{"id":79937,"date":"2019-02-27T04:26:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T09:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/michael-cohens-testimony\/"},"modified":"2019-02-27T04:26:00","modified_gmt":"2019-02-27T09:26:00","slug":"michael-cohens-testimony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/michael-cohens-testimony\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Cohen\u2019s Testimony"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Michael Cohen\u2019s Testimony<\/b><\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p><strong>TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL D. COHEN COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>FEBRUARY 27, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today.<\/p>\n<p>I have asked this Committee to ensure that my family be protected from Presidential threats, and that the Committee be sensitive to the questions pertaining to ongoing investigations. Thank you for your help and for your understanding.<\/p>\n<p>I am here under oath to correct the record, to answer the Committee\u2019s questions truthfully, and to offer the American people what I know about President Trump.<\/p>\n<p>I recognize that some of you may doubt and attack me on my credibility. It is for this reason that I have incorporated into this opening statement documents that are irrefutable, and demonstrate that the information you will hear is accurate and truthful.<\/p>\n<p>Never in a million years did I imagine, when I accepted a job in 2007 to work for Donald Trump, that he would one day run for President, launch a<\/p>\n<p>1<\/p>\n<p>campaign on a platform of hate and intolerance, and actually win. I regret the day I said \u201cyes\u201d to Mr. Trump. I regret all the help and support I gave him along the way.<\/p>\n<p>I am ashamed of my own failings, and I publicly accepted responsibility for them by pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York.<\/p>\n<p>I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty \u2013 of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him.<\/p>\n<p>I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump\u2019s illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience.<\/p>\n<p>I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist.<br \/>He is a conman.<br \/>He is a cheat.<\/p>\n<p>He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails.<\/p>\n<p>2<\/p>\n<p>I will explain each in a few moments.<\/p>\n<p>I am providing the Committee today with several documents. These include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A copy of a check Mr. Trump wrote from his personal bank account \u2013 after he became president \u2013 to reimburse me for the hush money payments I made to cover up his affair with an adult film star and prevent damage to his campaign;<\/li>\n<li>Copies of financial statements for 2011 \u2013 2013 that he gave to such institutions as Deutsche Bank;<\/li>\n<li>A copy of an article with Mr. Trump\u2019s handwriting on it that reported on the auction of a portrait of himself \u2013 he arranged for the bidder ahead of time and then reimbursed the bidder from the account of his non-profit charitable foundation, with the picture now hanging in one of his country clubs; and<\/li>\n<li>Copies of letters I wrote at Mr. Trump\u2019s direction that threatened his high school, colleges, and the College Board not to release his grades or SAT scores.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3<\/p>\n<p>I hope my appearance here today, my guilty plea, and my work with law enforcement agencies are steps along a path of redemption that will restore faith in me and help this country understand our president better.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>Before going further, I want to apologize to each of you and to Congress as a whole.<\/p>\n<p>The last time I appeared before Congress, I came to protect Mr. Trump. Today, I\u2019m here to tell the truth about Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n<p>I lied to Congress about when Mr. Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow Tower project in Russia. I stated that we stopped negotiating in January 2016. That was false \u2013 our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. That\u2019s not how he operates.<\/p>\n<p>In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell<\/p>\n<p>4<\/p>\n<p>me there\u2019s no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie.<\/p>\n<p>There were at least a half-dozen times between the Iowa Caucus in January 2016 and the end of June when he would ask me \u201cHow\u2019s it going in Russia?\u201d \u2013 referring to the Moscow Tower project.<\/p>\n<p>You need to know that Mr. Trump\u2019s personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it.<\/p>\n<p>To be clear: Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project.<\/p>\n<p>And so I lied about it, too \u2013 because Mr. Trump had made clear to me, through his personal statements to me that we both knew were false and through his lies to the country, that he wanted me to lie. And he made it<\/p>\n<p>5<\/p>\n<p>clear to me because his personal attorneys reviewed my statement before I gave it to Congress.<\/p>\n<p>****<\/p>\n<p>Over the past two years, I have been smeared as \u201ca rat\u201d by the President of the United States. The truth is much different, and let me take a brief moment to introduce myself.<\/p>\n<p>My name is Michael Dean Cohen.<\/p>\n<p>I am a blessed husband of 24 years and a father to an incredible daughter and son. When I married my wife, I promised her that I would love her, cherish her, and protect her. As my father said countless times throughout my childhood, \u201cyou my wife, and you my children, are the air that I breathe.\u201d To my Laura, my Sami, and my Jake, there is nothing I wouldn\u2019t do to protect you.<\/p>\n<p>I have always tried to <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/chaturbate.com\/in\/?tour=grq0&#38;campaign=hl4zp&#38;track=gfcsb\">live<\/a> a life of loyalty, friendship, generosity, and compassion \u2013 qualities my parents ingrained in my siblings and me since childhood. My father survived the Holocaust thanks to the compassion and selfless acts of others. He was helped by many who put themselves in harm\u2019s way to do what they knew was right.<\/p>\n<p>6<\/p>\n<p>That is why my first instinct has always been to help those in need. Mom and Dad\u2026I am sorry that I let you down.<\/p>\n<p>As many people that know me best would say, I am the person they would <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/chaturbate.com\/in\/?tour=grq0&#38;campaign=hl4zp&#38;track=gfcsb\">call<\/a> at 3AM if they needed help. I proudly remember being the emergency contact for many of my children\u2019s friends when they were growing up because their parents knew that I would drop everything and care for them as if they were my own.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, last fall I pled guilty in federal court to felonies for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in coordination with Individual #1.<\/p>\n<p>For the record: Individual #1 is President Donald J. Trump.<\/p>\n<p>It is painful to admit that I was motivated by ambition at times. It is even more painful to admit that many times I ignored my conscience and acted loyal to a <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/chaturbate.com\/in\/?tour=R2Xc&#38;campaign=hl4zp&#38;track=gfcsb\">man<\/a> when I should not have. Sitting here today, 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.<\/p>\n<p>For that reason, I have come here to apologize to my family, to the government, and to the American people.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>7<\/p>\n<p>Accordingly, let me now tell you about Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n<p>I got to know him very well, working very closely with him for more than 10 years, as his Executive Vice President and Special Counsel and then personal attorney when he became President. When I first met Mr. Trump, he was a successful entrepreneur, a real estate giant, and an icon. Being around Mr. Trump was intoxicating. When you were in his presence, you felt like you were involved in something greater than yourself \u2014 that you were somehow changing the world.<\/p>\n<p>I wound up touting the Trump narrative for over a decade. That was my job. Always stay on message. Always defend. It monopolized my life. At first, I worked mostly on real estate developments and other business transactions. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Trump brought me into his personal life and private dealings. Over time, I saw his true character revealed.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Trump is an enigma. He is complicated, as am I. He has both good and bad, as do we all. But the bad far outweighs the good, and since taking office, he has become the worst version of himself. He is capable of behaving kindly, but he is not kind. He is capable of committing acts of generosity, but he is not generous. He is capable of being loyal, but he is fundamentally disloyal.<\/p>\n<p>8<\/p>\n<p>Donald Trump is a <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/chaturbate.com\/in\/?tour=R2Xc&#38;campaign=hl4zp&#38;track=gfcsb\">man<\/a> who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation \u2013 only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the \u201cgreatest infomercial in political history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election. The campaign \u2013 for him \u2013 was always a marketing opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>I knew early on in my work for Mr. Trump that he would direct me to lie to further his business interests. I am ashamed to say, that when it was for a real estate mogul in the private sector, I considered it trivial. As the President, I consider it significant and dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>But in the mix, lying for Mr. Trump was normalized, and no one around him questioned it. In fairness, no one around him today questions it, either.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>9<\/p>\n<p>As I earlier stated, Mr. Trump knew from Roger Stone in advance about the WikiLeaks drop of emails.<\/p>\n<p>In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump\u2019s 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 <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/www.flirt4free.com\/live\/girls\/couples\/?mp_code=akftr\">couple<\/a> of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of \u201cwouldn\u2019t that be great.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/chaturbate.com\/in\/?tour=grq0&#38;campaign=hl4zp&#38;track=gfcsb\">call<\/a> poorer countries \u201cshitholes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In private, he is even worse.<\/p>\n<p>He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn\u2019t a \u201cshithole.\u201d This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States.<\/p>\n<p>10<\/p>\n<p>While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/chaturbate.com\/in\/?tour=grq0&#38;campaign=hl4zp&#38;track=gfcsb\">live<\/a> that way.<\/p>\n<p>And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid.<\/p>\n<p>And yet I continued to work for him.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Trump is a cheat.<\/p>\n<p>As previously stated, I\u2019m giving the Committee today three years of President Trump\u2019s financial statements, from 2011-2013, which he gave to Deutsche Bank to inquire about a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills and to Forbes. These are Exhibits 1a, 1b, and 1c to my testimony.<\/p>\n<p>It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes.<\/p>\n<p>I am sharing with you two newspaper articles, side by side, that are examples of Mr. Trump inflating and deflating his assets, as I said, to suit his financial interests. These are Exhibit 2 to my testimony.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>11<\/p>\n<p>As I noted, I\u2019m giving the Committee today an article he wrote on, and sent me, that reported on an auction of a portrait of Mr. Trump. This is Exhibit 3A to my testimony.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Trump directed me to find a straw bidder to purchase a portrait of him that was being auctioned at an Art Hamptons Event. The objective was to ensure that his portrait, which was going to be auctioned last, would go for the highest price of any portrait that afternoon. The portrait was purchased by the fake bidder for $60,000. Mr. Trump directed the Trump Foundation, which is supposed to be a charitable organization, to repay the fake bidder, despite keeping the art for himself. Please see Exhibit 3B to my testimony.<\/p>\n<p>And it should come as no surprise that one of my more common responsibilities was that Mr. Trump directed me to <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/chaturbate.com\/in\/?tour=grq0&#38;campaign=hl4zp&#38;track=gfcsb\">call<\/a> business owners, many of whom were small businesses, that were owed money for their services and told them no payment or a reduced payment would be coming. When I advised Mr. Trump of my success, he actually reveled in it.<\/p>\n<p>And yet, I continued to work for him.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>12<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Trump is a conman.<\/p>\n<p>He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie to his wife about it, which I did. Lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets. She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly \u2013 and she did not deserve that.<\/p>\n<p>I am giving the Committee today a copy of the $130,000 wire transfer from me to Ms. Clifford\u2019s attorney during the closing days of the presidential campaign that was demanded by Ms. Clifford to maintain her silence about her affair with Mr. Trump. This is Exhibit 4 to my testimony.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Trump directed me to use my own personal funds from a Home Equity Line of Credit to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign. I did that, too \u2013 without bothering to consider whether that was improper, much less whether it was the right thing to do or how it would impact me, my family, or the public.<\/p>\n<p>I am going to jail in part because of my decision to help Mr. Trump hide that payment from the American people before they voted a few days later.<\/p>\n<p>As Exhibit 5 to my testimony shows, I am providing a copy of a $35,000 check that President Trump\u00a0<em>personally\u00a0<\/em>signed from his\u00a0<em>personal\u00a0<\/em>bank<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>13<\/p>\n<p>account on August 1, 2017 \u2013 when he was President of the United States \u2013 pursuant to the cover-up, which was the basis of my guilty plea, to reimburse me \u2013 the word used by Mr. Trump\u2019s TV lawyer \u2014 for the illegal hush money I paid on his behalf. This $35,000 check was one of 11 check installments that was paid throughout the year \u2013 while he was President.<\/p>\n<p>The President of the United States thus wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws. You can find the details of that scheme, directed by Mr. Trump, in the pleadings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.<\/p>\n<p>So picture this scene \u2013 in February 2017, one month into his presidency, I\u2019m visiting President Trump in the Oval Office for the first time. It\u2019s truly awe-inspiring, he\u2019s showing me around and pointing to different paintings, and he says to me something to the effect of\u2026Don\u2019t worry, Michael, your January and February reimbursement checks are coming. They were Fed- Exed from New York and it takes a while for that to get through the White House system. As he promised, I received the first check for the reimbursement of $70,000 not long thereafter.<\/p>\n<p>14<\/p>\n<p>When I say conman, I\u2019m talking about a <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/chaturbate.com\/in\/?tour=R2Xc&#38;campaign=hl4zp&#38;track=gfcsb\">man<\/a> who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores.<\/p>\n<p>As I mentioned, I\u2019m giving the Committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr. Trump\u2019s direction threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr. Trump\u2019s grades or SAT scores were ever disclosed without his permission. These are Exhibit 6.<\/p>\n<p>The irony wasn\u2019t lost on me at the time that Mr. Trump in 2011 had strongly criticized President Obama for not releasing his grades. As you can see in Exhibit 7, Mr. Trump declared \u201cLet him show his records\u201d after calling President Obama \u201ca terrible student.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The sad fact is that I never heard Mr. Trump say anything in private that led me to believe he loved our nation or wanted to make it better. In fact, he did the opposite.<\/p>\n<p>When telling me in 2008 that he was cutting employees\u2019 salaries in half \u2013 including mine \u2013 he showed me what he claimed was a $10 million IRS tax refund, and he said that he could not believe how stupid the government was for giving \u201csomeone like him\u201d that much money back.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>15<\/p>\n<p>During the campaign, Mr. Trump said he did not consider Vietnam Veteran, and Prisoner of War, Senator John McCain to be \u201ca hero\u201d because he likes people who weren\u2019t captured. At the same time, Mr. Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment.<\/p>\n<p>He finished the conversation with the following comment. \u201cYou think I\u2019m stupid, I wasn\u2019t going to Vietnam.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now. And yet, I continued to work for him.<br \/>***<\/p>\n<p>Questions have been raised about whether I know of direct evidence that Mr. Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. I do not. I want to be clear. But, I have my suspicions.<\/p>\n<p>16<\/p>\n<p>Sometime in the summer of 2017, I read all over the media that there had been a meeting in Trump Tower in June 2016 involving Don Jr. and others from the campaign with Russians, including a representative of the Russian government, and an email setting up the meeting with the subject line, \u201cDirt on Hillary Clinton.\u201d Something clicked in my mind. I remember being in the room with Mr. Trump, probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. Don Jr. came into the room and walked behind his father\u2019s desk \u2013 which in itself was unusual. People didn\u2019t just walk behind Mr. Trump\u2019s desk to talk to him. I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: \u201cThe meeting is all set.\u201d I remember Mr. Trump saying, \u201cOk good\u2026let me know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What struck me as I looked back and thought about that exchange between Don Jr. and his father was, first, that Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the<br \/>world. And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone \u2013 and certainly not without checking with his father.<\/p>\n<p>I also knew that nothing went on in Trump world, especially the campaign, without Mr. Trump\u2019s knowledge and approval. So, I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to\u00a0<em>that\u00a0<\/em>June 2016 Trump Tower meeting about dirt on<\/p>\n<p>17<\/p>\n<p>Hillary with the Russian representative when he walked behind his dad\u2019s desk that day \u2014\u00a0<em>and\u00a0<\/em>that Mr. Trump knew that was the meeting Don Jr. was talking about when he said, \u201cThat\u2019s good\u2026let me know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Over the past year or so, I have done some real soul searching. I see now that my ambition and the intoxication of Trump power had much to do with the bad decisions I made.<\/p>\n<p>To you, Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, the other members of this Committee, and the other members of the House and Senate, I am sorry for my lies and for lying to Congress.<\/p>\n<p>To our nation, I am sorry for actively working to hide from you the truth about Mr. Trump when you needed it most.<\/p>\n<p>For those who question my motives for being here today, I understand. I have lied, but I am not a liar. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/chaturbate.com\/in\/?tour=R2Xc&#38;campaign=hl4zp&#38;track=gfcsb\">man<\/a>. I have fixed things, but I am no longer your \u201cfixer,\u201d Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n<p>I am going to prison and have shattered the safety and security that I tried so hard to provide for my family. My testimony certainly does not diminish<\/p>\n<p>18<\/p>\n<p>the pain I caused my family and friends \u2013 nothing can do that. And I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from President Trump.<\/p>\n<p>And, by coming today, I have caused my family to be the target of personal, scurrilous attacks by the President and his lawyer \u2013 trying to intimidate me from appearing before this panel. Mr. Trump called me a \u201crat\u201d for choosing to tell the truth \u2013 much like a mobster would do when one of his <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/chaturbate.com\/in\/?tour=R2Xc&#38;campaign=hl4zp&#38;track=gfcsb\">men<\/a> decides to cooperate with the government.<\/p>\n<p>As Exhibit 8 shows, I have provided the Committee with copies of Tweets that Mr. Trump posted, attacking me and my family \u2013 only someone burying his head in the sand would not recognize them for what they are: encouragement to someone to do harm to me and my family.<\/p>\n<p>I never imagined that he would engage in vicious, false attacks on my family \u2013 and unleash his TV-lawyer to do the same. I hope this committee and all members of Congress on both sides of the aisle will make it clear: As a nation, we should not tolerate attempts to intimidate witnesses before congress and attacks on family are out of bounds and not acceptable.<\/p>\n<p>I wish to especially thank Speaker Pelosi for her statements in Exhibit 9 to protect this institution and me, and the Chairman of the House Permanent<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>19<\/p>\n<p>Select Committee on Intelligence Adam Schiff and Chairman Cummings for likewise defending this institution and my family against the attacks by Mr. Trump, and also the many Republicans who have admonished the President as well.<\/p>\n<p>I am not a perfect <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/chaturbate.com\/in\/?tour=R2Xc&#38;campaign=hl4zp&#38;track=gfcsb\">man<\/a>. I have done things I am not proud of, and I will <a title=\"\" class=\"aalmanual\" target=\"_blank\"   href=\"https:\/\/chaturbate.com\/in\/?tour=grq0&#38;campaign=hl4zp&#38;track=gfcsb\">live<\/a> with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n<p>But today, I get to decide the example I set for my children and how I attempt to change how history will remember me. I may not be able to change the past, but I can do right by the American people here today.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you for your attention. I am happy to answer the Committee\u2019s questions.<\/p>\n<p>#####<\/p>\n<p>20<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.towleroad.com\/2019\/02\/michael-cohens-testimony\/\">Michael Cohen\u2019s Testimony<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.towleroad.com\/\">Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.towleroad.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?a=1ijLvlmoWmo:QyJww62jQEI:qj6IDK7rITs\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?d=qj6IDK7rITs\" border=\"0\"><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.towleroad.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?a=1ijLvlmoWmo:QyJww62jQEI:I9og5sOYxJI\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?d=I9og5sOYxJI\" border=\"0\"><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.towleroad.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?a=1ijLvlmoWmo:QyJww62jQEI:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.towleroad.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?a=1ijLvlmoWmo:QyJww62jQEI:gIN9vFwOqvQ\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?i=1ijLvlmoWmo:QyJww62jQEI:gIN9vFwOqvQ\" border=\"0\"><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.towleroad.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?a=1ijLvlmoWmo:QyJww62jQEI:cGdyc7Q-1BI\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?d=cGdyc7Q-1BI\" border=\"0\"><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.towleroad.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?a=1ijLvlmoWmo:QyJww62jQEI:YwkR-u9nhCs\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?d=YwkR-u9nhCs\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/towleroad\/feed\/~4\/1ijLvlmoWmo\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"NcpkaVW7qh\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.towleroad.com\/2019\/02\/michael-cohens-testimony\/\">Michael Cohen&#8217;s Testimony: READ<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Michael Cohen&#8217;s Testimony: READ&#8221; &#8212; Towleroad Gay News\" src=\"https:\/\/www.towleroad.com\/2019\/02\/michael-cohens-testimony\/embed\/#?secret=pkHHoeg3vR#?secret=NcpkaVW7qh\" data-secret=\"NcpkaVW7qh\" width=\"474\" height=\"267\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Cohen\u2019s Testimony TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL D. COHEN COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 27, 2019 Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today. I have asked this Committee to ensure that my family be protected from Presidential threats, and that the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/michael-cohens-testimony\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Michael Cohen\u2019s Testimony<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2466,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Michael Cohen\u2019s Testimony - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/michael-cohens-testimony\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michael Cohen\u2019s Testimony - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michael Cohen\u2019s Testimony TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL D. COHEN COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 27, 2019 Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today. I have asked this Committee to ensure that my family be protected from Presidential threats, and that the &hellip; Continue reading Michael Cohen\u2019s Testimony &rarr;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/michael-cohens-testimony\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-27T09:26:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?d=qj6IDK7rITs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"GayFriendschat.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gayfriendschat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gayfriendschat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GayFriendschat.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"19 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/michael-cohens-testimony\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/michael-cohens-testimony\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"GayFriendschat.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#\/schema\/person\/181913201d50f65b9bba7437f822a17f\"},\"headline\":\"Michael Cohen\u2019s Testimony\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-27T09:26:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/michael-cohens-testimony\/\"},\"wordCount\":3841,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/michael-cohens-testimony\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/towleroad\/feed?d=qj6IDK7rITs\",\"articleSection\":[\"NEWS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/michael-cohens-testimony\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/michael-cohens-testimony\/\",\"name\":\"Michael Cohen\u2019s Testimony - 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