Michael Cohen Distances Himself From Trump: ‘I Put Family And Country First’
Michael Cohen Image by Getty Images
Michael Cohen repeatedly distanced himself from President Donald Trump in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Monday. He also hinted that he would soon air Trump’s dirty laundry.
The former Trump lawyer, who once claimed he would take a bullet for the president, refused to declare allegiance.
“My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will — I put family and country first,” he said. Cohen repeated this sentiment two more times and said he would not be a “punching bag” or allow anyone to paint him as a villain.
Cohen also countered Trump’s position on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, saying “I don’t like the term ‘witch-hunt.’ As an American, I repudiate any foreign government’s attempt to interfere in our democratic process and I would call on all Americans to do the same.”
“Simply accepting Putin’s denial is unsustainable,” he continued. “I choose to believe our intelligence agencies.”
Cohen then suggested that he has information to share on two possibly damaging issues for the President: the infamous Trump tower meeting when “dirt” on Hillary Clinton was promised, and the $130,000 hush money payout made to Stormy Daniels during the election.
However, Cohen continued to deflect, not revealing if Trump knew of the meeting and if he had requested or promised to reimburse the payment.
“I want to answer,” he said. “One day I will answer. But for now I can’t comment further on advice of my counsel.”
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at fisher@forward.com, or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
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