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| Michael Cohen pleads guilty to making false statements to Congress | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Michael Cohen, former attorney to President Trump, has pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress regarding Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ‘Russiagate’ investigation. | Michael Cohen, former attorney to President Trump, has pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress regarding Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ‘Russiagate’ investigation. |
| Cohen entered his plea in a federal court in Manhattan on Thursday. Since pleading guilty to tax evasion and campaign finance violations in August, Cohen has been cooperating with Mueller’s ongoing Russia investigation, and gave the Special Counsel more than 70 hours of recorded testimony. | Cohen entered his plea in a federal court in Manhattan on Thursday. Since pleading guilty to tax evasion and campaign finance violations in August, Cohen has been cooperating with Mueller’s ongoing Russia investigation, and gave the Special Counsel more than 70 hours of recorded testimony. |
| The attorney told the court that statements he gave to two congressional committees investigating alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in the runup to the 2016 election were false. The statements in question concerned a real estate deal Trump had pursued in Russia some years previously. Speaking ahead of the closed-door sessions in 2017, Cohen described the deal as “solely a real estate deal and nothing more.” | The attorney told the court that statements he gave to two congressional committees investigating alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in the runup to the 2016 election were false. The statements in question concerned a real estate deal Trump had pursued in Russia some years previously. Speaking ahead of the closed-door sessions in 2017, Cohen described the deal as “solely a real estate deal and nothing more.” |
| "I made these misstatements to be consistent with (Trump's) political messaging and out of loyalty to (Trump)," Cohen told the court. | |
| Cohen also said in 2017 that he “never saw anything” linking the Trump campaign to Russia in 2016. He also claimed that the Steele Dossier – compiled by an opposition research firm at the behest of the Clinton campaign and later used to kickstart the Mueller investigation – was “riddled with total falsehoods and intentionally salacious allegations.” | |
| Before flipping on his old employer, Cohen once said that he would “take a bullet” for the president. Cohen then said that he had information that may be of interest to Mueller in August, but the statement was downplayed by Trump. | |
| “If somebody defrauded a bank and he’s going to get ten or twenty years in jail, but you can say something bad about Donald Trump and you’ll go down to two years or three years, which is the deal he made – in all fairness to him, most people are going to do that,” Trump said at the time. | “If somebody defrauded a bank and he’s going to get ten or twenty years in jail, but you can say something bad about Donald Trump and you’ll go down to two years or three years, which is the deal he made – in all fairness to him, most people are going to do that,” Trump said at the time. |
| ABC’s George Stephanopoulos said that Cohen now poses a “double-barrelled threat” to Trump. However, even if it is serious, Cohen’s testimony will likely not be enough to spell serious danger for the president without corroborating evidence. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Russia, and dismissed Mueller’s probe as a “witch hunt,” and Mueller has thus far been unable to find evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. | ABC’s George Stephanopoulos said that Cohen now poses a “double-barrelled threat” to Trump. However, even if it is serious, Cohen’s testimony will likely not be enough to spell serious danger for the president without corroborating evidence. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Russia, and dismissed Mueller’s probe as a “witch hunt,” and Mueller has thus far been unable to find evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. |
| As such, the investigation’s focus has shifted this year from looking for collusion to finding obstruction. Mueller’s team have combed through Trump’s tweets and looked at his firing of former FBI Director James Comey with a view to finding this obstruction, so far unsuccessfully. | As such, the investigation’s focus has shifted this year from looking for collusion to finding obstruction. Mueller’s team have combed through Trump’s tweets and looked at his firing of former FBI Director James Comey with a view to finding this obstruction, so far unsuccessfully. |
| Cohen's plea comes two weeks before the lawyer is due to be sentenced for the earlier tax and campaign finance violations. He is facing a possible term of 46 to 63 months in prison and a potential fine of up to $1 million. His voluntary cooperation with Mueller, however, could see this punishment lessened significantly. | |
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