Trump reportedly instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about Trump Tower Moscow deal

• President Donald Trump's alleged involvement in a proposed deal to build one of his eponymous skyscrapers in Moscow reportedly goes deeper than Trump previously acknowledged, a report from BuzzFeed News indicates.
• Trump is said to have personally directed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about the negotiations on the deal, according to two unnamed law-enforcement sources cited in BuzzFeed's report.
• Cohen initially testified to congressional committees investigating ties between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives that discussions about the Trump Moscow deal ended in January 2016.
• He later admitted to the special counsel Robert Mueller's office that those talks had continued through June of that year. Cohen reportedly told Mueller that Trump asked him to lie.
• Additionally, Mueller learned of Trump's alleged instruction to Cohen through "multiple witnesses" along with documents, internal emails, and text messages from members of the Trump Organization, BuzzFeed reported.

President Donald Trump's alleged involvement in a proposed deal to build one of his eponymous skyscrapers in Moscow reportedly goes deeper than Trump previously acknowledged, a report from BuzzFeed News indicates.

Trump is said to have personally directed his longtime attorney, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress about the negotiations on the deal, according to two unnamed law-enforcement sources cited in BuzzFeed's report.

Cohen initially told congressional committees investigating the Trump campaign's ties to Russian operatives that the Trump Tower Moscow talks had ended in January 2016. He later admitted in a plea deal with the special counsel Robert Mueller's office that those talks continued through June of that year.

According to BuzzFeed's sources, Cohen told Mueller that after he won the 2016 election, Trump instructed him to lie about when the talks over that Moscow deal ended, "in order to obscure Trump's involvement."

In addition to Cohen's testimony to Mueller, the special counsel learned of Trump's alleged involvement through "multiple witnesses" along with documents, internal emails, and text messages from members of the Trump Organization, BuzzFeed reported.

The accusation that Trump personally instructed his then-attorney to lie to Congress, if true, could put the president in significant legal jeopardy, as such a claim could amount to obstruction of justice, a handful of Democratic lawmakers posited on social media Thursday night.

"This stunning Trump Tower Moscow story establishes a clear case of Obstruction of Justice, a felony," Rep. Ted Lieu of California wrote.

Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline said: "If the President directed Cohen to lie to Congress, that is obstruction of justice. Period. Full stop."

The obstruction of justice matter is one of several threads Mueller is examining as part of his team's Russia probe.

In a texted statement to The Daily Beast, Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said in response to the BuzzFeed report, "Haven't checked it out but if you believe Cohen I can get you a good all cash deal on the Brooklyn Bridge?"

Read the full story at BuzzFeed News »