President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen sat down before a House committee on Wednesday and his testimony was explosive, to say the least. Cohen described his former boss as a gangster, who cheats on everything and everyone, from his taxes to his wife.
“He is a racist. He is a con man. He is a cheat,” Cohen told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in his opening statement about Trump.
The disgraced attorney’s testimony came weeks before he is scheduled to report to federal prison for lying to Congress for campaign finance violations, including his involvement in payments to two women who allege they had affairs with Trump. Here are seven bombshells from Cohen’s testimony.
Related Story: Trump Compares Impeachment Process to ‘Lynching,’ Sparking Anger
WikiLeaks Scheme to Hurt Hillary Clinton
Cohen alleged Trump knew in advance that WikiLeaks planned to release stolen emails that would damage Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The attorney said he got insight into the scheme during a meeting with Trump in July 2016, when longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone called, and the business mogul put Stone on speakerphone.
“Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with [WikiLeaks Founder]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. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of ‘wouldn’t that be great’.”
Trump thinks Black people are “stupid” and live in “shitholes”
“He once asked me if I could name a country run by a Black person that wasn’t a ‘shithole.’ This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States.”
“While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only Black people could live that way. And, he told me that Black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid.”
Cohen Has “Suspicions” Trump Colluded With Russia
Cohen admitted he has no direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but he does have “suspicions.” He cited a meeting at Trump Tower between campaign insiders, a Russian lawyer and Donald Trump Jr.
“Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world. And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone — and certainly not without checking with his father.”
Trump Only Ran for President to Boost His Brand
“Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation — only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the ‘greatest infomercial in political history’.”
Trump Cheated on His Taxes
“When telling me in 2008 that he was cutting employees’ salaries in half — including mine — he showed me what he claimed was a $10 million IRS tax refund, and he said that he could not believe how stupid the government was for giving ‘someone like him’ that much money back.”
Trump Used Threats to Hide His High School and College Grades
“When I say con man, I’m talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores.”
Trump Asked Him to Pay Off Adult Film Star Stormy Daniels
“Mr. Trump directed me to use my own personal funds from a Home Equity Line of Credit to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign,” Cohen said. “And I am going to jail in part because of my decision to help Mr. Trump hide that payment from the American people before they voted a few days later.”
Cohen produced a receipt to back up his claim — a $35,000 check that Trump allegedly signed from his personal bank account to silence Stormy Daniels about their alleged affair. Trump has denied being involved with Daniels.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday it was “laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies.”
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the Michael Cohen testimony. You can read it here.
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