Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen had come out with news that US president Donald Trump had been busy with other things in Moscow--specifically a real estate project for his Trump Organization. The US president has since denied this, calling Cohen a 'weak person.'
News of this was reported in The Straits Times, where Cohen was said to have made false remarks when facing the US Congress regarding the issue. Cohen pleaded guilty to that, prompting the president to go on the offensive. Trump also accused his former lawyer of lying about the project in an effort to secure a reduced sentence.
That Trump pursued a project in Moscow during the campaign wasn't the news--it was the location. The Kremlin is currently in hot water for allegedly sabotaging the elections to enable Donald Trump to win the presidency. This, according to Cohen as highlighted by the NY Times, meant communications between the Kremlin and Donald Trump was even deeper than was previously imagined.
As for his business interests, this showed that Trump mixed his work along with his presidential aspirations. He also seemed to have offered a deal to the Kremlin, offering to lift sanctions even when he wasn't the president just yet. Cohen also said that Trump was the person known as "Individual 1" in proceedings and that he lied about Trump not being involved, contrary to what the president claimed in him lying for a lighter sentence.
Cohen made false statements, according to his own words, because of his "loyalty to the president." The situation appears to have been reversed with the president now on the offensive, accusing his former lawyer of giving him undue attention. Outside the White House, the president spoke to reported and said that his company had actually decided against building the property in Moscow. It was notable, however, that he didn't say when it was that Trump Organization decided against the project.
The tables had now turned. The president and the former lawyer's relationship has since gone cold. Trump decided it would be better to distance himself from Cohen. Previously, the president and Cohen had enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship.
Cohen also directed an unfortunate tirade against Trump, saying that he was also forced to a crime in 2016 by paying two women to remain silent on their affairs with the president. Trump had allegedly denied any relationship with the women.
