As expected, the testimony of Michael Cohen before Congress today has been both contentious and partisan. Questions from Republicans have been focused on destroying any credibility Cohen may have, while Democrats have focused on trying to tie his current convictions to Donald Trump.

Opening Statement

Cohen covered a lot of ground in his opening statement, calling Trump “a racist, a conman, a cheat.” He then outlined his reasoning for each of those statements.

Racist Comments

According to Cohen, Trump once asked him if he could “name a country run by a black person that wasn’t a ‘shithole’.” This was while Barack Obama was in office. Cohen also claims that Trump commented on a struggling Chicago neighborhood saying, that “only black people could live that way.”

Cohen also stated that Trump told him black people wouldn’t vote for him because “they were too stupid.”

Conman

Cohen provided a copy of a $35,000 reimbursement check personally signed by President Donald Trump for illegal hush money paid on his behalf. According to Cohen, this was one of 11 checks paid while Trump was President.

According to Cohen, Trump directed him to write threatening letters to his high school, colleges, and College Board to never release his SAT scores or grades.

Cheat

According to Cohen, Trump was not only aware of, but actively directed negotiations with, Russian entities regarding the Trump Tower project in Moscow far into the campaign.

Notable Moments from Questioning:

Cohen told Congressional leaders, “I would not ask for, nor would I accept a pardon from President Trump.”

When pressured as to whether Cohen’s testimony before Congress was a result of him not getting a job in the White House, Cohen stated: “I got exactly what I wanted,” by not being invited to the White House, and in fact, states he turned down jobs in the White House so he would not lose the attorney-client privilege.

When asked if Trump colluded with Russia, Cohen said he was not aware. However, when pressured, Cohen stated that “Trumps’s desire to win would lead him to work with anyone.”

Cohen told Congress that Trump knew of the DNC email dump ahead of time. “Nothing happens within the Trump organization that Donald Trump is not aware of.”

Trump has not abused controlled substances, has not paid for abortions.

Republicans continue to try to cast Cohen as a liar who is only out for personal gain, and that he had no blind loyalty to Trump as he claimed. In response, Cohen pointed out that the had already pleaded guilty to his own crimes, that he was before Congress to testify in regards to his time with Trump,

When asked whether the Trump administration ever stopped being about earning money for the Trump family, Cohen stated “Yes. When he won the election. Then it had to become about figuring out what to do in Washington.”

Cohen claims Trump’s lawyers “reviewed and edited,” his statement to Congress in regards to the timing of the Trump Tower Moscow project.

According to Cohen, Donald Trump lied under oath in 2013 in regards to his testimony about whether or not he knew convicted Russian mobster Felix Sater. Cohen stated that Sater’s office was on the 26th floor, the same floor where Trump’s office was, “and in fact,” said Cohen, “his office became my office.”

Cohen stated that it was his idea for Donald J. Trump to begin his campaign and that he conceived the idea in 2011 after seeing a poll where six percent of those polled said they would vote for Trump should he run for President in 2012.

Essential Consultants LLC. (Trump) was concerned there would be a check with his signature on it. He wanted it as far away from him as possible.

Mr. Cohen testified that Trump had involvement in manipulating polls before the elections.

“The more people who follow Mr. Trump, the more people who will be who I am.” Yes. More people will end up where I am.

When asked if he had any way to corroborate his testimony of conversations with Trump, Cohen stated “Mr. Trump does not have email. Mr. Trump does not text message.”

Cohen stated that Trump asked him to threaten or intimidate individuals over 500 times over the 10 years that they worked together.

Cohen testified that Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and CFO Adam Winzelberg conspired to commit criminal financial fraud.

When asked if Trump’s tax returns were actually being audited, Cohen stated: “I don’t know the answer. I asked for a copy of the audit so that I could use it in terms of my statements to the press, and I was never able to obtain one.” He continued, saying, “Statements that he has said to me is that what he didn’t want was to have an entire group of think tanks that are tax experts run through his tax return and start ripping it to pieces and then he’ll end up in an audit and he’ll ultimately have taxable consequences, penalties and so on.”

Closing Remarks

“Indeed, given my experience in working with Mr. Trump that if he loses the election in 2020 there will never be a peaceful transition of power.”

Jenn Bentley is a writer and editor originally from Cadiz, Kentucky. Her writing has been featured in publications such as The Examiner, The High Tech Society, FansShare, Yahoo News, and others. When she’s not writing or editing, Jenn spends her time raising money for Extra Life and advocating for autism awareness.