Michael Cohen Claims Trump Knew About Don Jr.'s 2016 Trump Tower Meeting, and Donald Trump Just Fired Back

Although Veselnitskaya has not yet met with Mueller, she did meet with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who interviewed her in March and have sought to determine whether her appointment with members of the Trump campaign was part of a Russian government effort to help Donald Trump win the White House. Veselnitskaya declined to meet with Senate investigators in the United States, saying she feared for her safety. Instead, she and the committee’s investigators met in a Berlin hotel on March 26 and talked for three hours.

Alan Futerfas, an attorney for Trump Jr., attempted to quell the scandal with a statement of his own:

We are very confident of the accuracy and reliability of the information that has been provided by Mr. Trump, Jr., and on his behalf.

Sources who've discussed the matter with Cohen say that he hopes his claim about the Trump Tower meeting and his willingness to talk with Robert Mueller could lessen his own legal troubles.

Earlier this month, in his first in-depth interview since the FBI’s April raid of his home and office, Cohen, who once said he would do anything for President Donald Trump, said that he now puts “family and country first.”

“My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will,” Cohen told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in the off-camera interview that was reported on “Good Morning America.” “I put family and country first.”

When asked if he was considering cooperating with prosecutors in their probe, Cohen responded that he would defer to Guy Petrillo, his attorney, for advice. Cohen’s responses, notably how he didn’t repeat past vows to “do anything” for the president, coupled with the fact a joint defense agreement Cohen shared with the president, which allowed their lawyers to share information and documents with each other, would come to an end once Petrillo assumes his role, prompted Stephanopoulos to observe “that the legal interests of the president of the United States and his longtime personal attorney could quickly become adversarial.”

Cohen defended himself, too, when asked how he might respond should the president and his legal team attempt to discredit the work he did for Trump over the last decade.

“I will not be a punching bag as part of anyone’s defense strategy,” Cohen said. “I am not a villain of this story, and I will not allow others to try to depict me that way.”

Of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference, Cohen was similarly direct, repeating previous denials that he had any involvement with Russian operatives or their attempts to thwart the 2016 presidential election. He did not, however, criticize Mueller.

“I don’t like the term witch hunt,” Cohen said. “As an American, I repudiate Russia’s or any other foreign government’s attempt to interfere or meddle in our democratic process, and I would call on all Americans to do the same.”

When Stephanopoulos asked Cohen if he had any regrets about how he has handled any matters presently under investigation, Cohen appeared apologetic.

“As an attorney and as an employee, I tried to make good faith judgments in the past. I also acknowledge that I am not perfect. I would prefer not to be in this situation at all, obviously,” he said. “I want to regain my name and my reputation and my life back.”

Cohen’s comments and the knowledge that he is cooperating with Robert Mueller prompted speculation that he might “flip” on the president. (The president, for his part, has been adamant that Cohen would never do this.)