Posted on 12/01/2018 6:39:22 AM PST by yesthatjallen
President Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen was in “close and regular contact” with White House staff and Trump’s legal team while he was crafting misstatements to Congress, according to a new court filing late Friday night.
Cohen pleaded guilty Tuesday to making misstatements before congressional intelligence committees while testifying about his contacts with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign.
In the court filing in the Southern District of New York, Cohen’s lawyers wrote that the false statements “sprung regrettably from Michael’s effort, as a loyal ally and then-champion” to help push forward Trump’s political messaging.
Cohen followed the political messaging that Trump, identified as Client-1 in the documents, his staff and supporters “repeatedly and forcefully broadcast.”
The Hill has reached out to the Trump White House for comments.
In cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, Cohen said he lied about the effort to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, including his plans to travel to Russia, contacts with Russian officials in connection with the project and how long the property plans were discussed within the Trump Organization, according to court documents.
Cohen reportedly discussed the idea of a Trump Tower Moscow with Russian press secretary Dmitry Peskov, two U.S. law enforcement officials told BuzzFeed on Thursday.
The Trump Organization reportedly planned to give a $50 million penthouse in the tower to Russian President Vladimir Putin while the company was in negotiations in 2016.
Trump and his spokespeople were trying to portray that contact between Russians and Trump, the campaign or the Trump Organization as having ended before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1, 2016, according to the Cohen’s court filing.
He justified making the false statements to Congress on the grounds that the Moscow project did not end up going forward, Cohen’s lawyers wrote.
The plea from Cohen marks the first time he has been charged by Mueller as part of the special counsel's investigation into Russian election interference and possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Moscow.
Cohen’s lawyers wrote in Friday's court documents that the investigation has caused “deep and lasting strain,” writing that authorities are investigating the threats of physical harm Cohen and his family have reportedly received.
Cohen has voluntarily met with Mueller’s team seven times throughout the course of the investigation and will “continue to make himself available” to the office for additional questioning, the documents state.
His lawyers wrote that he decided to cooperate to “re-point his internal compass true north toward a productive, ethical and thoroughly law abiding life.”
Trump accused Cohen of “lying” in order to escape a longer prison sentence.
“He’s trying to get a much lesser sentence by making up the story,” Trump said this week, adding “everybody knows about this deal.”
President Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen was in “close and regular contact” with White House staff and Trump’s legal team while he was crafting misstatements to Congress, according to a new court filing late Friday night.
Cohen pleaded guilty Tuesday to making misstatements before congressional intelligence committees while testifying about his contacts with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign.
In the court filing in the Southern District of New York, Cohen’s lawyers wrote that the false statements “sprung regrettably from Michael’s effort, as a loyal ally and then-champion” to help push forward Trump’s political messaging.
Cohen followed the political messaging that Trump, identified as Client-1 in the documents, his staff and supporters “repeatedly and forcefully broadcast.”
The Hill has reached out to the Trump White House for comments.
In cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, Cohen said he lied about the effort to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, including his plans to travel to Russia, contacts with Russian officials in connection with the project and how long the property plans were discussed within the Trump Organization, according to court documents.
Cohen reportedly discussed the idea of a Trump Tower Moscow with Russian press secretary Dmitry Peskov, two U.S. law enforcement officials told BuzzFeed on Thursday.
The Trump Organization reportedly planned to give a $50 million penthouse in the tower to Russian President Vladimir Putin while the company was in negotiations in 2016.
Trump and his spokespeople were trying to portray that contact between Russians and Trump, the campaign or the Trump Organization as having ended before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1, 2016, according to the Cohen’s court filing.
He justified making the false statements to Congress on the grounds that the Moscow project did not end up going forward, Cohen’s lawyers wrote.
The plea from Cohen marks the first time he has been charged by Mueller as part of the special counsel's investigation into Russian election interference and possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Moscow.
Cohen’s lawyers wrote in Friday's court documents that the investigation has caused “deep and lasting strain,” writing that authorities are investigating the threats of physical harm Cohen and his family have reportedly received.
Cohen has voluntarily met with Mueller’s team seven times throughout the course of the investigation and will “continue to make himself available” to the office for additional questioning, the documents state.
His lawyers wrote that he decided to cooperate to “re-point his internal compass true north toward a productive, ethical and thoroughly law abiding life.”
Trump accused Cohen of “lying” in order to escape a longer prison sentence.
“He’s trying to get a much lesser sentence by making up the story,” Trump said this week, adding “everybody knows about this deal.”
Cohen is expected to be sentenced for guilty pleas he made earlier this year in a case in the Southern District of New York later this month.
Cohen pleaded guilty to several federal crimes in August, including violating campaign finance law. Cohen suggested that he violated the law at Trump’s direction.
The charges stemmed from a $130,000 nondisclosure payment he gave to Stormy Daniels to silence the adult-film star, who claims to have had an affair with Trump in 2006.
The Democratic Media Complex never stops expanding 'the narrative'.
People throwing out and bouncing ideas around is not collusion.
It's how people sort out good and bad ideas to expand a business.
Not a crime even if everything Cohen has alleged is true.
Cohen pleaded guilty to a process crime, not to a real criminal offense.
Mueller and his band of 17 Angry Democrats are having him say what they want him to say - to lie for them instead of for the President.
They aren’t coming into the court with clean hands. Pot meet kettle.
Are they accusing Trump of speaking with his lawyer?
So he decided to lie under oath to support what he says were Trump’s public campaign statements. They never quote those statements why not? The deal completely died in June, the election wasn’t until November. The supposed “conflict of interest” was as a candidate not as president.
Essentially, yes.
LOL. The bone-headed Mueller prosecutors have been reduced to accusing Trump of having his attorney make things look better than they were to Congress.
Its called exaggeration, stupid. Not a hanging offense even if true.
In the court filing in the Southern District of New York, Cohen’s lawyers wrote that the false statements “sprung regrettably from Michael’s effort, as a loyal ally and then-champion” to help push forward Trump’s political messaging.
...
I think events have proved that he’s not loyal at all.
He’s making stuff up to get a lighter sentence.
Yup.
Nothing legally actionable here since Trump wasn’t a public official at the time. He was a private citizen running for President.
And he had no power to bind the United States government to any future commitment.
Well, they finally got Trump...
...on the crime of being in the real estate and property development business...
Definitely high crimes and misdemeanors...
Political messaging isn’t yet a crime. Even if Mueller and his 17 Angry Democrats disagree with the content.
And what does it have to do with Trump’s actions in office? He has no on-ongoing business relationship with the Trump Organization.
Has nothing to do either with the so-called Russian Collusion hoax.
What happened to Attorney client privilege?
He didn’t win the nomination until July 19 2016.
Crimes against communism!
It became inconvenient for Democrats, so we had to get rid of it. At least for people of the wrong political party.
Attorney-client privilege doesn’t apply when an attorney is breaking the law on behalf of his client.
Apart from Cohen being caught in a perjury trap, there’s no real crime here to which even Cohen could testify.
These are all shots fired in the Leverage War
The Clinton/Obama/Mueller/DS team thinks that...
The amount of politically damning innuendo and fake content of Mueller’s Report
is directly proportional to...
The amount of truth presented in the Trump/IG/House Declas/Spygate and Email-gate Reports
Will Trump fold?
And as far as Cohen...His financial dealings have nothing to do with Trump. For him to escape prosecution based on his ties to Trump...one has nothing to do with the other.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
All PDJT has to say is he read the papers everyday and even he thought he had absolutely no chance of winning and realizing he made a living in real estate, probing was 'ok'.
Yes, I said Cohen was/is a 'piece of crap' but his hiring Clinton operative Lanny Davis as his lawyer speaks volumes in itself.
Yes, I did talk to Cohen frequently, he was one of MANY lawyers one needs to make sure everything they are doing is in compliance with the idiotic regulations you pols throw on us 'working stiffs' including your Draconian tax laws which apparently are supposed to stem NEW ideas and deter one from becoming successful.
You even had one idiot on your side saying 'You didn't build this'....Please wheel the smarmy lil SOB out and I will attempt to try and teach him a thing or two.
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