Trump: 'I Never Directed Michael Cohen To Break The Law'
President addressed accusations that the lawyer engaged in at his direction.
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Just a day after President Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for violating campaign finance laws, the President addressed accusations that the lawyer engaged in at his direction.
Last month FBI agents raided the offices of Cohen who had previously done tax work for President Donald Trump.
Federal agents arrived at the City Hall office of Finance Committee Chairman Ed Burke on an unannounced visit before covering the windows and floors with brown paper and ordering everyone to get out.
Cohen then blamed Trump claiming he directed him to pay off two women who claimed to have had affairs with the president to stop it influencing the 2016 US election.
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Payments included $130,000 to porn star Stephanie Clifford (Stormy Daniels) - then e Cohen also arranged a $150,000 amount to a former Playboy playmate for the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc. (AMI).
Trump took to Twitter to defend himself and put Cohen claims to rest
"I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law," Trump said.
"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. Despite that many campaign finance lawyers have strongly stated that I did nothing wrong with respect to campaign finance laws, if they even apply, because this was not campaign finance. Cohen was guilty on many charges unrelated to me, but he plead to two campaign charges which were not criminal and of which he probably was not guilty even on a civil bases [sic]. 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!"
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. Despite that many campaign finance lawyers have strongly......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
....stated that I did nothing wrong with respect to campaign finance laws, if they even apply, because this was not campaign finance. Cohen was guilty on many charges unrelated to me, but he plead to two campaign charges which were not criminal and of which he probably was not...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
....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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
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Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler claimed that evidence of President Donald Trump directing is a former lawyer to break 'campaign finance laws' could justify removal from the White House.
Nadler is the soon to be chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, responsible for drafting articles of impeachment“They would be impeachable offenses,” Nadler said.
“Whether they are important enough to justify an impeachment is a different question. But, certainly, they would be impeachable offenses, because, even though they were committed before the president became president, they were committed in the service of fraudulently obtaining the office.”
