Administration

Trump claims unrevealed Cohen book manuscript shows testimony was ‘total lie’

Stefani Reynolds

President Trump on Sunday renewed his attacks against his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, claiming that a manuscript Cohen allegedly wrote proved that the attorney’s congressional testimony last week was a “total lie.”

“After more than two years of Presidential Harassment, the only things that have been proven is that Democrats and other broke the law,” Trump tweeted. “The hostile Cohen testimony, given by a liar to reduce his prison time, proved no Collusion!”

{mosads}Trump has insisted that Cohen wrote a manuscript last year that was a “love letter” to Trump, contradicting his criticism of Trump in his congressional testimony. No manuscript has been publicly released, and Cohen’s publisher said he never turned one in.

Trump on Sunday maintained that Cohen’s unseen book manuscript proved his testimony was a lie. He said in a separate tweet that the “Fake Media won’t show it.” 

“I am an innocent man being persecuted by some very bad, conflicted & corrupt people in a Witch Hunt that is illegal & should never have been allowed to start – And only because I won the Election! Despite this, great success!” Trump said. 

Cohen, who was sentenced to prison last year after pleading guilty to financial crimes and campaign finance violations, publicly testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday. His testimony included several allegations that Trump committed crimes over the years. 

Among other things, Cohen said that Trump directed him to break the law and make a nondisclosure payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, who alleges she had an affair with the president.

Republican lawmakers dismissed Cohen’s credibility, pointing to his prior admission that he lied to Congress about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. 

Trump on Friday accused Cohen of committing perjury “on a scale not seen before,” citing the book manuscript as evidence. 

“Congress must demand the transcript of Michael Cohen’s new book, given to publishers a short time ago,” he wrote on Twitter. “Your heads will spin when you see the lies, misrepresentations and contradictions against his Thursday testimony. Like a different person! He is totally discredited!”

Cohen’s proposed book, which had been tentatively titled, “Trump Revolution: From The Tower to The White House, Understanding Donald J. Trump,” was scrapped in May 2018 due to the former fixer’s legal troubles, according to the Daily Beast

“We never saw a manuscript from Mr. Cohen,” Rolf Zettersten, the publisher of Center Street, the imprint that considered putting out Cohen’s book, told Politico last week.

Lanny Davis, an adviser and attorney for Cohen, told The Hill last week that Cohen had been offered a “substantial” advance last year for a book about the president. Davis said Cohen declined the offer. 

Tags Donald Trump

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.