Intel Dem: Trump must resign or be impeached if Cohen report is true

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) called for President Trump to resign or be impeached if a report about him directing his former longtime lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress is true.

If the @BuzzFeed story is true, President Trump must resign or be impeached.

— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) January 18, 2019

Castro, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, was referring to a report published by BuzzFeed News on Thursday night regarding Cohen’s misstatements to Congress.  

{mosads}Two federal law enforcement officials who were reportedly involved in an investigation into the matter told the outlet that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress about an effort to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump also reportedly supported a plan by Cohen to visit Russia to launch negotiations about the construction effort shortly before the 2016 presidential election.

The then-candidate also supported a plan to have Cohen meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the trip, BuzzFeed reported.

“Make it happen,” Trump allegedly told Cohen around the time.

Cohen admitted in November to making misstatements about the Trump Moscow property plans while testifying before two congressional intelligence committees.

He said he lied about his travel plans and how long the project was discussed with Trump Organization officials before the election.

Sources told BuzzFeed News that Trump personally directed Cohen to lie to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team about the projects in an effort to obscure his own involvement.

Mueller noted that Cohen’s false claim that the project was scrapped by January 2016 was an attempt to “minimize links between the Moscow Project and Individual 1 in hopes of limiting the ongoing Russia investigations.”

“Individual 1” is widely understood to be referring to Trump.

Rudy Giuliani, the president’s current attorney, reportedly dismissed the BuzzFeed News report in a statement to reporters after it was published.

“If you believe Cohen I can get you a great deal on the Brooklyn Bridge,” Giuliani said.

Just in, Rudy Giuliani’s response to Buzzfeed story: “If you believe Cohen I can get you a great deal on the Brooklyn Bridge.”

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) January 18, 2019

The report comes before Cohen is scheduled to testify again before Congress at a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing next month.