Trump knocks Cohen ahead of House testimony

President Trump on Wednesday sought to distance himself from Michael Cohen as his former personal attorney prepared to deliver testimony accusing the president of being a “conman,” a “racist” and a “cheat.”

“Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also,” Trump tweeted from Vietnam ahead of a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

{mosads}The president also noted that Cohen was recently disbarred and is no longer allowed to practice law in the state of New York.

“He did bad things unrelated to Trump,” the president added. “He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crooked’s lawyer!”

Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crooked’s lawyer!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019

Cohen is represented by Lanny Davis, a former contributor for The Hill who worked as an adviser for former President Clinton.

Trump’s early morning tweet marked his first comments ahead of Cohen’s testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

According to prepared testimony obtained by The Hill, Cohen will allege that Trump has a history of making racist remarks and of engaging directly in a scheme to pay off adult-film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Daniels alleges she had an affair with the president.

Cohen will also allege that the president knew ahead of time that Roger Stone, the Republican operative who worked as an informal adviser to Trump’s presidential campaign, coordinated with WikiLeaks to dump a tranche of Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 presidential race.  

Cohen, who worked for years as Trump’s personal attorney and fixer, was sentenced late last year to serve three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to campaign finance law violations, bank fraud, tax fraud and lying to Congress about the timing of negotiations for a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Trump and his allies have attacked his credibility, and the president has previously decried him as a “rat” and a “weak person.”

Cohen’s testimony is set to begin at 10 a.m., shortly after Trump will conclude his first set of talks with Kim in Vietnam.