WSJ: Cohen Testimony Will Accuse Trump of Criminal Conduct in Office

This could be Donald Trump’s week from hell.

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The conservative Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that it has obtained exclusive information concerning this week’s planned testimony from former Donald Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen. According to the Journal:

“The President’s ex-lawyer will tell House committees he witnessed Trump’s ‘lies, racism and cheating,’ as well as the president’s role in criminal hush-money payments, says a person familiar with his plans.”

Cohen’s explosive testimony will be the first time the Trump confidant has publicly accused the president of committing crimes while president.

The crimes will relate directly to the criminal scheme that Trump concocted whereby he paid a large sum of money to former porn star Stormy Daniels in order to buy her silence about their alleged sexual encounters. These encounters took place while Trump was married to his current wife Melania, and after their son Barron was born.

The Journal also is reporting that the former Trump Organization attorney will reveal to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday some of the president’s private financial statements. Also, he will accuse Trump of manipulating the value of his net worth for business and personal reasons, such as avoiding taxes on his property.

The financial statements were created by the president’s accountant, and Cohen is expected to testify that he has personal knowledge of lies, fraud and cheating by Trump on business deals. As the president’s attorney and fixer, and also as attorney for Trump’s business, Cohen was at the center of all Trump transactions for more than a decade. Thus he has personal knowledge of transactions and reportedly also has documents and recordings to back up his verbal testimony.

If Cohen provides enough evidence to prove that Donald Trump has committed felonies while an occupant of the Oval Office it will put more pressure on the Democratic House to move forward on investigations that could lead to the initiation of impeachment proceedings.

Cohen also will describe racist remarks Trump made to him, such as questioning the intelligence of black Americans and criticizing their lifestyles, according to the Journal’s reporting.

Cohen pleaded guilty in August to eight federal crimes, including tax evasion and making false statements to a bank, and in November to one count of lying to Congress.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.