Another legal blow for President Donald Trump.
On Thursday, Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen — who previously pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts related to campaign-finance and financial violations in August — signed a plea agreement stating that he had lied to Congress regarding a real estate deal Trump was pursuing with Russia during the presidential election.
Cohen, who worked as Trump’s personal lawyer and self-described “fixer” for many years, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to Congress, in a surprise appearance in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday.
According to court documents filed by special counsel Robert Mueller, Cohen “knowingly and deliberately” made several false statements in previous written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee. In August, Cohen told Congress that discussion surrounding the proposed building of a Trump Tower in Moscow ceased in January 2016, however discussions actually continued “as late as approximately June 2016.”
In June 2016, Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer after she promised damaging information on his father’s presidential campaign rival, Hillary Clinton. Trump Jr. initially claimed the meeting was focused on American adoptions of Russian children.
Cohen also lied about the extent of his discussions about the real estate deal with Trump, who was referred to as “Individual 1” in the filing.
In the documents, Mueller wrote that Cohen “discussed the status and progress of the Moscow Project with Individual 1 on more than the three occasions” he had previously claimed. According to the documents, Cohen also kept Trump’s family members appraised of the developments.
In exchange for his cooperation, Cohen will not face further criminal prosecution. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Cohen also addressed the court, claiming that he made the false statements “to keep up with political messaging and out of loyalty,” according to Fox News.
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Trump, who has long been critical of Mueller’s ongoing investigation, slammed Cohen following the news of his continued cooperation.
“Cohen is being a weak person and trying to get a reduced sentence so he’s lying about a project everyone knew about,” Trump told reporters, according to The Guardian.
He added that he did not believe Cohen posed a threat to his presidency.
Trump also expressed his distaste over the investigation on Twitter, calling it a “Witch Hunt.”
“Did you ever see an investigation more in search of a crime? At the same time Mueller and the Angry Democrats aren’t even looking at the atrocious, and perhaps subversive, crimes that were committed by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. A total disgrace!” he wrote on Thursday.
Continuing in a separate tweet, he added, “When will this illegal Joseph McCarthy style Witch Hunt, one that has shattered so many innocent lives, ever end-or will it just go on forever? After wasting more than $40,000,000 (is that possible?), it has proven only one thing-there was NO Collusion with Russia. So Ridiculous!”
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As the New York Times pointed out, this is the first time a charge has been filed in Mueller’s ongoing investigation into possible collusion between Trump and Russia.
Cohen’s guilty plea comes just days after Mueller alleged that Paul Manafort, Trump‘s former campaign chairman, had breached a plea deal he signed in September by repeatedly lying to investigators. Manafort has denied the charges, and his legal team said he believes he was providing “truthful information.”
In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts related to campaign-finance and financial abuses, and implied that Trump directed him to pay two women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, who claim to have engaged in affairs with Trump that the president denies.
As a part of the plea, Cohen also admitted to a federal judge that he made the payments “for the purpose of influencing the election.”