Fiery accusations

Michael Cohen's most fiery accusations against Trump

The president's former fixer claims Trump knew about WikiLeaks, used threats to keep his grades secret, and boasted about dodging the draft.

By MATTHEW CHOI

Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer and fixer for Donald Trump, lodged a series of explosive accusations against the president in his prepared testimony before the House Oversight Committee, further incensing the man he once claimed he'd take a bullet for.

While many of the accusations are ones long posited by Trump's political adversaries, some of them are new claims that touch on Trump's obsessions with his personal image and public brand. Cohen also offered new evidence to support past allegations against the president, seeking to counter inevitable attacks from House Republicans that Cohen is an unreliable source.

Cohen has pleaded guilty to a litany of crimes including lying to Congress, but with his prison sentence set to begin next month, the former Trump crony has little to lose in bearing all.

Here are some of his most incendiary accusations from his prepared opening statement:

Trump had prior knowledge of the Trump Tower meeting with Russian agents at the center of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe
"Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world. And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone — and certainly not without checking with his father."

"So, I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting about dirt on 18 Hillary with the Russian representative when he walked behind his dad’s desk that day — and that Mr. Trump knew that was the meeting Don Jr. was talking about when he said, 'That’s good…let me know.'"

Michael Cohen hearing: Live video, testimony analysis & reaction
Trump's team communicated directly with WikiLeaks' Julian Assange about a drop of hacked Democratic emails
"Mr. [Roger] Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of 'wouldn’t that be great'.”

Trump cheated in his finances, cheated his business partners, lied about his net worth, cheated on his taxes ... and was proud of it
"When telling me in 2008 that he was cutting employees’ salaries in half — including mine — he showed me what he claimed was a $10 million IRS tax refund, and he said that he could not believe how stupid the government was for giving 'someone like him' that much money back."

Trump used threats to keep his academic record secret
"When I say conman, I’m talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores."

"The irony wasn’t lost on me at the time that Mr. Trump in 2011 had strongly criticized President Obama for not releasing his grades."

Trump regularly derided African Americans
"He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn’t a 'shithole.' This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States."

"While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid."

Trump prided himself in dodging the draft
"Mr. Trump claimed [his Vietnam draft deferment was] because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery."

"He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment. He finished the conversation with the following comment. 'You think I’m stupid, I wasn’t going to Vietnam'.”

Trump did not think he would win the presidency
"Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation — only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the 'greatest infomercial in political history'."

"He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election. The campaign — for him — was always a marketing opportunity."