On Thursday, Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a possible Trump Organization real estate project in Moscow that was under consideration during the 2016 presidential campaign.
According to a court filing from special counsel Robert Mueller, Cohen told Congress in August 2017 that discussion of a Trump development project in Moscow ended in January 2016, but discussions about it in fact continued “as late as approximately June 2016” — the same month as the infamous Trump Tower meeting between top Trump campaign officials and a Kremlin-connected lawyer who promised to provide them with dirt on Hillary Clinton.
The filing also indicates Cohen discussed the deal directly with Trump more than three times, briefed his family members about it, and “agreed to travel to Russia in connection with the Moscow Project and took steps in contemplation of Individual 1’s possible travel to Russia.” (“Individual 1” is Trump.)
“I made these statements to be consistent with Individual 1’s political messaging and to be loyal to Individual 1,” Cohen reportedly said in court.
Read the full filing for yourself.
And you can read Michael Cohen’s plea agreement below.