance of this report will depend on the facts," said Barbara McQuade, a former US lawyer from east Michigan. "If Trump was aware of the meeting and encouraged him to go ahead, he could be the subject of a criminal exhibition under different theories."
"He could violate the campaign finance laws for accepting something from a foreign national in relation to an election," she continued. "He knew that the source of the information came from an illegal hacking, it could be accused of complicity after the fact of a violation of the law on fraud and computer abuse. He could also be charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding the proper administration of the elections. In addition, he could be accused of obstructing justice for baffling investigators by dictating a misleading press release. "
But Cohen's statement in itself is unlikely to convince Mueller
the question will be whether this can be corroborated," said Peter Zeidenberg, a former federal prosecutor. "It is very possible that Mueller can corroborate much of this, and I would not be surprised if these participants sent us an email or text message about the meeting – before and after."
"Of course for some, even if Trump is filmed speaking Russian to Putin, they will make fun of it, "added Zeidenberg, who was deputy independent lawyer Patrick Fitzgerald during the investigation. of George W. Bush on the leaks of the identity of the agent of the CIA, Valerie Plame. "For the most part, though, it's a big deal and would show, once again, how dangerous it is to rely on Trump's denials."
helping Cohen with his own legal problems. Cohen's commercial practices for taxi medallions and real estate are the subject of a federal inquiry. But David Weinstein, a former Miami federal attorney, said the former Trump organization official could find a solution to his testimony about the Trump Tower meeting
"If what Cohen says is true, be his gold ticket out of his problems, "said Weinstein. "The crucial question is whether there is corroborating evidence to support his now changed testimony.If it is corroborated, it could become the backbone of a conspiracy at once to commit crimes." Mueller investigates and conceals it – this will make Watergate look like a burglary. "
It is still unclear whether the other participants in the meeting knew that Trump had approved the conversation. If they were aware and they were lying about it, they could have other problems
"If that's true, my first question is whether Trump Jr. told Congress that Trump did not know about the Trump Tower meeting, "said Renato Mariotti. , a former Chicago federal prosecutor. "Did he lie to Congress? It's a crime if it can be proven that he knew that Trump was aware of the meeting."
Mariotti said that taking Trump's awareness of Trump suggests that the meeting was deemed significant enough to tell Trump himself.
"Maybe the key question is: what was Trump thinking about the meeting? Added Mariotti. "If Trump thought he was meeting for help from the Russian government, this could have serious political implications, regardless of any legal liability."
Donald Trump, Jr. solicitor-client privilege last year to avoid telling legislators about a conversation he had with his father after the news of the meeting Trump Tower.
The revelation also highlights Cohen's decision to light up Trump, his former boss, "Few people will be surprised that President Trump is again caught in a lie to the public," said William Jeffress, a White-collar defense lawyer who represented former President Richard Nixon and also Deputy Principal of Dick Cheney's Vice President, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, in the Plame Inquiry. "But if the CNN report is accurate, it seems that Cohen has turned against Trump, and this should cause him serious concern, as well as his legal team."
