According to prepared testimony published by POLITICO, Michael Cohen today will directly contradict at least two written statements Donald Trump made to special counsel Robert Mueller last November.
Trump’s longtime personal attorney and “fixer” will testify on Wednesday that he was in the room when Donald Trump, Jr. informed his father about the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russian operatives.
He also says in the prepared statement that Trump knew his longtime associate Roger Stone “was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails.”
Trump told the special counsel in writing in November that Stone had not told him about his contacts with WikiLeaks, and the president also told Mueller that he was not told about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his son, son-in-law and campaign chairman with a Russian lawyer promising damaging information about Hillary Clinton.
Cohen will testify that Trump lied to Mueller on both counts, and that the president was involved in colluding with Russia.
Stone told Trump about his contacts with WikiLeaks
Cohen’s testimony to the House Oversight Committee says that he witnessed a July 2016 phone conversation Trump had with Stone, who was indicted last month on seven counts, including one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering.
“Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign,” Cohen says in the prepared statement.
Cohen will tell lawmakers that Trump responded: “Wouldn’t that be great.”
Trump Jr. told his father about the Trump Tower meeting with Russians
Cohen’s prepared remarks say:
“I remember being in the room with Mr. Trump, probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. Don Jr. came into the room and walked behind his father’s desk – which in itself was unusual. People didn’t just walk behind Mr. Trump’s desk to talk to him.”
“I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: ‘The meeting is all set.’ I remember Mr. Trump saying, ‘Ok good…let me know.”
“What struck me is that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone – and certainly not without checking with his father.”
“I also knew that nothing went on in Trump world, especially the campaign, without Mr. Trump’s knowledge and approval. So, I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting about dirt on Hillary with the Russian representative when he walked behind his dad’s desk that day.”
“And Mr. Trump said, ‘That’s good…let me know.’”
This could be the end of the Trump presidency
As we reported last night, if Michael Cohen is able to prove that Donald Trump committed crimes while in office, it will likely be the end of his presidency.
If Cohen is also able to show that Trump lied to Bob Mueller in his written responses to questions last November, AND that Trump was involved in Russian collusion, it will only strengthen that conclusion.
By releasing his written statement about his planned testimony before Congress Michael Cohen has put us on notice: today is the day that he will exact his revenge upon his former boss, President Donald J. Trump.
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