By Doha Madani and Tom Winter - NBC News
In his forthcoming book, Michael Cohen, former attorney for the president, Donald Trump, alleges that Trump conspired with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election.
Among many other accusations, Cohen says Trump worked to get closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin and "his circle of corrupt billionaire oligarchs," according to an excerpt published Thursday from the book, Unfair, a Memoir .
Cohen claims Trump lied when he said he had no deals in Russia , because he himself personally oversaw the now-president's efforts to secure a major Moscow real estate deal during the campaign.
[Follow our coverage of the 2020 presidential elections]
“Trump had conspired with the Russians, but not in the sophisticated way imagined by his detractors. I also knew that the Mueller investigation was not a witch hunt, ”Cohen wrote, although he did not elaborate on the alleged collusion in that excerpt.
Michael Cohen arrives at his Manhattan apartment after being released from federal prison to serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement in New York City on May 21, 2020.
"Trump cheated in the elections, with Russian help, as you will discover in these pages, because doing anything, and I mean anything, to win has always been his business model and lifestyle," he says in the book.
Trump has repeatedly denied any coordination with Russia for the 2016 elections.
Cohen began serving a three-year prison sentence last year for financial crimes and for lying to Congress. He was released in July to serve the remainder of his sentence at home over concerns that unsafe conditions in the prison could put him at risk of contracting coronavirus. Cohen, 53, has a history of high blood pressure and breathing problems.
He has been described in the past as Trump's "cover-up and accomplice" but later betrayed his former boss, calling him a "con man" and "cheater" during dramatic testimony before Congress last year.
In the excerpt published on Thursday, Cohen says Trump knew better than his wife or his children because he had the task of covering up alleged infidelities and wrongdoings of the president. Cohen wrote that he is convinced that Trump "will never leave office peacefully."
[Michael Cohen pleads guilty to having lied to Congress about the Russian plot]
"The types of scandals that have emerged in recent months will only continue to emerge at increasing levels of treason and deception," the excerpt reads.
"If Trump wins another four years, these scandals will prove to be just the tip of the iceberg, " he adds, "I'm sure Trump knows he will face prison if he leaves office, the inevitable karma of the notorious chants at his rallies of ' Put her in jail! " (which his followers sang in reference to former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton).
Statement of the Special Prosecutor for the Russian Plot
May 29, 201911: 30Trump has publicly called Cohen a liar following his decision to work with special counsel Robert Mueller and testify before Congress, tweeting that he was a "failed attorney" and a "con man." The White House called the book "amateur fiction" in a statement following the publication of the excerpt.
"He easily admits that he lies habitually, but hopes that people believe him now so that he can make money from the sale of books," says the statement, "it is unfortunate that the media is taking advantage of this sad and desperate man to attack. to the president".
[These are the most serious accusations by former Trump lawyer that can put the president at risk]
Cohen is not trying to paint himself as Trump's victim in the published excerpt, but rather as a "bad guy" who helped the now-president swindle business partners and cover up extramarital affairs.
He described the way the president behaved "like a mobster."
“From golden showers at a Las Vegas sex club, to tax fraud, to dealing with corrupt Soviet Union officials, to pushing conspiracy theories to root out the stories of Trump's clandestine mistresses, I didn't just witness the rise of the president , I was an active and enthusiastic participant in this one, ”he wrote.
[A judge criticizes Barr for making "misleading" statements about Mueller's report of the Russian plot]
He also described that he feared for his life following his decision to testify against Trump and that he felt the president wanted him dead. At one point, Cohen said he even contemplated suicide because death threats "had run into the hundreds."
“On my cell phone, by email, snail mail, in tweets, on Facebook, enraged Trump supporters vowed to kill me, and I took those threats very seriously,” Cohen wrote, “the president called me a rat and tweeted angry accusations against me and my family. All rats deserve to die, they told me. "
