A brief breakdown of what's happening with former Trump attorney Michael Cohen today—because it's deeply disturbing
The investigation into Trump’s (potentially illegal) campaign activities has been going on for almost two years now. One of the biggest breakthroughs in the case came when Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer,” Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty on eight counts of criminal financial activity back in August, claiming that the president paid to cover up an affair he had with adult film star Stormy Daniels (possibly a violation of campaign finance law). Cohen’s name is now back in the news as he testifies before the House Oversight Committee today, February 27th. And based on what we know about his testimony, it’s not looking good for the president.
In Cohen’s opening statement, published by The New York Times last night, February 26th, the former attorney refers to Trump as a “racist,” a “conman,” and a “cheat.” Cohen goes on to admit that he and other Trump employees routinely lied for the current president.
Michael Cohen: “I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty – of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him… I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. And he is a cheat.” https://t.co/v4EeW4fQiI pic.twitter.com/1457l4kUTv
— CNN (@CNN) February 27, 2019
Cohen provides tons of jaw-dropping anecdotes in his statement.
For instance, he recalls that once, Trump asked him if he could “name a country run by a black person that wasn’t a ‘shithole.'” Trump allegedly asked this while President Barack Obama was in office. He also claims that Trump regularly lied about his wealth, and he once even paid a bidder to make sure that a portrait of him sold for the highest amount at an auction.
There’s always a tweet: Cohen’s testimony edition pic.twitter.com/71evsrzSEj
— Dusty Giebel (@DustinGiebel) February 27, 2019
But way more damning is the evidence Cohen provides on Trump’s criminal activity.
While Cohen admits that he doesn’t have tangible proof that Trump colluded with Russia to prevent Clinton from getting elected, he says that he believes Trump knew about the infamous Trump tower meeting in June 2016. (In case you need a refresher, that was when Donald Trump Jr. allegedly met with Russian lawyers who promised to provide dirt on Clinton.) He also verifies that Trump reimbursed him after he paid Daniels $130,000 to hide their affair. Cohen has provided as evidence “a $35,000 check that Trump personally signed from his personal bank account”—which he astonishingly gave to Cohen while he was president.
Here's the check Michael Cohen introduced with his opening statement.
And from our archives, a look back at the Stormy Daniels payoff story: https://t.co/QepgI5md05 pic.twitter.com/8hqbVNGajg— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) February 27, 2019
Cohen’s opening statement is just the beginning of his testimony, and we’re sure that other bombshells will be revealed throughout the day. We’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on this story to see how it all goes down.
