Then-candidate Donald Trump threatened lawsuits against his former schools and the College Board to prevent his grades and SAT scores from being released during the 2016 presidential campaign, Michael Cohen testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday.
Testifying before the House Oversight Committee, the president’s former attorney produced letters he said he had written at the direction of Mr. Trump to show that the president was “a conman and a crook.”
“When I say conman, I’m talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores,” Cohen said in his opening statement to the committee.
“As I mentioned, I’m giving the committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr. Trump’s direction threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr. Trump’s grades or SAT scores were ever disclosed without his permission.”
He also said that the “irony wasn’t lost” on him because “Mr. Trump had strongly criticized President Obama for not releasing his grades.”
During the 2012 election, Mr. Trump stated to the Associated Press that Mr. Obama was a “terrible student” and pushed for him to release his transcripts.
Mr. Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Cohen testified on Wednesday that he is “ashamed” for providing the president with “the help and support.”
Cohen is scheduled to begin serving a three-year prison sentence in May for tax evasion, campaign finance violations, bank fraud and lying to Congress.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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