Trump rips Cohen claim: He’s ‘trying to make up stories’

President Trump on Friday insisted he did not know about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting where Russians promised to offer damaging information on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, denying a CNN report that his former personal attorney Michael Cohen says he did.

“And so the Fake News doesn’t waste my time with dumb questions, NO, I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr,” Trump wrote in a series of early morning tweets.

{mosads}

Trump accused Cohen of making up the claim to get himself out of legal trouble from a federal investigation into his business practices, including his ownership of taxi medallions in New York City.

“Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?),” the president added, without referring to Cohen by name.

….,the only Collusion with Russia was with the Democrats, so now they are looking at my Tweets (along with 53 million other people) – the rigged Witch Hunt continues! How stupid and unfair to our Country….And so the Fake News doesn’t waste my time with dumb questions, NO,….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2018 

…..I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr. Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?). He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary’s lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2018

CNN reported Thursday that Cohen claims Trump had prior knowledge of the meeting between his son and a Kremlin-connected lawyer and is willing tell his account to special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Moscow’s election interference efforts in 2016. 

The back-and-forth marks a further escalation of the feud between Trump and Cohen, which poses legal and political problems for the president and for the White House.

Despite those risks, Trump and Cohen have continued to wage their legal battle in the court of public opinion.

The president on Friday morning also blasted Cohen’s decision to hire former Bill Clinton hand Lanny Davis as his attorney representing him in the matter. (Davis is a columnist for The Hill.)

“He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary’s lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!” Trump wrote. 

Trump also attacked Mueller’s team in response to reports it is examining his tweets in order to determine whether he obstructed justice in the Russia investigation.

“The only Collusion with Russia was with the Democrats, so now they are looking at my Tweets (along with 53 million other people) — the rigged Witch Hunt continues! How stupid and unfair to our Country,” Trump wrote. 

Arrived back in Washington last night from a very emotional reopening of a major U.S. Steel plant in Granite City, Illinois, only to be greeted with the ridiculous news that the highly conflicted Robert Mueller and his gang of 13 Angry Democrats obviously cannot find Collusion…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2018

The New York Times reported Thursday that Mueller is reviewing Trump’s tweets about Attorney General Jeff Sessions and fired FBI Director James Comey as possible evidence of witness tampering. 

Trump has repeatedly attacked the Mueller probe as a “witch hunt,” even though it has secured indictments or guilty pleas from 32 individuals, including four former Trump associates.