Already fed up with the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, President Donald Trump took direct aim on Friday morning at the Congressional testimony this week of his one time personal lawyer, going on Twitter to lambaste former aide Michael Cohen in a series of tweets.
"He is totally discredited!" Mr. Trump wrote, hours after flying back from Vietnam, where the President was unable to secure a nuclear disarmament deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
In a series of posts on Friday morning, the President expressed specific irritation at questions being raised about his finances, accusing Democrats of using Cohen in the hope to find anything questionable about his past business dealings, as he said Cohen made "fraudulent and dishonest" statements in testimony before the House Oversight Committee.
The President's tweets came on the heels of an interview aired Thursday night with Sean Hannity on Fox News, in which Mr. Trump denied playing a role in approving a $130,000 payment made by Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen says the payment was directed by the President, as Mr. Trump's former lawyer produced copies of checks from both President Trump and the Trump Organization in 2017, paying Cohen back for fronting that money.
Cohen, who plead guilty to charges that the $130,000 payment was an illegal campaign contribution on behalf of the President, has said both in federal court - and this week in Congress - that Mr. Trump orchestrated the payment, worried that news of his affair with Daniels could cause trouble for his election bid.
Cohen testified three days this week before three different committees in Congress; he will return on March 6 for another closed door session with the House Intelligence Committee.
“We learned a lot,” said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), a member of that panel.
“Trump surrounded himself with crooks, of course he wants this to end. He’s getting very desperate,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA).
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