Donald Trump calls ex-lawyer Cohen a 'rat'

17 December,2018 02:19 PM IST |  Washington  |  IANS

Remember, Michael Cohen only became a 'Rat' after the FBI did something which was absolutely unthinkable & unheard of until the Witch Hunt was illegally started, EFE news quoted Trump as saying in a tweet on Sunday

Donald Trump


President Donald Trump called his former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen - who was sentenced to three years in prison after cooperating with prosecutors in several investigations, including the so-called "Russia probe" - a "rat" on Twitter.

"Remember, Michael Cohen only became a 'Rat' after the FBI did something which was absolutely unthinkable & unheard of until the Witch Hunt was illegally started," EFE news quoted Trump as saying in a tweet on Sunday.

The term "rat" is traditionally used in organised crime to refer to a "turncoat" or "informer" who has confessed to authorities and given law enforcement authorities inside information about the organisation.

Trump went on to say in the same Twitter post: "They BROKE INTO AN ATTORNEY'S OFFICE! Why didn't they break into the DNC to get the Server, or Crooked's office?" The initials DNC refers to the Democratic National Committee and "Crooked" is one of Trump's favourite expressions for former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, whom he defeated in the 2016 election and whose use of a private email server to send certain official emails while she was secretary of state - deemed by the FBI to have been reckless but not harmful to national security - he continually mentions.

Cohen, who at one time had publicly said that he would "take a bullet" for Trump, was sentenced this past week to three years in prison for assorted crimes, including violating campaign finance laws in deeds which he testified under oath that the US President directed him to undertake.

Cohen was sentenced by a New York court for, among other things, paying hush money to two women who claimed to have had sexual encounters with Trump, but he was also handed prison time for matters linked to the Russia probe, including his involvement in a project to build a "Trump Tower" in Moscow.

Trump reacted this past week to the accusations against his former personal lawyer, tweeting "I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law."

Since May 2017, Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been heading an investigation - independent of government - into possible links between members of Trump's election campaign and the Kremlin, which US intelligence agencies accuse of interfering in the 2016 elections, but he has also been examining potential obstruction of justice by Trump himself.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
donald trump world news
Related Stories