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Michael Cohen: Trump ex-lawyer 'happy' to aid Russia probe | Michael Cohen: Trump ex-lawyer 'happy' to aid Russia probe |
(about 2 hours later) | |
US President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, is said to be "more than happy" to speak to the inquiry into alleged collusion with Russia. | US President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, is said to be "more than happy" to speak to the inquiry into alleged collusion with Russia. |
Cohen pleaded guilty on Tuesday to violating finance laws during the 2016 presidential election by handling hush money for Mr Trump's alleged lovers. | Cohen pleaded guilty on Tuesday to violating finance laws during the 2016 presidential election by handling hush money for Mr Trump's alleged lovers. |
Cohen is ready to "tell everything about Donald Trump that he knows", his personal lawyer, Lanny Davis, said. | |
Mr Trump has argued that Cohen had made up stories in order to get a deal. | |
The president denies there was any collusion with Russia to get him elected. | The president denies there was any collusion with Russia to get him elected. |
"If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen!" he tweeted. | "If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen!" he tweeted. |
What is going on? | |
Cohen, who has been Mr Trump's personal lawyer for more than a decade, has pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations. | |
He said he had paid hush money to two women who alleged they had affairs with Mr Trump, at the direction of "the candidate" - a clear reference to Mr Trump. | |
Cohen said the payment was made for the "principal purpose of influencing [the 2016] election". | |
Cohen has reached a plea deal with prosecutors, which may see his prison sentence reduced from 65 years to five years and three months. | |
On the same day that Cohen pleaded guilty, a jury convicted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of bank and tax fraud charges. | |
It was the first criminal trial arising from the justice department probe, led by former FBI chief Robert Mueller. | |
Mr Mueller has been investigating allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, and whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to swing the election in his favour. | |
Russia has denied claims it interfered in the elections. | |
How has Mr Trump responded? | |
Mr Trump has responded to both the Cohen and Manafort cases with a series of tweets criticising Cohen and praising Manafort. | |
"I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family," he wrote, adding that he respected how Manafort "refused to 'break'" despite being subjected to a "witch hunt". | |
He also tweeted that Cohen had pleaded "guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations that are not a crime", adding: "President Obama had a big campaign finance violation and it was easily settled!" | |
He was referring to how Barack Obama's 2008 campaign was fined $375,000 for failing to report some campaign donations within 48 hours - although experts at the time said the violations were relatively minor given the size of the campaign. | |
Why did Cohen pay hush money, and is it illegal? | |
Both prosecutors and Cohen agree that Cohen violated campaign finance laws. | |
Porn star Stormy Daniels said she had been paid $130,000 (£101,000) by Cohen just days before the 2016 election to keep quiet about an affair she says she had a decade earlier with Mr Trump. | |
Cohen also recorded a conversation with Mr Trump two months before the election in which they discussed buying the rights to a kiss-and-tell story by former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who says she had an affair with Mr Trump. | |
Undisclosed payments to bury embarrassing stories about a political candidate can be treated as a violation of US campaign finance laws. | |
Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis has asked why the US president should not be prosecuted for the crimes Cohen had confessed to committing on his behalf. | |
What does Cohen know, and will he talk to Mueller? | |
There is no confirmation that Cohen will speak to Mr Mueller's Russia inquiry. | |
However, Mr Davis says his client is "more than happy" to talk, and has knowledge of whether Donald Trump knew in advance about the computer hacking which undermined his opponent, Hillary Clinton. | |
In summer 2016, embarrassing emails and documents hacked from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) server were made public, through Wikileaks and similar channels. | |
Russian intelligence officers have since been charged in absentia by the US authorities with hacking the DNC using malicious software. | |
Cohen also has knowledge, Mr Davis said, of a meeting at Trump Tower in New York in June 2016 between Trump campaign aides and a Russian delegation which was promising political "dirt". | Cohen also has knowledge, Mr Davis said, of a meeting at Trump Tower in New York in June 2016 between Trump campaign aides and a Russian delegation which was promising political "dirt". |
The well-documented meeting at Trump Tower between Mr Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr, and a Russian lawyer is a focus of the Mueller inquiry. | The well-documented meeting at Trump Tower between Mr Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr, and a Russian lawyer is a focus of the Mueller inquiry. |
Mr Trump Jr went into the meeting in the belief that he would be offered "official documents and information that would incriminate" Mrs Clinton. | Mr Trump Jr went into the meeting in the belief that he would be offered "official documents and information that would incriminate" Mrs Clinton. |
Under US campaign law, it is illegal for a US citizen to solicit foreigners for campaign donations or contributions - although legal experts are divided on whether the offer of information counts as such. | |
President Trump has denied knowing in advance about the meeting, which he nonetheless defended as a "meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics". | |
However, according to US media, Cohen has said that Mr Trump had known about the meeting beforehand and that he is willing to state this to the Russian inquiry. | |
A tense mood in Washington | |
By Tara McKelvey, BBC White House reporter | |
People in Washington are talking about impeachment - while in the West Wing staffers show a steely resolve. | |
On Wednesday morning, I ran into Bill Shine, the president's communications chief, followed by a small group of men - all in a hurry. He shook my hand and gave me a tight smile. For him, the day was only beginning, and it looked like it was going to be a long one. | |
In an area known as Lower Press, located on the ground level of the West Wing, many people seemed on edge - as if they were waiting for something to happen. When I heard a janitor say that there was "blood on the steps", I couldn't help but wonder about the phrase: Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, has implicated the president in wrongdoing, and I knew there could be more bloodletting - at least in the metaphorical sense. | |
As it turned out, the blood on the steps at the White House was caused by only a minor mishap, and it was easy for the janitor to clean up. Yet in Upper Press, the place where Shine and the senior officials work, things are harder to fix. | |
Could Trump be tried? | Could Trump be tried? |
Mr Trump has admitted reimbursing Cohen for paying one of the women, having earlier denied any knowledge of it. | Mr Trump has admitted reimbursing Cohen for paying one of the women, having earlier denied any knowledge of it. |
But Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for Mr Trump, told reporters there had been "no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president" in the charges against Cohen. | But Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for Mr Trump, told reporters there had been "no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president" in the charges against Cohen. |
In any case, Mr Trump is unlikely to face criminal charges as long as he remains president, legal experts say. | In any case, Mr Trump is unlikely to face criminal charges as long as he remains president, legal experts say. |
What is conceivable is that he could be sacked by Congress under the US constitution's provision for impeaching a president over "high crimes and misdemeanours". | What is conceivable is that he could be sacked by Congress under the US constitution's provision for impeaching a president over "high crimes and misdemeanours". |
For that to happen, Mr Trump's opponents in the Democratic Party would have to win control of both houses. | For that to happen, Mr Trump's opponents in the Democratic Party would have to win control of both houses. |
Even if they did well in the mid-term elections in November, they would almost certainly need to persuade members of Mr Trump's Republicans to change sides over the issue. | Even if they did well in the mid-term elections in November, they would almost certainly need to persuade members of Mr Trump's Republicans to change sides over the issue. |
No US president has ever been removed from office on the basis of impeachment. | No US president has ever been removed from office on the basis of impeachment. |