Michael Cohen, Donald Trump Saga Reaching ‘Hysteria’ Levels, Chris Christie Says
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie commented today on the Michael Cohen vs. Donald Trump saga, The Hill reports.
“Everybody needs to take a step back here. There’s a certain level of hysteria that goes along with this story, the way it’s reported, and quite frankly I don’t think that what we know right now, what we know, merits that.”
Christie’s comments come following a bombshell CNN report published Thursday night. According to the report, Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, claims that then-candidate Donald Trump knew in advance about the June, 2016, meeting in Trump Tower, when Russians offered dirt on Trump’s political nemesis, Hillary Clinton.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, CNN reported that Cohen is willing to testify, and share the information with special counsel Robert Mueller. Cohen is slowly becoming a key piece of Mueller’s puzzle, after turning his back on his most prominent client, Donald Trump. Cohen’s claim would contradict denials by the president, his lawyers, and other members of the administration.
Cohen, according to CNN‘s sources, claims to have been present when Trump was informed of the Russians’ offer. He then allegedly approved going ahead with the meeting, in an effort to gather information and dig up dirt on Hillary Clinton. According to the same sources, Trump’s former lawyer does not have audio or video recordings to support his claims, but he is willing to testify.
On Friday, Trump once again denied knowledge of the meeting, writing on Twitter that he “did not know of the meeting,” and that “someone” is making everything up in order to “get himself out of an unrelated jam.”
Christie: Trump-Cohen speculation now at "hysteria" level https://t.co/9dhhRRGAXj pic.twitter.com/35oFJnNFvS
— The Hill (@thehill) July 29, 2018
According to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Cohen’s case has nothing to do with the Mueller investigation. Cohen, Christie claims, is out to make a deal, but he will not make a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller. Instead, Christie suggested, according to The Hill, Trump’s former attorney will make a deal with the Southern District of New York.
“Cohen still has to make a deal and that deal is probably not going to be with Bob Mueller. That deal is going to be with the Southern District of New York, who are the people who are investigating him for potential crimes and the ones who initiated the raid of his office and hotel room and home.”
For Christie, the way the media has been reporting on the Trump-Cohen rift may have reached the levels of hysteria; but for Robert Mueller, Cohen may turn out to be a valuable witness. As Politico reported, Cohen turned to Hillary and Bill Clinton’s former manager, Lanny Davis, to help.
Davis told Politico that he couldn’t answer questions about who Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer had been cooperating with, whether Robert Mueller or the U.S. attorney’s office in New York, but said that Cohen was “committed to telling the truth to whoever asks.”
