Not terribly long into Michael Cohen’s public testimony before Congress last month—after he referred to President Donald Trump as a cheat, racist, and con man, but before he showed the Oversight Committee financial documents that he said proved his former boss manipulated his assets in order to deceive banks and insurance companies—Cohen took a moment to apologize. When he last appeared on Capitol Hill, Cohen had lied about a Moscow real-estate project Trump pursued while seeking the Republican presidential nomination. To align with Trump’s denials of any business dealings with Russia, Cohen told Congress that his negotiations ended before February, 2016, when in fact they had stretched well into June.
“The last time I appeared before Congress, I came to protect Mr. Trump,” he said. “Today, I’m here to tell the truth about Mr. Trump.”
Cohen, who has been sentenced to three years in prison, also made another explosive claim. President Trump, he said, had spoken in “code” to prompt Cohen to lie about the Moscow project. Moreover, Cohen said, his false testimony was coordinated with the president’s attorneys. “Trump’s personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it,” he said in his prepared remarks. At the time, Cohen had a joint defense agreement with the president, so the document was reviewed by Trump’s attorney, Jay Sekulow, as well as Abbe Lowell, the lawyer representing Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. According to Cohen, neither attorney raised objections to the document, which included his false statement about the Moscow project.
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