Former Trump attorney and convicted felon Michael Cohen initially lied to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators, too, federal prosecutor Jeannie Rhee said at Cohen’s sentencing hearing Wednesday.
Cohen “initially repeated false statements” that he had made to Congress regarding the length and substance of Trump organization attempts to build a Trump Tower Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign, Rhee said.
Rhee said that Cohen has “intended to” slow down and divert the investigation through his lies, adding that the matter had “national importance and interest” due to its focus on the “question of links or coordination between a presidential campaign and a foreign government.”
Cohen pleaded guilty to one count of lying to Congress on Nov. 29, after revealing in a second September meeting with the special counsel that he had lied. He first contacted Mueller’s team in July.
Rhee added that the “government has agreed with Mr. Cohen to bring his assistance to your attention” in part because his cooperation had been “ranging and helpful.”