President Donald Trump accused Michael Cohen on Friday of perjuring himself before Congress while disparaging him repeatedly, after revelations that his former personal attorney was pitching a book weeks before being raided by the FBI.
The prospective book was allegedly supposed to be laudatory and not very critical of the president.
Michael Cohen’s book manuscript shows that he committed perjury on a scale not seen before. He must have forgotten about his book when he testified. What does Hillary Clinton’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, say about this one. Is he being paid by Crooked Hillary. Using her lawyer?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019
Congress must demand the transcript of Michael Cohen’s new book, given to publishers a short time ago. Your heads will spin when you see the lies, misrepresentations and contradictions against his Thursday testimony. Like a different person! He is totally discredited!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019
Cohen lambasted Trump during his testimony, saying, “He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat.” Cohen also charged, without evidence, that Trump knew Roger Stone, a longtime confidant of the president, was speaking with Julian Assange about Wikileaks’ release of Democratic emails during the 2016 presidential election. (RELATED: 2016 Cuomo Interview Suggests Cohen Lied During Congressional Testimony)
The former attorney also said that Trump had advance knowledge and directed a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to stop her from going public with an affair allegation against the president weeks ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Cohen’s blasting of Trump’s character, however, is in stark contrast to a book pitch, which the Daily Mail revealed late Thursday evening. The book pitch was about “understanding” the Trump mindset and appeared highly laudatory of the president.
Cohen’s book proposal came in January 2018 and did not offer any of the criticism of Trump. He was reportedly offered nearly $750,000.
“Everything he wanted to say about Trump was positive,” one publisher who was pitched on Cohen’s book told The Mail, adding, “even in our meeting, he was glowing with praise for the president.”
The proposal went nowhere after Cohen was raided by the FBI and later pleaded guilty to the U.S. Southern District of New York on multiple felony charges.
Cohen may have another shot, as he left open the possibility of signing a book or movie deal while testifying before Congress.
“Can you commit under oath that you have not and will not pursue a book or movie deal based on your experiences work for the president?” North Carolina Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx asked Cohen.
“No,” Cohen replied.
Foxx pressed Cohen further, saying, “Can you commit under oath that you will not pursue upward opportunities to provide commentary for a major network with your experiences working for the president?”
Cohen still appeared resistant to making such a promise.