U.S. Department of Justice
Attorney Work Product // May Contain Material Protected Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e)
said that in those conversations the President's personal counsel would sometimes say that he had just been with the President.[1] Cohen recalled that the President's personal counsel told him the JDA was working well together and assured him that there was nothing there and if they stayed on message the investigations would come to an end soon.[2] At that time, Cohen's legal bills were being paid by the Trump Organization,[3] and Cohen was told not to worry because the investigations would be over by summer or fall of 2017.[4] Cohen said that the President's personal counsel also conveyed that, as part of the JDA, Cohen was protected, which he would not be if he "went rogue."[5] Cohen recalled that the President's personal counsel reminded him that "the President loves you" and told him that if he stayed on message, the President had his back.[6]
In August 2017, Cohen began drafting a statement about Trump Tower Moscow to submit to Congress along with his document production.[7] The final version of the statement contained several false statements about the project.[8] First, although the Trump Organization continued to pursue the project until at least June 2016, the statement said, "The proposal was under consideration at the Trump Organization from September 2015 until the end of January 2016. By the end of January 2016, I determined that the proposal was not feasible for a variety of business reasons and should not be pursued further. Based on my business determinations, the Trump Organization abandoned the proposal."[9] Second, although Cohen and candidate Trump had discussed possible travel to Russia by Trump to pursue the venture, the statement said, "Despite overtures by Mr. Sater, I never considered asking Mr. Trump to travel to Russia in connection with this proposal. I told Mr. Sater that Mr. Trump would not travel to Russia unless there was a definitive agreement in place."[10] Third, although Cohen had regularly briefed Trump on the status
- ↑ Cohen 11/20/18 302, at 6.
- ↑ Cohen 11/20/18 302, at 2, 4.
- ↑ Cohen 11/20/18 302, at 4.
- ↑ Cohen 9/18/18 302, at 8; Cohen 11/20/18 302, at 3–4.
- ↑ Cohen 11/20/18 302, at 4.
- ↑ Cohen 9/18/18 302, at 11; Cohen 11/20/18 302, at 2.
- ↑ P-SCO-000003680 and P-SCO-0000003687 (8/16/17 Email and Attachment, Michael Cohen's Counsel to Cohen). Cohen said it was not his idea to write a letter to Congress about Trump Tower Moscow, Cohen 9/18/18 302, at 7.
- ↑ P-SCO-00009478 (Statement of Michael D. Cohen, Esq. (Aug. 28, 2017)).
- ↑ P-SCO-00009478 (Statement of Michael D. Cohen, Esq. (Aug. 28, 2017)).
- ↑ P-SCO-00009478 (Statement of Michael D. Cohen, Esq. (Aug. 28, 2017)).
Trump Tower Moscow. The President's personal counsel declined and, through his own counsel, indicated that he could not disaggregate information he had obtained from Cohen from information he had obtained from other parties in the JDA. In view of the admonition this Office gave to Cohen's counsel to withhold communications that could be covered by privilege, the President's personal counsel's uncertainty about the provenance of his own knowledge, the burden on a privilege holder to establish the elements to support a claim of privilege, and the substance of the statements themselves, we have included relevant statements Cohen provided in this report. If the statements were to be used in a context beyond this report, further analysis could be warranted.
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