Presidential attorney Rudy Giuliani flatly denied allegations surfaced by Buzzfeed that former presidential attorney Michael Cohen was instructed by President Donald Trump to lie to Congress in a statement to reporters Friday.
“Any suggestion – from any source – that the President counseled Michael Cohen to lie is categorically false,” Giuliani declared, adding, to quote the prosecutors, that Cohen has traded on “a pattern of lies and dishonesty over an extended period of time,” and for that, “he is going to pay a very, very serious price.”
“Today’s claims are just more made-up lies born of Michael Cohen’s malice and desperation in an effort to reduce his sentence,” Giuliani continued.
Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and current lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks to members of the media during a White House Sports and Fitness Day at the South Lawn of the White House May 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The flat denial from Giuliani came after his initial cryptic reaction, saying, “If you believe Cohen, I can get you a good all-cash deal on the Brooklyn Bridge?”
Trump also referenced Cohen’s past history of lying and implicated his father in law’s possible legal jeopardy.
Kevin Corke, @FoxNews “Don’t forget, Michael Cohen has already been convicted of perjury and fraud, and as recently as this week, the Wall Street Journal has suggested that he may have stolen tens of thousands of dollars….” Lying to reduce his jail time! Watch father-in-law!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2019
Buzzfeed published a bombshell report Thursday evening alleging that Trump explicitly asked Cohen to lie to Congress about a real estate deal the Trump Organization was pursuing in Congress.
Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s attorney, walks to the Loews Regency hotel on Park Ave on April 13, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images)
“Two sources have told BuzzFeed News that Cohen also told the special counsel that after the election, the president personally instructed him to lie — by claiming that negotiations ended months earlier than they actually did — in order to obscure Trump’s involvement,” Buzzfeed claimed.
Cohen previously pleaded guilty in federal court to lying to Congress about the timeline concerning a real estate deal in Moscow, though he did not say in his court admission whether he lied at the direction of Trump.
Buzzfeed’s allegation has spawned an intense firestorm on Capitol Hill with Congressional Democrats promising they will investigate the allegation. Cohen is slated to testify before Congress in February. (RELATED: Michael Cohen Agrees To Testify Before Congress)