Cohen Watched Mueller Hearing With Fellow Inmates. He Was Disappointed.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 06: Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney to President Donald Trump, departs his Manhattan apartment for prison on May 06, 2019 in New York City. Cohen is due to report to a federal pri... NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 06: Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney to President Donald Trump, departs his Manhattan apartment for prison on May 06, 2019 in New York City. Cohen is due to report to a federal prison in Otisville, New York, where he will begin serving a three-year sentence for campaign finance violations, tax evasion and other crimes. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Former Trump attorney and federal inmate Michael Cohen wasn’t impressed with former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony on Wednesday.

In a statement to CNN, Cohen said he was disappointed by Mueller’s reluctance to answer questions on obstruction of justice.

“Mr. Mueller today had the world stage to answer questions regarding obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Sadly, his reluctance just continues to leave the debate open and those responsible free from prosecution … for the moment,” he told CNN. “The American people deserve more!”

Cohen also said the hearing confirmed that the “allegations raised against me” in the Christopher Steele dossier “were blatant lies.”

Cohen’s currently serving a three-year prison sentence for lying to Congress, violating campaign finance laws — because of his role in orchestrating a hush payment to a porn star for Trump — and various other financial crimes. He watched Wednesday’s hearing with fellow inmates in a crowded common room of the prison, according to CNN.

Before heading to jail, Cohen had his own time in the congressional limelight, when he testified that Trump was a racist and that he lied about how long he was pursuing the Trump Tower Moscow deal during the 2016 election, among other things.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Disappointed? No doubt. He went to jail while 90% of the co-conspirators are still dancing sans bars.

  2. Much better reporting, TPM.

    Adding context to reports gotten elsewhere is exactly what you guys should be doing.

    Otherwise, what’s the point of being a second-hand news source?

  3. “Mr. Mueller today had the world stage to answer questions regarding obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Sadly, his reluctance just continues to leave the debate open and those responsible free from prosecution … for the moment,” he told CNN. “The American people deserve more!”

    He has a better take than Peter Baker and with textual parsimony to boot.

  4. Mueller readily confirmed every example of Trump’s witness tampering that was brought up by the Dems. He confirmed every example of obstruction too. He did his job and his ability to ward off GOP alternative theories provided clear soundbites and messaging for the Dems.

    This isn’t about what Mueller did or didn’t do. The baton is now in the Dems’ hands. This is about Nancy Pelosi’s decision. Nothing else matters. Not Bill Barr. Not Donald Trump. Not Mitch McConnell. It’s all about Nancy.

  5. When one of the perpetrators is complaining about how yesterday went down, you have to know that it was handled badly.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

42 more replies

Participants

Avatar for discobot Avatar for jcs Avatar for brooklyndweller Avatar for mondfledermaus Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for clunkertruck Avatar for becca656 Avatar for bluinmaine Avatar for rick Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for 26degreesrising Avatar for longtimeobserver Avatar for tao Avatar for chresmo Avatar for barbara63 Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for wtfinsc Avatar for tiowally Avatar for khyber900 Avatar for aiddon Avatar for txlawyer Avatar for emiliano4

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: