On his way to catch Air Force One on Thursday, President Donald Trump shared his thoughts about Michael Cohen, his one-time personal lawyer who pleaded guilty that morning to lying to Congress about negotiations for a possible Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump said: it was no secret he was interested in putting a Trump Tower in Moscow; as a private citizen, he had every right to build in Russia; so there was no reason for Cohen to lie to Congress, and if he did lie, it had nothing to do with the president.
The other big point: Special Counsel Robert Mueller has a penchant for winning guilty pleas from Trump associates who have lied to authorities, but from what America has seen, he has not made the case that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.
Cohen's guilty plea for lying about Trump's flirtation with building in Moscow at least has a Russian angle.
That's much closer than the conviction of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was found guilty on charges of tax evasion and bank fraud as far back as 2010, long before he worked for Trump.
In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion and bank fraud - charges that had nothing to do with Trump.
Trump can argue that it was perfectly legal for him to flirt with building a skyscraper in Russia while he ran for president because he remained a private citizen.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/12/02/_cohens_guilty_plea_isnt_proof_trump_campaign_colluded_with_russia_138808.html
Trump said: it was no secret he was interested in putting a Trump Tower in Moscow; as a private citizen, he had every right to build in Russia; so there was no reason for Cohen to lie to Congress, and if he did lie, it had nothing to do with the president.
The other big point: Special Counsel Robert Mueller has a penchant for winning guilty pleas from Trump associates who have lied to authorities, but from what America has seen, he has not made the case that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.
Cohen's guilty plea for lying about Trump's flirtation with building in Moscow at least has a Russian angle.
That's much closer than the conviction of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was found guilty on charges of tax evasion and bank fraud as far back as 2010, long before he worked for Trump.
In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion and bank fraud - charges that had nothing to do with Trump.
Trump can argue that it was perfectly legal for him to flirt with building a skyscraper in Russia while he ran for president because he remained a private citizen.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/12/02/_cohens_guilty_plea_isnt_proof_trump_campaign_colluded_with_russia_138808.html
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