Brutal week

Trump punches back at Cohen, Sessions following brutal week

By QUINT FORGEY

President Donald Trump punched back on Twitter on Saturday morning following a week of legal bombshells, again claiming he was not aware of the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting and accusing Attorney General Jeff Sessions of not knowing what is going on at his own Justice Department.

“Michaels Cohen’s attorney clarified the record, saying his client does not know if President Trump knew about the Trump Tower meeting (out of which came nothing!),” the president wrote. “The answer is that I did NOT know about the meeting. Just another phony story by the Fake News Media!”

Cohen, Trump’s longtime personal attorney, entered a plea deal with federal prosecutors on Tuesday claiming that then-candidate Trump directed him to make “hush money” payments to various women to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.

In addition to those allegations of campaign finance violations, POLITICO previously reported that Cohen is prepared to tell special counsel Robert Mueller that Trump knew about and approved the Trump Tower meeting between his campaign officials and a Russian lawyer who promised damaging information on Hillary Clinton. Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, has since sought to clarify those claims in a round of media interviews.

In attendance at that meeting were Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort — who was convicted Tuesday in federal court on eight counts of bank and tax fraud.

In another tweet on Saturday, Trump renewed his days-long attack on his administration’s top law enforcement official, writing: “Jeff Sessions said he wouldn’t allow politics to influence him only because he doesn’t understand what is happening underneath his command position. Highly conflicted Bob Mueller and his gang of 17 Angry Dems are having a field day as real corruption goes untouched. No Collusion!”

After GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham stoked speculation on Thursday that Sessions may be fired following the midterm elections, the attorney general said in a DOJ statement that “the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations.”

Trump re-upped Graham’s implicit criticism of Sessions on Saturday, tweeting a quote from the South Carolina lawmaker: ".@LindseyGrahamSC Every President deserves an Attorney General they have confidence in. I believe every President has a right to their Cabinet, these are not lifetime appointments. You serve at the pleasure of the President."

In quick succession Trump then criticized the FBI's previous investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state, charging "corruption" and pledging "at some point I might have to get involved!"

In a tweet posted about 6 a.m., Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani appeared to offer Mueller a deal amid the ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election: "Just a few days before 60 day run-up to 2018 elections. If Mueller wants to show he’s not partisan, then issue a report on collusion and obstruction. They will show President Trump did nothing wrong. Then we will have to admit you were fair. And we will."