Trump on Cohen Testimony: One Thing 'Impressed' Him

Says Cohen 'lied a lot,' but at least he didn't claim direct knowledge of Russian collusion
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 28, 2019 5:53 AM CST
Updated Feb 28, 2019 6:41 AM CST
Trump Offers Barbs, Praise for Cohen After Hearing
President Trump speaks during a news conference after a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday in Hanoi, Vietnam.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Trump says he didn't watch "too much" of Michael Cohen's testimony Wednesday in front of the House Oversight Committee, but he had a lot to say Thursday about what he did manage to squeeze in. Trump, whose summit in Hanoi with North Korea's Kim Jong Un collapsed in the 11th hour, told reporters there he was unhappy with the timing of his former attorney's hearing and that Cohen "lied a lot" during his public testimony, the Washington Post reports. "Having a fake hearing like that, and having it in the middle of this very important summit, is really a terrible thing," Trump said, adding, "They could have made it two days later or next week."

CNN notes the hearing was a "distraction" for Trump, who—unlike Donald Trump Jr., who spent Wednesday live-tweeting Cohen's testimony—only got in one tweet about it while he was overseas. Although it seems obvious the president would take issue with Cohen's branding of him as a "racist" and "cheat," among other things, Trump did give a nod to Cohen for one thing. "He said no collusion with the Russian hoax," Trump said. "And I said, 'I wonder why he didn't lie about that, too, like he did about everything else.' ... I was, you know, a little impressed by that, frankly." The Post notes that Cohen didn't quite say "no collusion" and cites these lines from his opening statement: "Questions have been raised about whether I know of direct evidence that Mr. Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. I do not. And I want to be clear, that I have my suspicions." (More President Trump stories.)

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