Cohen testimony: Trump's 'possible illegal acts currently being investigated by prosecutors'

Michael Cohen has revealed he is not allowed to discuss his last conversation with Donald Trump with anyone, because it is currently part of ongoing investigations by federal prosecutors.

The president’s former attorney told lawmakers during a high-profile public testimony on Capitol Hill that he was aware of additional “illegal acts” by the president, adding that those alleged acts of misconduct were part of the Southern District of New York’s probe into the Trump Organization.

When asked whether he was aware of additional illegal wrongdoing besides what’s already publicly known about Mr Trump, Cohen responded, “Yes, and again those are part of the investigation that is currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York.”

Cohen said his final conversation with the president happened about two months after his hotel room was raided by the FBI in April 2018. But he declined to provide more specific details and said the matter was being investigated by federal prosecutors. He also said he had a conversation with the president prior to his first hearing with the House Intelligence Committee in which Mr Trump encouraged him to claim there was “no collusion” between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.

Democrats asked Cohen about details of his accusations against Trump, while Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee focused on assailing him and his credibility.

Accused at length by one GOP lawmaker of being a pathological liar, Cohen responded, “Sir, are you referring to me or the president?”

“I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty, of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him,” Cohen said. “I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump’s illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is.

Mr ​Trump, at a Vietnam hotel before a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and unable to ignore the drama playing out thousands of miles away, lashed out at Cohen on Twitter, saying his lawyer “did bad things unrelated to Trump” and “is lying in order to reduce his prison time.”

A judge already has set Cohen’s sentence, and Cohen’s cooperation will have no bearing on that term. Cohen, ahead of his appearance, said Tuesday that the American people could decide “exactly who is telling the truth” when he testified before the House committee.

“A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time,” Cohen said in his prepared testimony. “The answer is yes.”

Cohen said he does not have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has “suspicions.”

Of a meeting in Trump Tower between campaign advisers, including Mr Trump’s oldest son, and a Russian lawyer, Cohen said that the president had frequently told him that Donald Trump Jr “had the worst judgment of anyone in the world” and he “would never set up any meeting of any significance alone — and certainly not without checking with his father.”

Additional reporting by AP