Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen: “A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time. And the answer is yes.” t.co/v4EeW4fQiI
Michael Cohen alleges that Donald Trump knew that WikiLeaks had access to hacked Democratic National Committee emails and planned to release them in an effort to damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
He made that allegation in testimony before the House Oversight Committee on February 27, 2019.
Here’s what you need to know.
Michael Cohen Claimed Roger Stone Told Donald Trump About Wikileaks’ Plans to Release the Stolen Emails
GettyMichael Cohen, former attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump is sworn in before testifying before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill February 27, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Michael Cohen stated in his prepared opening remarks before the House Oversight Committee that Donald Trump knew about the hacked DNC emails. He claimed that Roger Stone, a political consultant and longtime ally of Trump, told him about Wikileaks’ plans over the phone. Cohen said he was in the room at the time and that Trump put the call on speakerphone.
His prepared statement included:
“A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time. The answer is yes.
As I earlier stated, Mr. Trump knew from Roger Stone in advance about the WikiLeaks drop of emails. In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump’s office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone.
Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. 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.'”
Roger Stone Was Charged With Lying to Congress About Alleged Communications With Wikileaks
Roger Stone is in legal jeopardy over those aforementioned alleged communications with Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange. Stone was indicted in federal court in January of 2019 on charges including obstruction, witness tampering, and making false statements.
In the indictment, embedded above, Special Counsel Robert Mueller laid out evidence explaining that Stone had advance knowledge of when the emails would be released and that they could be embarrassing to the Hillary Clinton campaign. It’s important to note that Stone was not charged for reportedly speaking with Assange or his associates. Rather, Stone was charged because Mueller said he lied about those communications in closed-door testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on September 26, 2017.
GettyRoger Stone, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, exits the Federal Courthouse after he’s indicted in Mueller probe.
The indictment goes on to say that “senior Trump campaign officials” urged Stone to keep them informed about upcoming Wikileaks releases. Wikileaks is referred to as “Organization 1” in the document.
Stone will be unable to comment publicly about Cohen’s allegations. He is under a complete gag order after posting a photo of D.C. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, that appeared to include crosshairs near her head. Stone is prohibited from speaking to the media or posting to social media.
