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Trump’s Lawyer Says Rumors About Russia Undercut the President Senate Panel Cancels Meeting With Trump Lawyer Over Public Comments
(about 4 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, told Senate investigators on Tuesday that the president’s critics were using rumors and innuendo about Russian interference in the election in an attempt to undercut Mr. Trump’s presidency. WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday abruptly postponed an interview with President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, shortly after the publication of his opening statement, which asserted his innocence and defended the president.
Their rush to presume guilt, Mr. Cohen said, had overtaken the facts, smeared supporters of the president — like him — and diverted attention from a pressing national security threat: Russia’s meddling in the United States’ elections. Mr. Cohen was prepared to tell the committee’s investigators that the president’s critics were using rumors and innuendo about Russian interference in the election in an attempt to undercut Mr. Trump’s presidency. But senators shut down the closed-door hearing, accusing Mr. Cohen of “releasing a public statement” despite “requests that he refrain from public comment.”
“There are some in this country who do not care about the facts, but simply want to politicize this issue, choosing to presume guilt — rather than presuming innocence — so as to discredit our lawfully elected president in the public eye and to shame his supporters in the public square,” Mr. Cohen said in a prepared statement in a private hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. “This is un-American.” The surprising move was seen by some in Mr. Trump’s camp as a sign that lawmakers wanted to control the information and prevent witnesses from telling their stories publicly. Four congressional committees and a Justice Department special counsel are investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether anyone around Mr. Trump was involved.
Mr. Cohen has said he had no involvement in Russian election meddling and had no information that anyone around Mr. Trump did either. In his opening statement, he expressed frustration at how a swirl investigations and media reports have characterized him and others close to the president. Witnesses in criminal investigations are allowed to defend themselves publicly, and other members of Mr. Trump’s inner circle have released statements when they met with Capitol Hill investigators. Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, read a statement to reporters outside the White House.
Mr. Cohen is the latest high-profile witness connected to the presidential campaign to meet with congressional investigators. A copy of Mr. Cohen’s opening remarks were obtained by The New York Times. Mr. Cohen gave Senate investigators his written statement, which was also published in several news publications including The New York Times. Mr. Cohen declared that he had no involvement with Russian election meddling and knew of nobody who did.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is one of several on Capitol Hill investigating Russia’s efforts to influence last year’s election. Mr. Cohen turned over a trove of documents to investigators late last month in advance of the interview, as well as an eight-page letter rebutting point by point a dossier accusing him of having deep ties to Russian officials. “There are some in this country who do not care about the facts, but simply want to politicize this issue, choosing to presume guilt — rather than presuming innocence — so as to discredit our lawfully elected president in the public eye and to shame his supporters in the public square,” Mr. Cohen said in the statement. “This is un-American.”
Mr. Cohen reiterated many of those points, albeit in abbreviated form, on Tuesday, telling investigators that he had never engaged with or been paid by any Russian agents or anyone else to interfere with the election, to hack an organization or to spread false information to influence the campaign. Less than an hour after arriving, however, Mr. Cohen and his lawyer left the hearing room. Mr. Cohen’s lawyer, Steve Ryan, told reporters on Capitol Hill that Mr. Cohen “looked forward to answering all of their questions” at a later date. Mr. Cohen largely ignored shouted questions, but told reporters, “I’ll be back.”
The senior members of the committee, Senators Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina, and Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, issued a statement saying that they would reschedule Mr. Cohen’s appearance and that he would appear publicly.
“The committee expects witnesses in this investigation to work in good faith with the Senate,” they said.
Mr. Cohen’s opening statement expressed frustration at how a swirl of investigations and news media reports had characterized him and others close to the president. Critics rushed to presume guilt, Mr. Cohen said, had overtaken the facts, smeared supporters of the president — like him — and diverted attention from a pressing national security threat: Russia’s meddling in United States elections.
Mr. Cohen is the latest high-profile witness connected to the presidential campaign to meet with congressional investigators. He turned over a trove of documents to investigators late last month in advance of the interview, as well as an eight-page letter rebutting point by point a dossier accusing him of having deep ties to Russian officials.
Mr. Cohen reiterated many of those points, albeit in abbreviated form, in the remarks he submitted on Tuesday, saying that he had never engaged with or been paid by any Russian agents or anyone else to interfere with the election, to hack an organization or to spread false information to influence the campaign.
The dossier, a salacious 35-page document compiled by a retired British spy alleging that Mr. Trump and his campaign conspired with Russia during the election, portrays Mr. Cohen as one of the effort’s central figures. In one portion, it says that he met secretly in Prague with a Russian official during the summer of 2016.The dossier, a salacious 35-page document compiled by a retired British spy alleging that Mr. Trump and his campaign conspired with Russia during the election, portrays Mr. Cohen as one of the effort’s central figures. In one portion, it says that he met secretly in Prague with a Russian official during the summer of 2016.
Mr. Cohen told investigators that in fact he had never been to Prague and, at the time of his alleged visit, was making a college visit to Los Angeles with his son. Mr. Cohen said that in fact he had never been to Prague and, at the time of his alleged visit, was making a college visit to Los Angeles with his son.
“Let me be totally clear that I am innocent of the allegations raised against me in the public square,” Mr. Cohen said at the outset. “Let me be totally clear that I am innocent of the allegations raised against me in the public square,” Mr. Cohen said in the statement.
Mr. Cohen was likewise dismissive of suggestions that a 2015 effort by the Trump Organization to build a Trump Tower in Moscow was anything more than a business transaction. A business associate of Mr. Trump, Felix Sater, wrote in a series of emails to Mr. Cohen that the deal could be highly advantageous for Mr. Trump politically, showing the Russians his negotiating skills.Mr. Cohen was likewise dismissive of suggestions that a 2015 effort by the Trump Organization to build a Trump Tower in Moscow was anything more than a business transaction. A business associate of Mr. Trump, Felix Sater, wrote in a series of emails to Mr. Cohen that the deal could be highly advantageous for Mr. Trump politically, showing the Russians his negotiating skills.
“This was solely a real estate deal and nothing more,” Mr. Cohen said. “I was doing my job.”“This was solely a real estate deal and nothing more,” Mr. Cohen said. “I was doing my job.”
Mr. Cohen acknowledged reporters as he arrived at a Senate office building shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday, but did not take questions. His meeting with investigators was expected to last several hours.
Mr. Cohen sought to present himself as the victim of “misinformation and unnamed and unverifiable sources.” At one point, he compared himself to a 12-year-old Missouri boy who he said had been attacked for wearing a Make America Great Again hat.Mr. Cohen sought to present himself as the victim of “misinformation and unnamed and unverifiable sources.” At one point, he compared himself to a 12-year-old Missouri boy who he said had been attacked for wearing a Make America Great Again hat.
“My name is mentioned more than a dozen times in the lie-filled dossier and so, within moments of BuzzFeed’s publication, false allegations about me were plastered all over the national and international press,” he said. “The accusations are entirely and totally false.”“My name is mentioned more than a dozen times in the lie-filled dossier and so, within moments of BuzzFeed’s publication, false allegations about me were plastered all over the national and international press,” he said. “The accusations are entirely and totally false.”
Mr. Cohen urged the investigators to set aside internecine politics in favor of a unified response to Russia. Mr. Cohen also urged the investigators to set aside internecine politics in favor of a unified response to Russia.
“If we are really concerned about a Russian attempt to divide our country and discredit our political system,” Mr. Cohen said, “then the best thing we can do is put aside our infighting, stop presuming guilt rather than innocence of American citizens, and address this national security threat as a united people at its source.” “If we are really concerned about a Russian attempt to divide our country and discredit our political system,” Mr. Cohen said, “then the best thing we can do is put aside our infighting, stop presuming guilt rather than innocence of American citizens and address this national security threat as a united people at its source.”