‘He knows, I know, others know’: Michael Cohen says Donald Trump directed him to pay hush money to quash sex scandal during 2016 election
- In a scathing interview with Good Morning America, Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen says Trump ‘does not deserve loyalty’
Michael Cohen, US President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, said Trump authorised hush money to two alleged mistresses because he was worried about how their stories would affect his chances for election in 2016.
“He knows the truth, I know the truth, others know the truth,” Cohen told ABC’s Good Morning America in a scathing interview broadcast Friday. “And here is the truth: People of the United States of America, people of the world, don’t believe what he is saying.”
Cohen added of Trump: “The man doesn’t tell the truth. And it is sad that I should take responsibility for his dirty deeds.”
ABC News broadcast the interview two days after a federal judge sentenced Cohen to three years in prison for campaign finance violations, tax evasion and lying to Congress.
Trump has blamed Cohen for the hush money scheme, saying Thursday on Twitter that “I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law.” He added: “He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law.”
During a Fox News interview later in the day, Trump insisted that whatever Cohen did, “he did on his own”.
