Trump rips Cohen in tweetstorm: He ‘committed perjury on a scale not seen before’

President Trump on Friday sought to undermine the credibility of his former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who delivered explosive testimony on Capitol Hill depicting the president as a “racist” and “con man” who engaged in criminality.

In a string of morning tweets, Trump cited a book proposal Cohen reportedly drafted that paints the president in a more positive light.

“Michael Cohen’s book manuscript shows that he committed perjury on a scale not seen before,” Trump wrote.{mosads}

The president demanded that Congress obtain a “transcript” of the new book, which he claimed has been completed, because “your heads will spin when you see the lies, misrepresentations and contradictions against his Thursday testimony.”

“Like a different person! He is totally discredited!” Trump wrote.

Michael Cohen’s book manuscript shows that he committed perjury on a scale not seen before. He must have forgotten about his book when he testified. What does Hillary Clinton’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, say about this one. Is he being paid by Crooked Hillary. Using her lawyer?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019

Trump’s attacks on Cohen are his latest attempt to limit the damage from his former lawyer’s testimony, in which Cohen claimed Trump was privy to a bevy of financial crimes and efforts by Roger Stone to contact WikiLeaks about emails Russia stole from Democrats during the 2016 presidential race.

Cohen also apologized for lying to Congress, a crime for which he pleaded guilty, and sought to explain why he worked for Trump for more than a decade despite his stated misgivings about Trump’s behavior.

Trump’s broadsides follow an effort by members of his family and his Republican allies in Congress to undercut Cohen by accusing him of lying about the president.

GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Mark Meadows (N.C.) on Thursday asked the Justice Department to investigate Cohen for perjury, saying he did not tell the truth when he testified that he did not want a job in the Trump White House.

Trump said the book exposes Cohen’s “phony reasons for going rogue” and is the “exact opposite of his fake testimony, which now is a lie!” 

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

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019

Wow, just revealed that Michael Cohen wrote a “love letter to Trump” manuscript for a new book that he was pushing. Written and submitted long after Charlottesville and Helsinki, his phony reasons for going rogue. Book is exact opposite of his fake testimony, which now is a lie!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2019

“Michael was lobbying EVERYONE to be ‘Chief of Staff.’ It was the biggest joke in the campaign and around the office. Did he just perjure himself again?” the president’s son Eric Trump tweeted on Wednesday during Cohen’s hearing.

Lanny Davis, an adviser and attorney for Cohen, denied those claims and said his client “testified truthfully” to the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

“It may not be surprising that two pro-Trump committee members … have a baseless criminal referral,” Davis said in a statement. “In my opinion, it is a sad misuse of the criminal justice system with the aura of pure partisanship.”

Trump on Friday also sought to undercut Davis by pointing to his past work for former President Clinton and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“[Cohen] must have forgotten about his book when he testified. What does Hillary Clinton’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, say about this one. Is he being paid by Crooked Hillary. Using her lawyer?” the president wrote.

Trump unloaded on Cohen after the Daily Mail resurfaced reporting on Friday that Cohen proposed a book titled “Trump Revolution: From the Tower to the White House, Understanding Donald J. Trump,” a mostly positive portrayal of his former boss he proposed to publishers weeks before the FBI raided his home last year.

“Wow, just revealed that Michael Cohen wrote a ‘love letter to Trump’ manuscript for a new book that he was pushing,” the president wrote, quoting journalist Liz Plank’s description of the book proposal during an MSNBC interview in February 2018.{mossecondads}

Trump said the apparent contradiction between Cohen’s reported book and his testimony shows “it’s time to stop this corrupt and illegally brought Witch Hunt. Time to start looking at the other side where real crimes were committed,” referring to Democrats.

Davis, an opinion contributor to The Hill, pushed back on Trump’s claims in a statement later Friday, stating that Cohen was offered a “substantial” advance early last year for a book proposal on “understanding Donald Trump” that he declined to take. 

“Sometime in early 2018, Mr. Cohen was offered a substantial advance for a proposal regarding a book on understanding Donald Trump. Mr. Cohen ultimately elected not to proceed,” Davis said in the statement.

“In other words, POTUS has yet lied again…but what’s the difference between 9000 or 9001 lies?” he added.

The president has long decried special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between his campaign and Russia’s election interference. Mueller is expected to end the probe soon and deliver a report to the Justice Department on his conclusions.

Trump made his latest comments shortly after returning from a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam.

At a post-summit news conference in Vietnam on Thursday, the president blasted Cohen’s testimony but said he was “a little impressed” his former personal lawyer claimed there was “no collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election.

But overall, Trump said, “It was pretty shameful, I think.”

Updated at 4:41 p.m.