News / Politics

Trump attacks Cohen, calling his testimony 'fake' and ‘a lie’

Saturday, 02 March 2019 12:35 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 02 March 2019 12:49 AM ]

This combination of file pictures created on April 11, 2018 shows President Donald Trump (R) and his former lawyer Michael Cohen. (AFP Photo)

US President Donald Trump has lashed out at Michael Cohen, his former fixer and personal attorney, accusing him of "going rogue" and committing "perjury on a scale not seen before."

In a string of tweets on Friday, Trump launched his first attacks at Cohen after his testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday in which he said the president “is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat."

Trump said a book Cohen reportedly shopped to publishers prior to the start of his legal troubles proved the testimony was "fake" and "a lie!" He also called the manuscript a "love letter to Trump."

Wow, just revealed that Michael Cohen wrote a “love letter to Trump” manuscript for a new book that he was pushing. Written and submitted long after Charlottesville and Helsinki, his phony reasons for going rogue. Book is exact opposite of his fake testimony, which now is a lie!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019

Michael Cohen’s book manuscript shows that he committed perjury on a scale not seen before. He must have forgotten about his book when he testified. What does Hillary Clinton’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, say about this one. Is he being paid by Crooked Hillary. Using her lawyer?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019

The president also called for an investigation into the book pitch, saying, "Congress must demand the transcript of Michael Cohen’s new book."

"Your heads will spin when you see the lies, misrepresentations and contradictions against his Thursday testimony. Like a different person! He is totally discredited!"

Last year, Cohen was sentenced to three years behind bars and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine. On August 21, he pleaded guilty to charges of tax and financial fraud. He also pleaded guilty to violating election campaign finance laws by paying an adult film actress hush money on Trump’s behalf during the president's election campaign.

Then on November 29, he pleaded guilty to an additional charge of lying to Congress over matters related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation over Russia’s alleged collusion with Trump’s 2016 election campaign to influence voters.