President Trump deflected from legal problems engulfing his associates on Wednesday by claiming his only wrong move was beating Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
“The only thing that I have done wrong is to win an election that was expected to be won by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “The problem is, they forgot to campaign in numerous states!”
The only thing that I have done wrong is to win an election that was expected to be won by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. The problem is, they forgot to campaign in numerous states!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2018
Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Tuesday was found guilty by a federal court in Virginia of eight out of 18 tax and bank fraud charges stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
On the same day, Michael Cohen, the president’s longtime personal lawyer and fixer, pleaded guilty in front of a New York federal court to eight charges that emanated from a probe conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York following a referral from Mueller.
Cohen’s two campaign contribution charges are believed to be tied to nondisclosure agreements he brokered before the 2016 election for porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. He told the court Tuesday he had been directed to make the arrangements by an unnamed federal candidate in exchange for the women’s silence about claims they had extramarital affairs with the mystery individual.
Trump tried to distance himself from Cohen on Wednesday morning, chiding his skills as a legal professional and downplaying the seriousness of some of his admitted infractions.
“Michael Cohen plead guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations that are not a crime. President Obama had a big campaign finance violation and it was easily settled!” Trump tweeted.
Michael Cohen plead guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations that are not a crime. President Obama had a big campaign finance violation and it was easily settled!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2018
