Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Michael Cohen and Donald Trump.
- President Donald Trump on Monday said he believed his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen should serve a "full and complete sentence" over crimes he's pleaded guilty to.
- Trump claimed to have no connection to Cohen's crimes.
- Last week, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress over his involvement in a plan to build Trump Tower in Moscow.
President Donald Trump on Monday said he believed his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen should serve a "full and complete sentence" over crimes to which he's pleaded guilty.
Trump also claimed to have no connection to his ex-attorney's crimes, despite statements from Cohen to the contrary.
"'Michael Cohen asks judge for no Prison Time.' You mean he can do all of the TERRIBLE, unrelated to Trump, things having to do with fraud, big loans, Taxis, etc., and not serve a long prison term? He makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself, and get his wife and father-in-law (who has the money?) off Scott Free. He lied for this outcome and should, in my opinion, serve a full and complete sentence," Trump tweeted on Monday.
Read more: Michael Cohen's lawyers dropped a slew of intriguing bombshells about Trump in a new court filing
Last week, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress over his involvement in a plan to build Trump Tower in Moscow, claiming his dishonesty was motivated by his loyalty to the president and a desire to be consistent with his messaging. This came after a new plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller, who's leading an investigation into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign's alleged collusion.
Cohen's legal team asked a federal judge to consider sparing prison time in relation to his guilty pleas.
Cohen in August pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, tax evasion, and bank fraud, implicating Trump in relation to payments made to women with whom the president allegedly had affairs.
Trump has vehemently denied colluding with Russia and often refers to Mueller's investigation as a "witch hunt."