Trump calls Michael Cohen 'weak' and 'a liar' after former lawyer pleads guilty in Russia investigation

The president says Michael Cohen is 'not a very smart person' amid explosive new reports he lied to Congress

Donald Trump has called Michael Cohen a “liar,” adding that his former lawyer and personal fixer is “not a very smart person” amid explosive reports he lied about a business project in Russia.

Speaking with reporters before departing from the White House for the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, the president lambasted Cohen after it was reported he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about work he did on an aborted project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

“He is a weak person... Michael Cohen is lying and he’s trying to get a reduced sentence for things that have nothing to do with me," the president said Thursday.

His remarks arrived shortly after Cohen, flanked by his lawyers, made a surprise appearance in court and admitted to making false statements in 2017 to the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about the project.

Cohen told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details to be consistent with Trump’s “political message.”

He and prosecutors referred to the president as “individual one” throughout Thursday’s proceedings and said he lied “to be loyal to Individual One.”

Attempting to disassociate from his longtime confidant, Mr Trump continued to assert Cohen "was convicted of other things unrelated to us,” adding, “By being weak unlike other people you watch ... he’s lying about a project everybody knew about.”

Among other lies, Cohen said he told Congress that all discussions of the Moscow Trump Tower project ended by January 2016, when they had actually continued until June of that year.

One of the prosecutors working with Special Counsel Robert Mueller was present in the courtroom.

Cohen’s lawyer, Guy Petrillo, said he would give the court a letter outlining how his client has cooperated with Mueller’s investigation.

In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to other federal charges involving his taxi businesses, bank fraud and his campaign work for Trump.

Reacting to the plea to the new charges, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Cohen “should be prosecuted to the extent of the law. That’s why we put people under oath.”

Cohen gave a statement to congressional committees last year saying the president’s company pursued a project in Moscow during the Republican primary but that the plan was abandoned “for a variety of business reasons.”

Cohen also said he sent an email to the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of the potential deal.

In his statement, he said that he worked on the real estate proposal with Felix Sater, a Russia-born associate who he said claimed to have deep connections in Moscow.

The discussions about the potential development began after Trump had declared his candidacy. Cohen had said the talks ended when he determined that the project was not feasible.

Cohen had also disclosed that the president was personally aware of the deal, signing a letter of intent and discussing it with him on two other occasions.

Additional reporting by AP.