NEW YORK (AP) - Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on a Trump real estate project in Russia.
Cohen made a surprise appearance Thursday in a New York courtroom to enter the plea.
He admitted making false statements in 2017 to a Senate intelligence committee about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.
Cohen said he lied about the timing of the tower negotiations and other details to be consistent with Trump's "political message."
In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to other federal charges involving his taxi businesses, bank fraud and his campaign work for Trump.
One of the prosecutors working with Special Counsel Robert Mueller was present in the courtroom.
Cohen has been cooperating with Mueller's probe.
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Reports: Former Trump attorney Cohen to plead guilty to lying to Congress in Russia probe
(RNN) - Michael Cohen, the former attorney and “fixer” for President Donald Trump, is expected to plead guilty Thursday to misleading members of Congress about details in the investigation of Russian interference in the election.
The Associated Press said Cohen’s guilty plea was related to false statements on a work he did to develop a Trump real estate project in Russia. He made a surprise appearance in a New York courtroom before a federal judge,
He was interviewed in 2017 by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal charges and said Trump directed him to arrange payments before the 2016 election to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and a former Playboy model who had alleged they had affairs with Trump.
Copyright 2018 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.
