Michael Cohen testified in front of the House Committee of Oversight and Reform on Wednesday regarding his relationship with Donald Trump.
“The last time I appeared before Congress, I came to protect Mr. Trump,” said Cohen. “Today, I’m here to tell the truth about Mr. Trump.”
Cohen testified that Trump continued the Moscow Tower negotiations “for months” during his presidential campaign. He also claimed that Roger Stone told Trump about the hacked Democratic National Convention emails before they were released.
Cohen clarified that when he pleaded guilty last year to using campaign funds to pay adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, he did so on Trump’s orders. He also claimed that Trump would frequently lie about his net worth—either exaggerating his assets to impress or minimizing his assets to avoid taxes.
During his testimony, Cohen called Trump “a racist,” “a conman” and “a cheat.”
“Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great,” said Cohen.
Cohen denied that Trump ever explicitly told him to lie to Congress. He also denied having any knowledge of collusion with Russia.