Michael Cohen's testimony taking place in Washington today before the House Oversight and Reform Committee likely has the Trump loyalist camp, if not the president himself, fuming. With an uncharacteristically vulnerable and even empathetic demeanor, President Trump's former "fixer" and right-hand man openly and passionately damned his former employer, describing him as a racist, con man, and cheat, The New York Times reported. He also lamented the president and his associates' mob mentality, explicitly stating that "To hurt me, Trump is trying to hurt my family."
It was a striking thing to see Cohen, tears in his eyes, describe not being able to even walk down a street with his wife, for fear of retaliatory violence cheered on by the president and his supporters.
At the same time, it's hard not to think of Cohen's similar tactical maneuvers in the past: "What I am going to do to you is going to be f*cking disgusting" comes to mind, courtesy of a reporter threatened for litigation. The table-turning of various Trump allies left in the dust has been almost Shakespearian, with likely more insights and revelations to be revealed as the White House administration's grip on leaks, former associate flips, and scandals come to the ultimate head.
Testimony reveals new insights on Russian alliance
Among the many hot topics covered in the Cohen testimony, probably the largest and most obvious was Trump's awareness of Russian support for his 2016 campaign. While Cohen admitted that he had no solid evidence to support Trump being aware of Russian collusion on the campaign trail, he stated that it was highly doubtful the then-presidential candidate was not aware of it, particularly with respect to the Trump Tower meeting infamously promising "dirt" on Hillary Clinton.
He also stated that Trump's willful lying about the Moscow-based Trump Tower negations occurred in part due to Mr. Trump's belief he would not clinch the presidency. "...he never expected to win," Cohen stated explicitly. "He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project." He reflected about his loyalty to Trump through the years, commenting that as a businessman he considered the mogul's dishonesty a trivial affair.
But as a presidential candidate, Cohen began to find it more sobering, and as he put it, more "dangerous."
"Sitting here today," he reflected grimly, "it seems unbelievable that I was so mesmerized by Donald Trump that I was willing to do things for him that I knew were absolutely wrong."
The Republicans hit back, call testimony 'shameful'
Naturally, Republican supporters and Trump loyalists did not take kindly to the Cohen testimony's allegations.
Words like "disgraceful" were thrown around at best, damnations such as "appalling" at worst - specifically the words of Republican senator Bob Gibbs of Ohio, lamenting the testimony's very existence in the first place. The president even found time to weigh in on the proceedings via his Twitter account, typing that Cohen was "lying" to reduce prison time and lamenting the testimony being concurrent to his reunion with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.
Democratic senator Steve Lynch of Massachusetts derided the Republicans' performance at the House Committee, particularly their focus on shadowy conspiracy theories and implied allegations of Clinton involvement.
"I don't think any of them asked any questions about the possible criminal actions of the president," he said, speaking directly to Esquire.
