President Donald Trump says he was a "little impressed" that his former personal attorney told Congress there was "no collusion" between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia.
Michael Cohen told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday that he had no "direct evidence" that Trump or his aides had colluded with Russia to get him elected. That's the primary question of a nearly two-year investigation being led by special counsel Robert Mueller. Cohen has turned on Trump and pleaded guilty to lying to Congress earlier to protect Trump.
Trump was in Vietnam on Thursday for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump says he tried to watch as much of Cohen's marathon congressional hearing as he could. He slammed the hearing as "fake" and said it was a "terrible thing" for Democrats to hold it during his summit.
Cohen, who was Trump's longtime fixer, is the first high-profile witness called before the committee as newly empowered Democrats pursue an aggressive effort to investigate the president.
Cohen played a pivotal role in buying the silence of a porn actress and a former Playboy Playmate who both alleged they had sex with Trump. The president has denied their claims.
Cohen has pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations connected to a $130,000 hush-money deal involving porn actress Stormy Daniels. She alleges an affair; Trump denies it.
Cohen says he personally paid Daniels. But Trump's current lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has said Cohen was repaid through a retainer agreement.
Prosecutors have said the Trump Organization paid Cohen in monthly installments to reimburse him for the Daniels' payment. They say Cohen used "sham" invoices to try to conceal the true nature of the payments.
A second check from March 2017 was signed by Donald Trump Jr. and Trump's chief financial officer.
Trump previously denied having any knowledge of such payments when asked by reporters.
Cohen is set to begin a three-year prison sentence in May.
In his prepared testimony, Cohen told Congress that he wouldn't ask for or accept a pardon from President Trump.
Cohen has pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations connected to the payments and to lying to Congress about a project in Russia.
Earlier, Trump distanced himself from Cohen in a tweet from Hanoi..
Trump insists Cohen was just "one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately)." He also says Cohen "had other clients also" and "did bad things unrelated to Trump."
Trump's eldest son Donald Trump Jr. tweets that Cohen's testimony sounded "like a breakup letter" and that it's "funny how things change when you're trying to save your ass."
Trump Jr. and Eric Trump suggest the longtime Trump loyalist is retaliating against the president after getting rejected for a White House job.
Eric Trump tweets Cohen was "lobbying EVERYONE" to be chief of staff and that it "was the biggest joke in the campaign." Cohen tells the committee he was never interested in such a position.
Eric Trump also took aim at Cohen's impending prison sentence by tweeting a Republican Party video about Cohen with the title, "Have Fun in Prison!"
(The Associated Press, CBS News contributed to this report.)
Rep. Mark Green: "So again, the majority party's star witness on the president's compliance is a guy who broke compliance laws himself." https://t.co/4McXejykRV pic.twitter.com/Vb1jnkhu1o
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 27, 2019
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to Cohen: "I see a guy who worked for ten years and trashed the guy he worked for for ten years... And now you're behaving just like everyone else who got fired or didn't get the job they wanted like Andy McCabe, like James Comey." https://t.co/4McXejykRV pic.twitter.com/3PiCPoyv7q
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 27, 2019
"I'm ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is," Cohen says in opening remarks. "He is a racist. He is a con man. And he is a cheat." https://t.co/4McXejykRV pic.twitter.com/PY6EhX0ULT
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 27, 2019
Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crooked’s lawyer!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019
