Summary: President Donald Trump gave Fox News the exclusive scoop on his thoughts about Michael Cohen, North Korea, Ronny Jackson, and more.
For the first time, President Donald Trump acknowledged that Michael Cohen is representing him in his dealings with porn star Stormy Daniels, who has sued Cohen for the right to talk about her alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
Trump appeared on his favorite network, Fox News, on Thursday, and he spoke candidly about several topics, including his personal attorney, Cohen.
“He has a percentage of my overall legal work, a tiny, tiny little fraction, but Michael would represent me and represent me on some things. He represents me like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, he represented me. You know, from what I see, he did absolutely nothing wrong,” Trump said.
Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, acknowledged Trump’s interview later, seeming to express joy that the president was possibly incriminating himself. According to NPR, “Trump’s interview complicates legal matters for Cohen, who is dealing with a criminal investigation into his business practices in federal court in New York City. Cohen and lawyers for Trump asked a judge to restrict how much evidence prosecutors can review from an earlier FBI raid of Cohen’s home and office, citing the importance of attorney-client privilege.
“But Trump on Thursday downplayed his relationship with Cohen, saying the attorney barely represented him. Cohen, Trump said, is mostly a businessman and federal investigators are looking at that aspect of his life, not his legal work that might be connected to Trump.”
On Thursday, Trump did a half-hour interview with “Fox & Friends,” and he discussed Cohen, his plans for meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un, and his disdain for the FBI and Justice Department. Trump also discussed Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor that Trump wanted to nominate as the lead of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Regarding North Korea, Trump said that his willingness to engage with the volatile country has reduced the risk of nuclear war.
“It could be that I walk out quickly – with respect – but … it could be that maybe the meeting doesn’t even take place,” Trump told Fox News. “Who knows. But I can tell you right now they want to meet.”
Trump also discussed the FBI and the Department of Justice, and he threatened to seize control over the agencies, which he does not view as doing good jobs.
“You look at the corruption at the top of the FBI, it’s a disgrace. And our Justice Department – which I try and stay away from, but at some point I won’t – our Justice Department should be looking at that kind of stuff, not the nonsense of collusion with Russia. There is no collusion with me and everyone knows it,” Trump said.
“Fox & Friends” additionally asked Trump about his thoughts on Ronny Jackson withdrawing from his nomination to be the head of the Department of Veteran Affairs. Jackson had famously listed Trump’s height and weight as 6’3″ and 236 pounds, which the president’s liberal critics mocked relentlessly. This month, Trump announced that he wanted to nominate Jackson to the VA position, but skeletons from the doctor’s past emerged and Jackson withdrew.
“Doc Ronny — you know, we call him Doc Ronny, we call him Admiral Ronny. He’s an admiral, highly respected, a real leader,” Trump said. “You know, these are all false accusations that were made. These are false and they’re trying to destroy a man. By the way, I did say welcome to Washington. Welcome to the swamp. Welcome to the world of politics.”
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