President Donald Trump on Sunday repeated his lie that the Federal Bureau of Investigation “broke” into his former attorney Michael Cohen‘s property back in April. He called the lawyer, who implicated him in campaign finance violations, a “rat” for good measure.
Remember, Michael Cohen only became a “Rat” after the FBI did something which was absolutely unthinkable & unheard of until the Witch Hunt was illegally started. They BROKE INTO AN ATTORNEY’S OFFICE! Why didn’t they break into the DNC to get the Server, or Crooked’s office?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 16, 2018
FBI agents targeted Cohen in a search warrant executed in April. It reportedly targeted his office, home, and a hotel room. If this warrant was improperly obtained, it could’ve been a tool to fight prosecution, but Cohen pleaded guilty in August and November to financial crimes and lying to Congress about discussions with the Russian government about a Trump Tower deal in Moscow. He was sentenced to 36 months in prison.
The “rat” language didn’t play well with the president’s critics. They likened him to a mob boss for this turn of phrase.
The corrupt president of the United States just called his former national security adviser a “rat” and it’s not even his first use of mob language. Remember him talking about “flippers”?
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) December 16, 2018
On @FaceTheNation this morning, I said when @realDonaldTrump calls @MichaelCohen212 a “rat” for telling the truth and praises aides who stonewall, he sounds more like a mobster than @potus – the top law enforcement official in the government, and betrays his oath of office.
— Lanny Davis (@LannyDavis) December 16, 2018
The plea deal is quite problematic for the president. Prosecutors with the Southern District of New York say Cohen implicated Trump in campaign financial violations, though they pointed out the defendant never signed a cooperation agreement. The lawyer claimed his then-client paid off two women for silence amid the 2016 election. Porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal claimed to have had separate affairs with the real estate mogul.
Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani is attempting to utterly discredit Cohen. He said on Sunday that he told the former “fixer’s” attorneys that there would be a “no discussion of a pardon.” Giuliani suggested that Cohen “double-crossed” the president.
[Image via Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images]
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