Donald Trump on Michael Cohen

Donald Trump on His Former Longtime Lawyer Michael Cohen

THEN
NOW


2007 - June 2018
July 2018 - 2019

Donald Trump on Michael Cohen Then
Donald Trump on Michael Cohen Now

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#DonaldTrump 6/15/18: "I always liked Michael ❲Cohen❳. And he’s a good person." » #Trump 11/29/18: "He’s a weak person and what he’s trying to do is get a reduced sentence, so he’s lying." Click To Tweet

Donald Trump on His Former Longtime Lawyer Michael Cohen

THEN

2007 - June 2018

Donald Trump on Michael Cohen Then
“Michael Cohen has a great insight into the real-estate market. He has invested in my buildings because he likes to make money – and he does. In short, he’s a very smart person.”
- Feb 22, 2007

New York Post, Feb 22, 2007
Upping The Ante

(retrieved 1/25/19)
“Listen to my EVP @MichaelCohen212 on America’s Radio News Network right now. If I know Michael, it will be great.”
“Michael Cohen is a very talented lawyer. He’s a good lawyer in my firm.”
- Jan 11, 2017

Washington Post, Jan 11, 2017
Donald Trump’s big press conference transcript: Annotating everything the president-elect said

(retrieved 1/25/19)
“Michael is a great lawyer… Michael is a really good lawyer, loyal, wonderful person, talented, loves being on television. Michael Cohen’s a star. I haven’t seen Michael in a month. It’s good to see you, Michael. I miss you, man.”
- June 29, 2017

Audio recording is here (starts at 6:36): Donald Trump fundraiser June 29, 2017

The Intercept (via Daily Beast), Feb 25, 2018
Trump’s Longtime Lawyer, Michael Cohen, Knows Way Too Much. So Why is He Still in Exile?

(retrieved 1/25/19)
“The New York Times and a third rate reporter…are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will ‘flip.’ They use non-existent ‘sources’ and a drunk/drugged up loser who hates Michael, a fine person with a wonderful family. Michael is a businessman for his own account/lawyer who I have always liked & respected. Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don’t see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!”
“No, he’s not my lawyer anymore, but I always liked Michael. And he’s a good person.”
- June 15, 2018

The Hill, June 16, 2018
Cohen called out on New York street as ‘that guy that’s going to jail’

(retrieved 1/25/19)

#DonaldTrump 6/29/17: "I have always liked & respected ❲Michael Cohen❳." » #Trump 12/16/18: "Michael Cohen…became a ‘Rat’ after the FBI…BROKE INTO AN ATTORNEY’S OFFICE!" Click To Tweet

NOW

July 2018 - 2019

Donald Trump on Michael Cohen Now
“What kind of a lawyer would tape a client? So sad! Is this a first, never heard of it before? Why was the tape so abruptly terminated (cut) while I was presumably saying positive things? I hear there are other clients and many reporters that are taped – can this be so? Too bad!”
“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?). He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary‘s lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!”
“If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!”
#DonaldTrump 6/29/17: "Michael ❲Cohen❳ is a really good lawyer, loyal, wonderful person." » #Trump 12/3/18: "You mean he can do…TERRIBLE…things…and not serve a long prison term?" Click To Tweet
“I feel very badly for Paul Manafort… unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to ‘break’ – make up stories in order to get a ‘deal.’ Such respect for a brave man!”
“Absolutely he’s lying. And Michael Cohen was a PR person who did small legal work, very small legal work. And what he did was very sad, when you look… He represented me very little. It’s a very low level. And what he was is also a public relations person. And now if he wants to try and get a little bit lighter sentence for what he did… He was a contractor to a large extent. But Michael Cohen, if you take a look at what he did, this had to do with loans, and I guess the taxi industry is something that I have nothing to do with, he did this on his own time.”
- Oct 17, 2018

Associated Press, Oct 17, 2018
Read the transcript of AP’s interview with President Trump

(retrieved 1/25/19)
“What he’s trying to do, because he’s a weak person and not a very smart person, what he’s trying to do is end, and it’s very simple, he’s got himself a big prison sentence and he’s trying to get a much lesser prison sentence by making up a story. Now, here the thing—even if he was right, it doesn’t matter because I was allowed to do whatever I wanted during the campaign. I was running my business, a lot of things during the campaign. So very simply, Michael Cohen is lying and he’s trying to get a reduced sentence for things that have nothing to do with me… I wasn’t trying to hide anything… He was given a fairly long jail sentence and he’s a weak person and by being weak—unlike other people that you watch. He’s a weak person and what he’s trying to do is get a reduced sentence, so he’s lying about a project that everybody knew about.”
Nov 29, 2018 -

Newsweek, Nov 29, 2018
Donald Trump Says Michael Cohen Is ‘Lying’ but Even If He’s Telling the Truth It’s Fine

(retrieved 1/25/19)
quote starts at 0:13
“‘Michael Cohen asks judge for no Prison Time.’ You mean he can do all of the TERRIBLE…things having to do with fraud, big loans, Taxis, etc., and not serve a long prison term? He makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself, and get his wife and father-in-law (who has the money?) off Scott [sic] Free. He lied for this outcome and should, in my opinion, serve a full and complete sentence.”
#DonaldTrump 7/22/07: "❲Michael Cohen is❳ a very smart person." » #Trump 1/12/19: "He’s a weak person and not a very smart person…he’s trying to get a much lesser prison sentence by making up a story." Click To Tweet
“‘I will never testify against Trump.’ This statement was recently made by Roger Stone, essentially stating that he will not be forced by a rogue and out of control prosecutor to make up lies and stories about ‘President Trump.’ Nice to know that some people still have ‘guts!'”
“I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called ‘advice of counsel,’ and a lawyer has great liability if a mistake is made. That is why they get paid…

“Cohen was guilty on many charges unrelated to me, but he plead [sic] to two campaign charges which were not criminal and of which he probably was not guilty even on a civil basis. Those charges were just agreed to by him in order to embarrass the president and get a much reduced prison sentence, which he did-including the fact that his family was temporarily let off the hook. As a lawyer, Michael has great liability to me!”

“Remember, Michael Cohen only became a ‘Rat’ after the FBI did something which was absolutely unthinkable & unheard of until the Witch Hunt was illegally started. They BROKE INTO AN ATTORNEY’S OFFICE!”
“He’s on trouble on some loans and fraud and taxi cabs and stuff that I know nothing about. And in order to get his sentence reduced, he says, I have an idea, I’ll tell — I’ll give you some information on the president. Well, there is no information… He’s trying to get his sentence reduced. So, it’s pretty sad. You know, it’s weak and it’s very sad to watch a thing like that. I couldn’t care less.”
Jan 12, 2019 -

Fox News (via Deadline), Jan 12, 2019
Donald Trump On Working For Russia: 'Most Insulting Thing Ever Been Asked'

(retrieved 1/25/19)
quote starts at beginning
“Kevin Corke, @FoxNews ‘Don’t forget, Michael Cohen has already been convicted of perjury and fraud, and as recently as this week, the Wall Street Journal has suggested that he may have stolen tens of thousands of dollars….’ Lying to reduce his jail time! Watch father-in-law!”
#DonaldTrump 6/29/17: "Michael Cohen is a very talented lawyer. He’s a good lawyer in my firm." » #Trump 2/28/19: "He’s convicted, he’s a liar, he’s defrauded at a high level…He lied so much." Click To Tweet
“He’s only been threatened by the truth, and he doesn’t want to do that probably for me or other of his clients. He has other clients also, I assume, and he doesn’t want to tell the truth for me or other of his clients.”
Jan 23, 2019 -

CNBC, Jan 23, 2019
Michael Cohen postpones congressional testimony because of threats to family from Trump and Giuliani

(retrieved 1/25/19)
“So interesting that bad lawyer Michael Cohen…is using the lawyer of Crooked Hillary Clinton to represent him – Gee, how did that happen?”
“Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time.”
“[Michael Cohen] lied a lot [during the previous day’s House Oversight Committee hearing], but it was very interesting because he didn’t lie about one thing, he said no collusion with the Russian hoax. And I said I wonder why he didn’t lie about that too like he did about everything else… He only went about 95% instead of 100%… But it was pretty shameful, I think.”
Feb 28, 2019 -

Press conference in Hanoi, Vietnam

Vox, Feb 28, 2019
Read the full transcript of Trump’s North Korea summit press conference in Vietnam

(retrieved 2/28/19)
starts at 10:08
“As far as Cohen is concerned, he’s convicted, he’s a liar, he’s defrauded at a high level. He’s got a lot of problems. And you know, it was very interesting, because he lied so much.”
Feb 28, 2019 -

Fox News, Feb 28, 2019
'Hannity' exclusive: Trump explains decision to exit Kim negotiation

(retrieved 2/28/19)
“Wow, just revealed that Michael Cohen wrote a ‘love letter to Trump’ manuscript for a new book that he was pushing. Written and submitted long after Charlottesville and Helsinki, his phony reasons for going rogue. Book is exact opposite of his fake testimony, which now is a lie!”
#DonaldTrump 4/18/18: "Michael ❲Cohen❳, a fine person with a wonderful family…I have always liked & respected." » #Trump 2/28/19: "Bad lawyer and fraudster Michael Cohen…He lied!…He lied!" Click To Tweet
“Let’s follow discredited Michael Cohen and the fraudulent and dishonest statements he made on Wednesday.”
“Michael Cohen’s book manuscript shows that he committed perjury on a scale not seen before. He must have forgotten about his book when he testified.”
“Virtually everything failed lawyer Michael Cohen said in his sworn testimony last week is totally contradicted in his just released manuscript for a book about me.”
“The brand new manuscript for a new book by failed lawyer Michael Cohen shows his testimony was a total lie!”
“The hostile Cohen testimony, given by a liar to reduce his prison time, proved no Collusion! His just written book manuscript showed what he said was a total lie, but Fake Media won’t show it.”
“‘Now they have a fake witness in Cohen.’ Congressman Mark Green, (R-TN)”
“A convicted liar & fraudster.”
“Bad lawyer and fraudster Michael Cohen said under sworn testimony that he never asked for a Pardon. His lawyers totally contradicted him. He lied! Additionally, he directly asked me for a pardon. I said NO. He lied again! He also badly wanted to work at the White House. He lied!“

#DonaldTrump 6/29/17: "Michael Cohen is a very talented lawyer. He’s a good lawyer in my firm." » #Trump 8/22/18: "I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!" Click To Tweet

Context

Donald Trump‘s’s about-face on his former longtime lawyer Michael Cohen followed reports that Cohen said Trump knew in advance about the June, 2016 Trump Tower meeting where Donald Trump Jr. and other members of the Trump campaign expected to get damaging information on Hillary Clinton from a “Russian government attorney.” Trump continues to deny advance knowledge of the meeting.1CNN, July 26, 2018
Transcript: Cuomo Prime Time – Aired July 26, 2018
retrieved 7/26/182Donald Trump (Twitter), July 27, 2018
“…..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?). He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary’s lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!”
retrieved 7/26/18

Trumps’s reversal also followed the surfacing of a September, 2016 recording between Trump and Cohen that Cohen secretly recorded where Trump and Cohen are heard discussing paying to obtain rights to potentially damaging information about Trump from David Pecker, who is a friend of Trump’s and publisher of the National Enquirer and other publications, including a story by former Playboy model Karen McDougal. McDougal wrote a story about her alleged 10-month affair with Trump that began soon after the birth of Trump’s child with his third wife Melania; Pecker bought the rights to the story before the 2016 election and suppressed its release. Cohen later testified that he facilitated hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and McDougal for Trump, asserting that those payments were made influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Trump has repeatedly denied having extramarital sexual relations with Daniels, McDougal, and other women.3Washington Post, July 20, 2018
In secret recording seized by FBI, Trump and Cohen discuss buying rights to model’s account of alleged affair
retrieved 7/26/184Vox, July 25, 2018
The Trump-Cohen tape, explained
retrieved 7/26/185CNBC, Aug 22, 2018
Trump rips Michael Cohen after former lawyer implicated the president in crimes
retrieved 1/25/19

On February 27, 2019 Cohen testified against Trump before the House Oversight Committee. Cohen painted an damning portrayal of Trump, characterizing him a ‘racist,’ ‘conman,’ a ‘cheat,’ a serial liar, and someone who will not give up power peaceably if he loses in 2020.6Politico, Febr 27, 2019
Cohen testimony on Trump: ‘He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat.’
retrieved RetrievedDATE7CNN, Feb 27, 2019
Michael Cohen testifies before Congress
retrieved 3/2/19

“Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power. And this is why I agreed to appear before you today.”

– Michael Cohen, February 27, 20198CNN, Feb 27, 2019
Michael Cohen testifies before Congress
retrieved 3/2/19

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