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In an astonishing 20-page statement released to lawmakers Tuesday night, Cohen details a wide range of allegations against Trump, ranging from racist comments about African-Americans to his involvement in an illegal fund-cloaking program to maintain his alleged extramarital affairs. calm – as well as suggesting that Trump simulated a medical condition to stop serving in the Vietnam War.
And Cohen will provide new details stating that Trump was engaged in the aggressive pursuit of a major project in Russia in 2016, alleging that the president's lawyers had interpreted Cohen's testimony in 2017 when he had lied to Congress, thus minimizing the building efforts of a Trump tower in Moscow.
He added that Trump had never ordered him to lie directly to Congress, but he believed that he was executing an order given his interactions with Trump, who had publicly stated that he did not have a business relationship with Russia.
In his testimony, Cohen alleges that in 2016, he saw Trump take a phone call from Stone, who was in hands-free mode.
"Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just hung up on the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange had told Mr. Stone that in a few days there would be a huge amount of emails that would damage the phone. Hillary Clinton's campaign, "Dira Cohen, according to her prepared testimony.
Trump responded, according to Cohen: "It would not be great."
Cohen's allegations, if true, would be the first time anyone with direct knowledge has said the president had prior knowledge of Clinton's WikiLeaks e-mail dump. Cohen also said the president's personal attorneys "revised and edited" his statements of 2017 when Cohen lied to Congress on the Trump Organization's pursuit of a large-scale project in Moscow.
Stone – who was charged with making false statements, tampering with the witness and obstructing justice – denied having discussed it with Trump or having had such interactions with WikiLeaks. He is fighting in court.
Cohen's opening statement also suggests that Trump would have been aware of a meeting organized in 2016 by Donald Trump Jr. and the Russians at the Trump Tower – which Trump and his eldest son have long denied. Cohen will tell Congress that he saw Trump Jr., in June 2016, telling his father, "The meeting is over."
Cohen admits he does not know for sure that Trump's son's comments made reference to the meeting with the Russians.
"I also knew that nothing was happening in the world of Trump, especially the campaign, without the knowledge and approval of Mr. Trump," Cohen said. "So, I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting about dust on Hillary."
The White House has attacked Cohen's credibility, calling him someone we can not trust, since he has already pleaded guilty to having lied.
When asked to comment on Cohen's testimony, the White House referred to press secretary Sarah Sanders' statement Tuesday on Cohen's testimony.
"A disgusted criminal, Michael Cohen goes to jail for lying to Congress and making other false statements," said Sanders in that statement. "Unfortunately, he will be going to Congress this week and we can expect more.It is laughable that anyone take a liar who is convinced like Cohen at the word, and pathetic to see him give a new opportunity to spread his lies."
According to a copy of the opening statement that he is preparing to submit to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, Cohen said Trump had repeatedly lied about a number of issues – and had made many racist statements.
It also provides new details suggesting that Trump was heavily involved in the continuation of the Trump Tower Moscow project in 2016.
"To be clear, Mr. Trump knew and led the Trump Tower negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it," Cohen told the committee. "He lied about it because he never expected to win the election." He also lied about it because he was in danger of earning hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project. "
Cohen says Trump did not tell him "directly" to lie in Congress. "It's not like that that it works," says Cohen.
But he says that Trump would say to the public and to himself that he has "no relationship" with Russia, even though he was negotiating the Moscow plan.
"In his own way, he told me to lie," says Cohen.
Cohen also says that he is providing the committee with several documents in support of his allegations, including a check that Trump has written on his bank account to pay him back for secret payments in order to silence him. story of Stormy Daniels in 2016 about his alleged relationship with Trump. Trump denies having an affair with Daniels.
But in his testimony, Cohen recounts how he visited Trump in February 2017 at the White House when the president assured him that the refund checks would be sent to him by mail. He added that Trump had made eleven payments of $ 35,000 each to repay him according to the hush-money ploy, claiming that he had given the House panel a copy of a dated check. August 2017, signed by the president of his personal bank account.
"The President of the United States has written a personal check for the payment of money hidden as part of a criminal scheme to violate the laws on the financing of the election campaign," said Cohen.
Cohen also says that he is providing the committee with copies of the letters he's written threatening high school, college and Trump's College Board of not publishing his grades or test results.
In addition, Cohen claims to have documents showing that Trump had arranged a bidder at the auction to purchase a portrait of himself, which he subsequently repaid to the bidder at his organization. charitable.
And it provides information on Trump's decision to avoid serving during the Vietnam War. Cohen was asked to avoid answering journalists' questions on the subject, he said. Trump, who has long claimed that his adjournment was due to a bone spur, had no medical records to provide as there had been no operation, Cohen said.
"You think I'm stupid, I did not go to Vietnam," Trump recalls.
In his shocking testimony, Cohen also stated that Trump had repeatedly made racist comments about African Americans. Crossing a slum in Chicago, Trump reportedly told Cohen that "only black people can live this way."
Cohen added that Trump had stated that African Americans "would never vote for him because they were too stupid".
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