Giuliani Says Trump Might Have Talked to Cohen About His Testimony

TEHRAN (defapress)- Donald Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, on Sunday stated that it's "possible" the president spoke to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, ahead of his congressional testimony.

News ID: 75115

Date: 21 January 2019 - 14:35

"Which would be perfectly normal," Giuliani said on CNN's "State of the Union", adding that "so what?"

"As far as I know, President Trump did not have discussions with him," he stated, noting that "certainly, no discussions with him in which he told him or counseled him to lie".

BuzzFeed News reported last week that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress about a deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. The report claimed that special counsel Robert Mueller's office had evidence to prove the claim, however the special counsel's office disputed the accuracy of the story, calling the "characterization ... not accurate". It is not clear which parts of the story Mueller's office disputed, and BuzzFeed stands by its reporting.

Giuliani on Sunday maintained that the Buzzfeed story was "phony" and "scandalous ... fake news".

However, he said although he had no knowledge of such conversations, Trump may have discussed Cohen's testimony with him without directing him to lie.

"If he had any discussions with him, they'd be about the version of the events that Michael Cohen gave them which they all believe was true," Giuliani added.

Giuliani said during a separate appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he is “100 percent certain” that Trump never once asked Cohen to do anything but tell the truth to Congress.

“I can tell you his counsel to Michael Cohen throughout that entire period was, ‘Tell the truth’. We thought he was telling the truth. I still believe he may have been telling the truth when he testified before Congress,” he told host Chuck Todd.

Giuliani also stated on Sunday that talks to build a Trump Tower in Moscow may have lasted until the 2016 election.

Giuliani told NBC that Trump remembers having conversations about the real estate project with Cohen, "throughout 2016" and "as far as October, November".

"Well, it's our understanding that they went on throughout 2016. Weren't a lot of them, but there were conversations. Can't be sure of the exact date. But the president can remember having conversations with him about it," Giuliani said.

"The president also remembers ... could be up to as far as October, November. Our answers cover until the election," he added, referring to written answers submitted by Trump's lawyers to special counsel Robert Mueller's team.

Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow and signed a plea deal with Mueller's office. Cohen said he was lying when he told Congress in an August 2017 letter that "the Moscow Project ended in January 2016", before the Iowa caucuses. According to Cohen, discussions on the project were still happening in June 2016.

BuzzFeed also reported that Trump was involved in ongoing negotiations over the Moscow project and supported a plan to visit Russia and meet with President Vladimir Putin during the 2016 campaign. According to BuzzFeed, which cited two law enforcement sources, Trump had at least 10 face-to-face meetings with Cohen about the matter.

Trump "wasn't talking to Russia about anything" during the campaign, Giuliani told CNN on Sunday.

"It was an early stage proposal that never got beyond a nonbinding letter of intent run by Michael Cohen. It was his project and being done while Donald Trump was running for president of the United States and wasn't focused on that at all," he added.

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