November 29, 2018

Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty to Lying to Congress About Trump’s Business Dealings in Russia

The president’s former attorney made a surprise appearance in federal court Thursday morning.

Bryan Smith/ZUMA

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

President Donald Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen has pleaded guilty in a deal arranged with special counsel Robert Mueller to making false statements to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower project in Moscow during the 2016 presidential election.

Cohen had previously pleaded guilty to eight federal charges related to tax and bank fraud, two of them directly related to the president. The potential plea deal comes amid escalated attacks by Trump against the Russia investigation. 

Speaking to reporters outside the White House shortly after Cohen’s guilty plea, Trump contradicted his previous remarks regarding his business dealings in Russia. 

This is a breaking news post. We will update as more information becomes available. 

We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate