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ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York - 18 January 2019
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:
"Late Thursday night BuzzFeed News broke a story that reports, according to some of their sources, that President Trump instructed his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen to lie on his behalf. To lie to Congress about the president's involvement with a real estate deal in Russia. Now it should be pointed out very carefully, The Associated Press has not confirmed this reporting yet. No other mainstream news outlet has as well. But lawmakers are responding. And It is certainly a major story today, Friday."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: New York - 12 December 2018
2. Michael Cohen exiting court after being sentenced to prison
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Washington - 29 November 2018
3. President Donald Trump walks out to talk to reporters
ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York - 18 January 2019
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:
"The new story suggests that the Donald Trump's involvement with the project did not end in 2015 or early 2016 as he initially had said but instead continued that the president and his family members including his adult children Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Junior who also worked at Trump Organization were getting updates throughout 2016. And that after the election, when Donald Trump was then president-elect he instructed Michael Cohen to lie about this to try to minimize Donald Trump's own involvement with the project. The BuzzFeed story goes on to say that as Michael Cohen was preparing to testify before Congress he again talked to the White House and Donald Trump who said to lie about that project."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Cleveland, Ohio - 21 July 2016
5. President Donald Trump at the RNC rehearsal, Ivanka and Paul Manfort off to the side
POOL
ARCHIVE: Fletcher, North Carolina - 21 October 2016
6. Donald Trump walks into campaign rally
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: New York - 12 December 2018
7. Cohen exiting court after being sentenced to three years in prison
ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York - 18 January 2019
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:
"If this is true then this means the president urged a witness to lie under oath before Congress, which would appear to be a pretty clear example of obstruction of justice which of course is a significant not potentially criminal charge but perhaps impeachable offense."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Washington - 29 November 2018
9. President Trump walks away from talking to press
ASSOCIATED PRESS
New York - 18 January 2019
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:
"Democratic lawmakers are seizing upon this. Adam Schiff who's the new chair of the House Intelligence Committee and others say that the House, the Congress will investigate these charges and if they feel that if true, I believe just phrase were, this would be the most serious offense yet. He suggests that these are the some of the most serious allegation the president currently faces and it is something that will stir up talk of impeachment."
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Lemire, Associated Press White House Reporter:
"So, it should be pointed out that the president's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani who's his lawyer for the Russia investigation gave a statement to me at the Associated Press saying that if this story was true I have basically I have the Brooklyn Bridge to sell you and suggested that it was not the case. This had never occurred."
The report by BuzzFeed News, citing two unnamed law enforcement officials, says that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress and that Cohen regularly briefed Trump on the Moscow project. The Associated Press has not independently confirmed the report.
The House intelligence committee chairman Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff said he will do what is necessary to confirm the report.
The story also says, citing the sources, that Cohen told special counsel Robert Mueller that Trump personally instructed him to lie about the timing of the project in order to obscure Trump's involvement.
The BuzzFeed story says that Mueller's investigators learned about Trump's directive "through interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents." The report says that Cohen then acknowledged Trump's instructions when he was interviewed by the Mueller team.
Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis didn't weigh in one way or the other whether this story was true but Lanny Davis simply said that "Michael Cohen is is someone who is full of regret for his longtime employment with President Trump. He worked for him for about a decade," according to AP White House reporter Jonathan Lemire.
Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, scoffed at the report, saying in a statement to the Associated Press "that if this story was true I have the Brooklyn Bridge to sell you and suggested that it was not the case. This had never occurred."
On Twitter Friday morning, Trump charged that Michael Cohen is "Lying to reduce his jail time!" even though he's already been sentenced. On Fox News Channel, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said that taking the story seriously was "absolutely ludicrous," but repeatedly refused to deny the central allegation that Trump directed Cohen to lie.
Cohen already pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress to cover up that he was negotiating the Trump Tower project in Moscow on Trump's behalf during the heat of his presidential campaign. The charge was brought by Mueller and was the result of his cooperation with that probe.
He was then sentenced in December to three years in prison for crimes that included arranging the payment of hush money to conceal his boss' alleged sexual affairs, telling a judge that he agreed time and again to cover up Trump's "dirty deeds" out of "blind loyalty."
Cohen is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee Feb. 7, where he will likely be questioned about the report.
