Thread: Democrats demand investigation after report that Trump ordered Michael Cohen to lie t

Democrats demand investigation after report that Trump ordered Michael Cohen to lie to Congress

President Trump on Nov. 29 said his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen is lying to federal prosecutors about a Trump real estate project in Moscow. (Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

By Tim Elfrink
January 18 at 12:12 AM

Democratic leaders reacted with fury and demanded an investigation late Thursday following a new report that President Trump personally directed his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress about the president’s push for a lucrative condo project in Moscow in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

The Thursday night report from BuzzFeed News cites two unnamed federal law enforcement officials who say Cohen acknowledged in interviews with the office of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III that the president directed him to deceive Congress about key facts linking Trump to the proposed deal in Russia. Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying under oath about those details.

Democrats said that if the report is accurate, Trump must quickly be held to account for his role in the perjury, with some raising the specter of impeachment.

“The allegation that the President of the United States may have suborned perjury before our committee in an effort to curtail the investigation and cover up his business dealings with Russia is among the most serious to date,” wrote Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. “We will do what’s necessary to find out if it’s true.”

“If the @Buzzfeed story is true, President Trump must resign or be impeached," tweeted Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on BuzzFeed’s report. Rudolph W. Giuliani, Trump’s attorney, responded to the report by saying, "If you believe Cohen I can get you a great deal on the Brooklyn Bridge.”

But BuzzFeed says that Mueller’s office has more evidence than just Cohen’s testimony that Trump directed him to lie to Congress. Per the report, Cohen’s testimony is backed up by “interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents.”

In November, Cohen admitted he’d falsely told Congress that Trump’s efforts to build a condo tower in Moscow ended in January 2016, when, in reality, those efforts continued through that June. As Mueller noted, Cohen’s testimony was an attempt to “minimize links between the Moscow Project and Individual 1,” which is how Trump is referred to in the report. Trump had repeatedly insisted on the campaign trail that he had no ongoing business interests in Russia, even as the deal continued to unfold.

In court documents, Cohen admitted that he’d briefed Trump on his ongoing negotiations with Russian officials about the proposed deal and said that he’d consulted with Trump’s team before his false testimony before Congress. But he never said in those documents that Trump himself played any role in encouraging his false testimony.

According to BuzzFeed, Mueller’s team now has evidence that Trump did just that. Democratic leaders promised a quick probe into whether Trump, in fact, did direct Cohen to lie.

“I mean everything feels like a bombshell and we are all numb but I’m pretty sure if this story is true it’s - I’m going to be careful with my words here - something that congress must investigate thoroughly,” tweeted Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) tweeted, “Listen, if Mueller does have multiple sources confirming Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress, then we need to know this ASAP. Mueller shouldn’t end his inquiry, but it’s about time for him to show Congress his cards before it’s too late for us to act.”

Added Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.): “This stunning Trump Tower Moscow story establishes a clear case of Obstruction of Justice, a felony. I’ve lost count now how many times @realDonaldTrump has engaged in Obstruction of Justice. Oh, fyi the first Article of Impeachment for Richard Nixon was Obstruction of Justice.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...=.40b3db988ee9

Sounds like DemoQuacks want another investigation because they're losing confidence in Mueller. I think Mueller has waged the biggest, brightest, most magnificent Witch Hunt against a political campaign and a duly elected President in the history of the United States and come up with .... nothing.

That usually happens when there is no crime to begin with.

Building a hotel or wanting to build a hotel in Moscow is not a crime.

Traveling to Russia to meet with Putin, or wanting to, is not a crime.

Winning a Presidential election against all odds and the efforts of many in the strangest of places like the US government, is not a crime.

Talking to someone who works for you in some way about who they're talking to and what they're doing as part of that is not a crime.

I don't know if Trump told Cohen to lie to Congress or not, but I seriously doubt it, and either way I don't care.

I'm more interested in this Felix Slater who one of the articles I've read is described as a "long term intelligence asset of the United States". So we have another CIA or FBI spy infiltrating the Trump Organization before a campaign even starts and then throughout it, and after??!! What is wrong with these people? They all need to be fired and prosecuted.

You need crimes to investigate and warrants for this type of crap. Geez. Our federal law enforcement and intelligence operations are 100% corrupt to the core.