President Donald Trump responded to his former personal attorney Michael Cohen's claim that Trump knew in advance about the infamous meeting with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower during the 2016 election.
"I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr. Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?)," Trump tweeted. He went on to question Cohen's choice of retaining lawyer Lanny Davis, suggesting because of the decision that Bill and Hillary Clinton might have been behind Cohen's claim. Davis is a long-time Clinton ally and was a lawyer for Clinton during his impeachment proceedings. "He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary’s lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice," Trump said.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1022812910702215169
Cohen claimed Trump knew in advance and approved of the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower where his son Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign manager met with a Kremlin-linked lawyer, CNN reported on Thursday night. Trump Jr. stated that he expected dirt on Hillary Clinton from the meeting but came out empty handed.
"Cohen alleges that he was present, along with several others, when Trump was informed of the Russians' offer by Trump Jr. By Cohen's account, Trump approved going ahead with the meeting with the Russians, according to sources," CNN reported.
Cohen has offered no evidence such as tapes or a record to back-up his claim.
Trump has denied he had any knowledge of the meeting and that it took place. The president insinuated Cohen might be making up stories in order to cut a deal after the FBI raided his home and office and seized financial records of Cohen's taxi medallion business.
Rudy Giuliani, the president's attorney, told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "Cuomo Prime Time" Thursday night that Cohen is a liar and has been lying for years. This contradicts his earlier statement that called Cohen an "honest, honorable lawyer."
Trump's tweet about Cohen followed two others in which the president slammed special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation in Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
"Arrived back in Washington last night from a very emotional reopening of a major U.S. Steel plant in Granite City, Illinois, only to be greeted with the ridiculous news that the highly conflicted Robert Mueller and his gang of 13 Angry Democrats obviously cannot find Collusion...," Trump tweeted.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1022805381440069632
The New York Times reported Thursday about the Mueller investigation's interest in the president's tweets.
Mr. Mueller wants to question the president about the tweets. His interest in them is the latest addition to a range of presidential actions he is investigating as a possible obstruction case: private interactions with Mr. Comey, Mr. Sessions and other senior administration officials about the Russia inquiry; misleading White House statements; public attacks; and possible pardon offers to potential witnesses.
"...the only Collusion with Russia was with the Democrats, so now they are looking at my Tweets (along with 53 million other people) - the rigged Witch Hunt continues! How stupid and unfair to our Country....And so the Fake News doesn’t waste my time with dumb questions, NO,...." Trump continued.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1022808452677160960