特朗普私人律师在国会爆炸性证词曝光（全文）

他告诉国会：美国总统特朗普是一个种族分子、一名诈骗犯、一个骗子。 唐纳德特朗普总统的前私人律师迈克尔科恩周三向国会提交爆炸性证词。

他是特朗普的前任“马仔”，曾经说他会为总统挡子弹，但今天，他会说他对特朗普的“错误忠诚”感到羞耻。他说他“爱”了不该爱的人， 他的心中满是伤痕； 他说他犯了不该犯的错， 心中充满懊悔。

在他向众议院监督委员会作证时，他还预计将包括一系列关于总统竞选的重磅炸弹指控。

　科恩与特朗普关系密切，是第一个可以为总统的不当行为提供直接证据的人。这也使他成为国会议员及特别检察官穆勒 (Robert Mueller)重视的证人。

　　科恩说，他非常感激有这个机会可以“洗白”、“说出真相”。去年他承认2017年在为莫斯科特朗普大楼的案件作证时做假证。他预计今年五月就要开始入狱服刑三年。

　　他说，他非常期待在周三向国会众议院监督委员会作证:“告诉全美国的人民我的故事”，然后“让美国人决定谁在说真话。”　　

　　与老东家决裂的关键人物

　　消息人士指出，科恩可能会让国会议员知道特朗普在当选后，如何多次关切莫斯科的“特朗普大楼”建设计划。其他国会议员关心的问题包括: 特朗普究竟如何支付封口费给艳星炫风丹尼尔与麦克道格 (Karen McDougal)? 特朗普对莫斯科的“特朗普大楼”知情多少? 特朗普集团财务长魏赛尔贝格(Allen H. Weisselberg)在特朗普身边扮演什么角色?

　　以上问题都很适合拿来询问科恩，但是如果是还在调查中的案件，例如穆勒的通俄门调查与纽约州跟特朗普有关的调查，科恩的回答范围就会受限。

　　根据CNN报导，周二的听证会把重点放在科恩所知的关于特朗普与其党羽和俄罗斯的来往的情形，以及科恩2017年撒的两个谎言。

　　　科恩去年承认自己作假证

　　科恩与特朗普关系密切，甚至曾经说过会为特朗普“挡子弹”。但在他去年和老东家翻脸之后，他承认自己逃税、诈欺以及违反选举经费相关法律。他还说特朗普罔顾选举经费法，指使他支付“封口费”给两个和特朗普发生性关系的女性。

　　特朗普发现科恩反咬他一口之后，称科恩为“老鼠”。白宫在周二甚至发表声明讥笑国会居然会邀请曾经说过谎的人前去作证，“看到他又有机会可以散播谣言感到十分可悲。”特朗普否认与莫斯科当局合作，美国情报机构指控俄罗斯干预选举，俄罗斯也斥为不实。

美国总统特朗普的前律师迈克尔·科恩星期三在国会表示，特朗普是“种族主义者……骗子……作弊者。”

今天的听证会议上，科恩对议员说，特朗普知道，在维基解密把黑客盗取的民主党全国委员会电邮信息公开之前，他的竞选顾问罗杰·斯通（Roger Stone）与维基解密创始人阿桑奇接触过，谈论把这些邮件信息公开将打击竞选对手希拉里·克林顿之事。

科恩说，特朗普在2016年竞选期间，他的公司在莫斯科开展建造摩天大楼的谈判，对于此事，特朗普知晓，并指示他对国会撒谎。特朗普在总统选举期间对选民表示，他在俄罗斯没有业务。

科恩说，特朗普从来就没有期望自己会赢得总统竞选。

科恩说：“唐纳德·特朗普竞选公职是为了让自己的品牌伟大，而不是让我们的国家伟大。他没有欲望或意图来领导这个国家——只是为了推销自己，扩大他的财富和权力。竞选对他来说，一直都是营销机会。”

科恩讲述了他为特朗普工作十多年的经历，之后表示，“他是种族主义者。他是个骗子。他是个作弊者。

科恩详细说明了特朗普给他报销的在2016年大选前他付给艳星丹尼尔斯（Stormy Daniels）的封口费。丹尼尔斯称十多年前与特朗普有过婚外情。科恩说，特朗普担任总统期间从他的个人账户签了11张支票，科恩给委员会提供了一张3.5万美元的支票复印件。

但是科恩表示，他没有直接的证据显示，特朗普竞选团队与俄罗斯之间有勾结。这个指控是特别检察官穆勒调查近两年的关键问题。科恩说：“我有怀疑。”

科恩说，可能的证据是，他听到特朗普和他儿子小唐纳德·特朗普之间的一场对话。科恩说，他认为，谈话的话题是2016年在纽约特朗普大厦中的一场会面。出席那场会面的有小特朗普，特朗普女婿、现在的白宫顾问库什那、特朗普的竞选经理保罗·马纳福特（Paul Manafort），以及与俄罗斯政府有联系的一名俄罗斯律师。

那场会面受到人们的审视，包括特别检察官穆勒。特朗普总统否认对那场谈话事先知情，有指控说，他的人在那里是为了获得可能对克林顿造成影响的信息，总统对此不以为然，表示这些行为“完全合法，在政治上也一直在做”。

科恩说，特朗普曾在一场拍卖会上安排一个假竞拍者，让这个人以6万美元拍下一幅特朗普画像，然后从特朗普的慈善基金会中划钱给这个人，这样特朗普就可以把画像挂在他的一个乡村俱乐部里。

科恩说：“特朗普是个作弊者。我的经历是，特朗普会为了自己的目的给自己的总资产注水，比如他试图跻身福布斯富豪榜的时候，而为了少交房产税，又会挤压资产价值。”

他还称特朗普是“种族主义者”，说特朗普经常蔑视黑人。

科恩说：“这个国家已经看到特朗普先生讨好白人至上主义者和偏执狂。你们已经听到他把穷国称为‘屎坑’。私下里，他更过分。他有次问我，我能不能说出一个黑人领导、不是‘屎坑’ 的国家。那还是奥巴马总统当美国总统的时候。我们有次开车经过芝加哥一个贫困社区，他说道，只有黑人才会那样生活。他还对我说过，黑人永远不会投他票，因为他们太蠢。”

科恩是1970年代水门丑闻以来到国会指证现任总统的最引人关注的证人。

美国上次经历过类似的事件是在1973年，当时前白宫律师约翰·迪恩（John Dean）在国会的作证也颇具戏剧性，他的证词暗示，尼克松总统和其他人试图掩盖水门事件。一年后，尼克松辞职，成为美国历史上第一位也是唯一一位这样做的总统。

以下是科恩的证词（全文，中文翻译仅供参考， 英文原文后附）

Cummings 主席，Jordan 委员和各位委员，感谢你今天邀请我来这里。

我已经要求本委员会确保我的家人免受总统威胁，并且委员会对与正在进行的调查有关的问题保持敏感。感谢您的帮助和理解。

我在这里宣誓改正记录，如实地回答委员会的问题，并向美国人民提供我对特朗普总统的了解。

我认识到你们中的一些人可能怀疑并攻击我的可信度。正是出于这个原因，我在本开篇陈述中加入了无可辩驳的文件，并证明您将听到的信息是准确和真实的。

我想象，当我在2007年接受为唐纳德特朗普工作的工作时，他有一天会竞选总统，在充满仇恨和不宽容的平台上发起一场竞选活动，并且实际上赢了。我对特朗普先生说“是”的那天感到遗憾。我很遗憾在途中给了他所有的帮助和支持。

我为自己的失败感到羞耻，并且我在纽约南区法院认罪，公开承认对他们负有责任。

我为自己的弱点和错误的忠诚感到羞耻 - 我为特朗普先生提供保护并协助他所做的事情。

我感到惭愧的是，我选择隐瞒特朗普先生的非法行为，而不是聆听自己的良心。我很惭愧，因为我知道特朗普先生到底是个什么样的人。

他是一个种族主义者。

他是个诈骗犯。

他是个骗子（作弊）。

当他还是一名总统候选人的时候，他知道Roger Stone正在与Julian Assange谈论维基解密的民主党全国委员会电子邮件。

我会在几分钟内解释每一个。
我今天向委员会提供了几份文件。
这些包括：

特朗普先生在他的个人银行账户中写完一张支票的副本 - 在他成为总统之后 - 偿还我为支付他与成人电影明星的绯闻所做的封口费，并防止他的竞选受损;

他向德意志银行等机构提供的2011年至2013年财务报表副本;

特朗普先生手写的一篇文章的副本，报告拍卖他自己的肖像 - 他提前安排了投标人，然后从他的非营利慈善基金会的帐户中偿还了投标人的照片。现在挂在他的一个乡村俱乐部;和

我在特朗普先生的指示下写的一些信件副本威胁到他的高中，大学和大学理事会不会公布他的成绩或SAT成绩。

我希望我今天在这里露面，我的认罪，以及我与执法机构的合作是沿着救赎之路迈出的一步，这将使我恢复信心，帮助这个国家更好地了解我们的总统。

在继续前进之前，我想向你们每个人以及整个国会道歉。

我最后一次出现在国会面前，我来保护特朗普先生。今天，我在这里讲述特朗普先生的真相。

我向国会撒谎说特朗普先生何时停止谈判俄罗斯的莫斯科塔项目。我说我们在2016年1月停止了谈判。这是错误的 - 我们的谈判在竞选期间持续了几个月。

特朗普先生没有直接告诉我向国会撒谎。这不是他的运作方式。
在我们在竞选期间进行的对话中，同时我在俄罗斯为他积极谈判，他会看着我并告诉我在俄罗斯没有生意，然后通过说同样的事情向美国人民撒谎事情。用他的方式，他告诉我撒谎。

爱荷华州核心小组在2016年1月和6月底之间至少有六次，他会问我“俄罗斯怎么样？” - 参考莫斯科塔项目。

您需要知道特朗普先生的私人律师审查并编辑了我向国会提交的有关莫斯科大厦谈判时间的陈述。

需要明确的是：特朗普先生知道并指导了整个竞选过程中的特朗普莫斯科项目谈判，并对此撒谎。他撒了谎，因为他从未期望赢得大选。他还说谎，因为他在莫斯科房地产项目上赚了数亿美元。

所以我也撒了谎 - 因为特朗普先生已经向我表明，通过他对我的个人陈述，我们都知道他们是虚假的，并且通过他对国家的谎言，他希望我撒谎。他向我明确表示，因为作为他的个人律师在我向国会提交之前审查了我的陈述。在过去的两年里，我被美国总统称为“老鼠”。事实真的很不一样，让我花一点时间来介绍一下自己。

我叫Michael Dean Cohen。

我是一位拥有24年幸福婚姻的丈夫和父亲，有令人难以置信的女儿和儿子。当我娶了我的妻子时，我答应她，我会爱她，珍惜她，保护她。正如我父亲在童年时代无数次说的那样，“你我的妻子，你我的孩子，是我呼吸的空气。”对我的劳拉，我的萨米和我的杰克来说，没有什么我不会做的来保护你。

我一直努力过一种忠诚，友谊，慷慨和同情的生活 - 我的父母从小就和我的兄弟姐妹和我一直根深蒂固的品质。由于其他人的同情和无私行为，我父亲在大屠杀中幸存下来。他得到了许多人的帮助，他们把自己置于伤害之中，以做他们认为正确的事情。

这就是为什么我的第一直觉一直是帮助那些有需要的人。爸爸妈妈......对不起，我让你失望了。

很多最了解我的人会说，如果他们需要帮助，我就是凌晨3点他们打电话要找的人。我自豪地记得当他们长大的时候，我的许多孩子的朋友都保持紧急联系，因为他们的父母知道我会放弃一切并照顾他们，就好像他们是我自己的一样。

然而，去年秋天，我在联邦法院认罪，以便在个人＃1的指导和协调下获益。

以下记录中：个人＃1号就是指总统唐纳德J.特朗普。

承认我有时会被野心所激励是痛苦的。更多的是承认，在我不应该这样做的时候，我多次忽视自己的良心并忠于一个男人，这更令人痛苦。今天坐在这里，唐纳德特朗普如此着迷我似乎难以置信，我愿意为他做些我知道绝对错误的事。

因此，我来到这里向我的家人，政府和美国人民道歉。

因此，现在让我告诉你特朗普先生到底是一个什么样的人。

我很了解他，十多年来与他密切合作，担任执行副总裁兼特别顾问，然后他当上总统后我担任他的个人律师。当我第一次见到特朗普先生时，他是一位成功的企业家，一位房地产巨头，也是一位偶像。在特朗普先生身边，令人陶醉。当你在他面前时，你觉得你参与的事情比你自己更大 - 你以某种方式改变世界。

十多年来，我一直在吹嘘特朗普的叙述。那是我的工作。永远留在消息上。始终保卫。它垄断了我的生活。起初，我主要从事房地产开发和其他商业交易。此后不久，特朗普先生带我进入他的个人生活和私人交易。随着时间的推移，我看到了他的真实性格。

特朗普先生是一个谜。他很复杂，就像我一样。他既有好有坏，也有我们所有人。但是坏事远远超过了好处，自上任以来，他已成为自己最糟糕的版本。他善于表现，但他并不善良。他有能力做出慷慨的行为，但他并不慷慨。他有能力忠诚，但他从根本上说是不忠诚的。

唐纳德特朗普是一个竞选公职的人，他的品牌很棒，而不是让我们的国家变得伟大。他没有想要或打算领导这个国家 - 只是为了推销自己并建立自己的财富和权力。特朗普经常说，这场竞选运动将成为“政治史上最伟大的电视购物节目”。

他从未期望赢得初选。他从未期望赢得大选。这场运动 - 对他而言 - 始终是一个营销机会。

我早些时候在为特朗普先生的工作中知道他会指示我撒谎来促进他的商业利益。我很惭愧地说，当它是私营部门的房地产大亨时，我认为这是微不足道的。作为总统，我认为这是重大而危险的。

但在混合中，特朗普先生的谎言已经正常化，周围没有人质疑它。公平地说，今天他周围没有人质疑它。

很多人都问我特朗普是否知道提前发布被黑客入侵的民主党全国委员会的电子邮件。答案是肯定的。

正如我之前所说，特朗普先生事先从罗杰斯通知道维基解密的电子邮件丢失。

2016年7月，也就是民主党大会前几天，当他的秘书宣布Roger Stone接到电话时，我在特朗普先生的办公室。特朗普先生把斯通先生放在免提电话上。斯通先生告诉特朗普，他刚刚与朱利安·阿桑奇通电话，阿桑奇先生告诉斯通先生，在几天之内，会有大量电子邮件泄露，这会损害希拉里·克林顿的竞选活动。

特朗普先生回应说“不会那么伟大”。

特朗普先生是种族主义者。这个国家已经看到特朗普先生认定白人至上主义者和偏执狂。你听过他称较贫穷的国家为“shitholes”。

在私下里，他更糟糕。他曾经问我，我是否可以说一个由一个不是“shithole”的黑人经营的国家。这是巴拉克奥巴马担任美国总统的时候。

虽然我们曾经驾车经过芝加哥一个苦苦挣扎的社区，但他评论说，只有黑人才能以这种方式生活。

而且，他告诉我，黑人永远不会投票给他，因为他们太愚蠢了。

然而我继续为他工作。

特朗普先生是个骗子。

如前所述，我今天向委员会提交了三年特朗普总统的财务报表，从2011年到2013年，他向德意志银行提供了购买布法罗比尔和福布斯的贷款。这些是我的证词中的附件1a，1b和1c。

根据我的经验，特朗普先生在服务于他的目的时夸大了他的总资产，例如试图被列入福布斯最富有的人之列，并缩减他的资产以减少他的房地产税。

我正在和你分享两篇报纸文章，这些文章是特朗普先生夸大和缩减其资产的例子，正如我所说，是为了符合他的经济利益。这些是我的证词的附件2。

正如我所指出的那样，我今天正在向委员会提交一篇他写的文章，并寄给我，报道拍卖特朗普先生的肖像。这是我的证词的图表3A。

特朗普先生指示我找一个稻草竞标者购买他在Art Hamptons活动中拍卖的肖像。目的是确保他的肖像最后拍卖，将在当天下午以任何肖像的最高价格出售。这个肖像是由假竞价者以60,000美元购买的。特朗普先生指挥特朗普基金会，该基金会应该是一个慈善组织，尽管为自己保留了艺术品，但还是要偿还这个虚假的竞标者。请参阅图表3B到我的证词。

毫无疑问，我的一个更常见的责任是，特朗普先生指示我打电话给企业主，其中许多是小企业，他们欠他们的服务钱，并告诉他们不付款或减少付款变得。当我告诉特朗普先生我的成功时，他实际上对此深有体会。

然而，我继续为他工作。

特朗普先生是个骗子。

他让我付钱给一个与他有染有关系的成年电影明星，并向他的妻子撒谎，我做了。对第一夫人说谎是我最大的遗憾之一。她是一个善良善良的人。我非常尊重她 - 她不应该这样。

我今天向委员会提供了一份13万美元的电汇，在总统竞选的最后几天，我从克利福德的律师那里获得电汇，这是克利福德女士要求她保持对特朗普事件的沉默。这是我的证词的附件4。

特朗普先生指示我使用自己的房屋净值信贷额度中的个人资金，以避免任何可能追溯到他的资金，这可能会对他的竞选产生负面影响。我也是这样做的 - 没有费心去考虑这是不合适的，更不用说这是正确的做法，也不会影响我，我的家人或公众。

我将入狱，部分原因是因为我决定在几天后投票之前帮助特朗普隐瞒美国人民的付款。

正如我的证词所示，我提供了一份35,000美元的支票副本，特朗普总统于2017年8月1日亲自从他的个人银行账户中签字 - 当时他是美国总统 - 根据掩盖情况，是我认罪的基础，我还要报销 - 特朗普先生的电视律师使用的字眼 - 我代表他支付的非法掏钱款。这笔35,000美元的支票是全年支付的11个支票分期之一 - 当时他是总统。

因此，美国总统为支付封口费而签发了个人支票，作为违反竞选财务法的刑事计划的一部分。您可以在美国纽约南区地方法院的诉状中找到特朗普先生指示的该计划的详细信息。

因此想象一下这一幕 -  2017年2月，他担任总统一个月后，我第一次在椭圆形办公室拜访特朗普总统。这真是令人敬畏，他正在向我展示并指向不同的画作，他告诉我一些影响......不要担心，迈克尔，你的1月和2月的报销支票即将到来。他们是来自纽约的FedExed，需要一段时间才能通过白宫系统。正如他所承诺的那样，我在不久之后收到第一张70,000美元的报销支票。

当我说conman骗子时，我说的是一个声称自己很聪明的男人，却指示我威胁他的高中，他的学院和大学理事会永远不会发布他的成绩或SAT成绩。

正如我所提到的，如果特朗普先生的成绩或SAT分数在未经他许可的情况下被披露，我今天就会向委员会提交一份我在特朗普先生的指示下发出的一封信的副本，这封信威胁这些学校的民事和刑事诉讼。这些是图表6。

特朗普先生在2011年强烈批评奥巴马总统没有发布他的成绩时，我并没有失去讽刺意味。正如你在图表7中所看到的那样，特朗普在称奥巴马总统为“一个可怕的学生”之后宣布“让他展示他的记录”。

可悲的事实是，我从未听过特朗普先生私下说任何让我相信他爱我们的国家或想要让它变得更好的事情。事实上，他做了相反的事情。

当他在2008年告诉我他将员工的薪水减半时 - 包括我的 - 他向我展示了他所声称的1000万美元国税局退税，他说他无法相信政府给予“像这样的人是多么愚蠢”他“那么多钱回来了。

在竞选期间，特朗普表示他不认为越战老兵，战俘，参议员约翰麦凯恩是“英雄”，因为他喜欢没有被捕的人。与此同时，特朗普先生责成我处理围绕他从越南草案中延期退休的负面新闻。

特朗普先生声称这是因为骨刺，但当我要求医疗记录时，他没有给我任何，并说没有手术。他告诉我不要回答记者提出的具体问题，而是简单地提出他接受医疗延期的事实。

他用以下评论完成了对话。 “你觉得我很蠢，我不去越南。”
我觉得特朗普总统讽刺的是，你现在在越南。
然而，我继续为他工作。

***
有人质疑我是否知道特朗普先生或他的竞选活动与俄罗斯勾结的直接证据。我不。我想说清楚。但是，我怀疑。

在2017年夏天的某个时候，我在媒体上看到，2016年6月在特朗普大厦举行了一次会议，涉及特朗普儿子Don Jr.和其他与俄罗斯人一起参加的活动，其中包括俄罗斯政府代表，以及一封电子邮件。主题为“希拉里克林顿的污点”的会议。这击起了我的想法。我记得和特朗普先生一起住在房间里，可能是在2016年6月初，当时发生了一些奇怪的事情。 Don Jr.走进房间，走在他父亲的办公桌后面 - 这本身就很不寻常。人们不仅仅是走在特朗普先生的办公桌后面与他交谈。我记得Don Jr.倾向于他的父亲并低声说话，我可以清楚地听到，并说：“会议已经完成了。”我记得特朗普先生说：“好的......让我知道。”

当我回顾并想到Don Jr.和他父亲之间的那次交流时，让我印象深刻的是，特朗普经常告诉我和其他人他的儿子Don Jr.对世界上任何人的判断最差。而且，Don Jr.永远不会单独召开任何重要的会议 - 当然也不会没有与他的父亲核实。

我也知道特朗普世界当时并没有任何事情发生，特别是竞选活动，没有特朗普先生的知识和认可。因此，我得出结论，Don Jr.指的是2016年6月特朗普大厦会议上关于希拉里与俄罗斯代表当天走在他父亲办公桌后面的污垢 - 特朗普先生知道这是会议Don Jr.谈到他说，“这很好......让我知道。”

***
在过去一年左右的时间里，我做了一些真实的灵魂探索。我现在看到，我的野心和特朗普权力的醉酒与我做出的错误决定有很大关系。
对你们，卡明斯主席，乔丹委员，本委员会其他成员以及众议院和参议院的其他成员，我很抱歉我的谎言和向国会撒谎。

对于我们的国家，我很抱歉在你最需要的时候积极地向你隐瞒特朗普先生的真相。

对于那些质疑我今天来到这里的动机的人，我理解。我撒了谎，但我不是骗子。我做了坏事，但我不是坏人。我已经解决了问题，但我不再是你的“修理者”（马仔），特朗普先生。

我要去监狱，打破了我努力为家人提供的安全保障。我的证词当然不能减轻我给家人和朋友带来的痛苦 - 没有什么可以做到的。我从来没有要求，也不会接受特朗普总统的赦免。

而且，到了今天，我已经让我的家人成为总统和他的律师进行个人的，肮脏的攻击的目标 - 试图恐吓我出现在这个小组面前。特朗普先生称我为选择说出真相的“老鼠” - 就像一个流氓在他的一个人决定与政府合作时会做的那样。

如图表8所示，我向委员会提供了特朗普先生张贴的推文副本，攻击我和我的家人 - 只有将他的头埋在沙子中的人才会认出他们是什么：鼓励某人伤害他们我和我的家人。

我从未想过他会对我的家人进行恶毒的虚假攻击 - 并释放他的电视律师也这样做。我希望这个委员会和过道两边的所有国会议员都会明确表示：作为一个国家，我们不应该容忍在国会面前恐吓证人，对证人家庭的袭击的任何企图也是不可接受的。

我要特别感谢佩洛西议长在图表9中维护我们的宪法和我，以及众议院常设情报委员会主席亚当希夫和卡明斯主席同样为了宪法和我的家人辩护，以防止宪法受到攻击，我也感谢那些许多谴责总统的共和党人。

我不是一个完美的人。我做过一些我并不感到骄傲的事情，并且我会在余生中接受我行为的后果。

但今天，我决定为孩子们设定的榜样，以及我如何改让 历史将如何记住我。我可能无法改变过去，但今天我可以在这里做为一位美国人应该做的事。

感谢您的关注。我很乐意回答委员会的问题。

特朗普在越南发推回应如下：

据路边社报道，调查唐纳德·特朗普总统的一个调查委员会希望解除特朗普的长期税务律师谢里·狄龙和前白宫副法律顾问斯特凡·帕萨蒂诺(Stefan Passantino)的职务。帕萨蒂诺负责总统的合规和职业道德信息披露。

看来，民主党人是在乘特朗普出访期间闹翻天呀；特朗普可能要急于回宫救火了。

以下是科恩的证词英文全文：

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 Committee be sensitive to the questions pertaining to ongoing investigations. Thank you for your help and for your understanding.

I am here under oath to correct the record, to answer the Committee's questions truthfully, and to offer the American people what I know about President Trump.

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.

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 campaign on a platform of hate and intolerance, and actually win. I regret the day I said "yes" to Mr. Trump. I regret all the help and support I gave him along the way.

I am ashamed of my own failings, and I publicly accepted responsibility for them by pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York.

I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty – of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him.

I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is.

He is a racist.

He is a conman.

He is a cheat.

He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails.

I will explain each in a few moments.

I am providing the Committee today with several documents.

These include:

• A copy of a check Mr. Trump wrote from his personal bank account – after he became president - 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;

• Copies of financial statements for 2011 – 2013 that he gave to such institutions as Deutsche Bank;

• A copy of an article with Mr. Trump's handwriting on it that reported on the auction of a portrait of himself – 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

• Copies of letters I wrote at Mr. Trump's direction that threatened his high school, colleges, and the College Board not to release his grades or SAT scores.

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.

***

Before going further, I want to apologize to each of you and to Congress as a whole.

The last time I appeared before Congress, I came to protect Mr. Trump. Today, I'm here to tell the truth about Mr. Trump.

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 – our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign.

Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. That's not how he operates.

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 me there's 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.

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 "How's it going in Russia?" – referring to the Moscow Tower project.

You need to know that Mr. Trump's personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it.

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.

And so I lied about it, too – 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 clear to me because his personal attorneys reviewed my statement before I gave it to Congress.

****

Over the past two years, I have been smeared as "a rat" by the President of the United States. The truth is much different, and let me take a brief moment to introduce myself.

My name is Michael Dean Cohen.

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, "you my wife, and you my children, are the air that I breathe." To my Laura, my Sami, and my Jake, there is nothing I wouldn't do to protect you.

I have always tried to live a life of loyalty, friendship, generosity, and compassion – 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's way to do what they knew was right.

That is why my first instinct has always been to help those in need. Mom and Dad…I am sorry that I let you down.

As many people that know me best would say, I am the person they would call at 3AM if they needed help. I proudly remember being the emergency contact for many of my children's 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.

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.

For the record: Individual #1 is President Donald J. Trump.

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 man 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.

For that reason, I have come here to apologize to my family, to the government, and to the American people.

***

Accordingly, let me now tell you about Mr. Trump.

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 -- that you were somehow changing the world.

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.

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.

Donald Trump is a man 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 – only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the "greatest infomercial in political history."

He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election. The campaign – for him – was always a marketing opportunity.

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.

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.

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.

As I earlier stated, Mr. Trump knew from Roger Stone in advance about the WikiLeaks drop of emails.

In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump's 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 couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of "wouldn't that be great."

Mr. Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries "shitholes."

In private, he is even worse. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn't a "shithole." This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States.

While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way.

And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid.

And yet I continued to work for him.

Mr. Trump is a cheat.

As previously stated, I'm giving the Committee today three years of President Trump's 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.

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.

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.

As I noted, I'm 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.

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.

And it should come as no surprise that one of my more common responsibilities was that Mr. Trump directed me to call 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.

And yet, I continued to work for him.

Mr. Trump is a conman.

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 – and she did not deserve that.

I am giving the Committee today a copy of the $130,000 wire transfer from me to Ms. Clifford's 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.

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 – 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.

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.

As Exhibit 5 to my testimony shows, I am providing a copy of a $35,000 check that President Trump personally signed from his personal bank account on August 1, 2017 – when he was President of the United States – pursuant to the cover-up, which was the basis of my guilty plea, to reimburse me – the word used by Mr. Trump's TV lawyer -- 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 – while he was President.

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.

So picture this scene – in February 2017, one month into his presidency, I'm visiting President Trump in the Oval Office for the first time. It's truly awe-inspiring, he's showing me around and pointing to different paintings, and he says to me something to the effect of…Don't worry, Michael, your January and February reimbursement checks are coming. They were FedExed 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.

When I say conman, I'm talking about a man 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.

As I mentioned, I'm giving the Committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr. Trump's direction threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr. Trump's grades or SAT scores were ever disclosed without his permission. These are Exhibit 6.

The irony wasn't 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 "Let him show his records" after calling President Obama "a terrible student."

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.

When telling me in 2008 that he was cutting employees' salaries in half – including mine – 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 "someone like him" that much money back.

During the campaign, Mr. Trump said he did not consider Vietnam Veteran, and Prisoner of War, Senator John McCain to be "a hero" because he likes people who weren't captured. At the same time, Mr. Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft.

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.

He finished the conversation with the following comment. "You think I'm stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam."

I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now.

And yet, I continued to work for him.

***

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.

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, "Dirt on Hillary Clinton." 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's desk – which in itself was unusual. People didn't just walk behind Mr. Trump's 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: "The meeting is all set." I remember Mr. Trump saying, "Ok good…let me know."

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 world. And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone – and certainly not without checking with his father.

I also knew that nothing went on in Trump world, especially the campaign, without Mr. Trump's knowledge and approval. So, I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting about dirt on Hillary with the Russian representative when he walked behind his dad's desk that day -- and that Mr. Trump knew that was the meeting Don Jr. was talking about when he said, "That's good…let me know."

***

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.

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.

To our nation, I am sorry for actively working to hide from you the truth about Mr. Trump when you needed it most.

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 man. I have fixed things, but I am no longer your "fixer," Mr. Trump.

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 the pain I caused my family and friends – nothing can do that. And I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from President Trump.

And, by coming today, I have caused my family to be the target of personal, scurrilous attacks by the President and his lawyer – trying to intimidate me from appearing before this panel. Mr. Trump called me a "rat" for choosing to tell the truth – much like a mobster would do when one of his men decides to cooperate with the government.

As Exhibit 8 shows, I have provided the Committee with copies of Tweets that Mr. Trump posted, attacking me and my family – 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.

I never imagined that he would engage in vicious, false attacks on my family – 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.

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 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.

I am not a perfect man. I have done things I am not proud of, and I will live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life.

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.

Thank you for your attention. I am happy to answer the Committee's questions.

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