Former President Donald Trump appeared to refer to disgraced former lawyer Michael Cohen, without mentioning him by name, during a press conference at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Friday morning.
The press conference came the day after Trump was found guilty in U.S. Supreme Court in Manhattan of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
WATCH — CNN’s Cooper: If I were on the jury I would “absolutely” doubt Michael Cohen’s testimony:
“Now I’m not allowed to use his name because of a gag order, but he’s a despicable person. Everybody knows that. It took me a while to find out, but he was competent. He certainly did his job, but he wasn’t a fixer. He was a lawyer,” Trump appeared to say about Cohen.
A broad gag order imposed on Trump by Judge Juan Marchant bars him from discussing Cohen or any witnesses, including Stormy Daniels, or his involvement in the trial and reports suggest he could face jail for any future violations, but he did not specifically mention Cohen by name during the press conference.
Michael Cohen leaves his apartment on his way to Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on May 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Nickinson)
Trump added: “They like to use the word ‘fixer,'” a term long used by the mainstream and establishment to describe Cohen in his capacity as Trump’s former lawyer.
WATCH — CNN’s Honig: Michael Cohen’s theft from Trump is a “much bigger crime than falsifying business records”:
“He was a lawyer. A fully licensed lawyer at the time. He got into trouble through no fault of mine, because he had outside dealings, he had to do with taxis and medals, he got into debt,” Trump said, arguing that this led Cohen to admit to election fraud he did not commit.
“And that’s why he went to court and pleaded guilty to three counts of election fraud. And when I saw that, I said, ‘Why would he do that?’ He pleaded guilty. He took a deal,” Trump added. “He took a deal because he wanted to get out. In other words, ‘I’ll take a plea deal, and I want to get out.'”
WATCH — Farrah Griffin: “I was stunned when Michael Cohen lied during his testimony.”
Cohen pleaded guilty in August 2018 to five counts of willful tax evasion, one count of making false bank statements, one count of making illegal campaign contributions and one count of excessive campaign contributions, the Department of Justice announced. I got it. at that time.
Trump said the Southern District of New York “wrote, I believe, the worst human rights report I’ve ever seen, other than the inspector general’s report on former FBI director James Comey.”
But Marchan said he refused to allow the defense to use the Southern District’s report on Cohen during the trial.
“He said, ‘That’s hearsay.’ I said, ‘That’s not hearsay.’ He wouldn’t let me use it,” he said.
