Former lawyer Michael Cohen does not know if President Trump was aware of the Trump Tower meeting beforehand, his lawyer Lanny Davis told Axios on Thursday.
The Senate Intelligence Committee released a statement on Tuesday after Mr. Cohen accepted a plea deal explaining that they “re-engaged” with him.
Mr. Cohen first testified on Capitol Hill in September 2017 and told lawmakers Mr. Trump did not know about the 2016 meeting between Russians and members of his campaign, including Donald Trump Jr.
“The Committee inquired of Mr. Cohen’s legal team as to whether Mr. Cohen stood by his testimony. They responded that he did stand by his testimony” the statement read.
Mr. Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis confirmed this with Axios’ Johnathan Swan.
“We had to be silent because of the sensitivity needed in the middle of a criminal investigation,” Mr. Davis told Mr. Swan.
In July, CNN reported that Mr. Cohen was willing to tell the exact opposite to the Mueller team. According to the reports, the president’s former lawyer said the president approved of the meeting when his eldest son told him about the plans.
Mr. Trump refuted the claims, and accused Mr. Cohen of using this new claim to get out of an unrelated “jam.”
…..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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2018
Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty on Tuesday to campaign finance violations, bank fraud and tax evasion. The charges were in connection to hush money payments he said were directed by the president.
Mr. Davis said on multiple TV interviews Wednesday that his client had information that would be of interest to the Mueller team regarding Russian hacking during the 2016 election.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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