Giuliani says he confirmed Trump ‘never’ spoke with Cohen about congressional testimony
By Jessie Hellmann - 01/21/19 03:13 PM EST
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President Trump didn't speak with Michael Cohen about his testimony before Congress, Rudy Giuliani told the New York Daily News on Monday.
“The president never spoke with Cohen about the congressional testimony,†Giuliani told the Daily News.
Giuliani said he confirmed it with previous members of Trump's legal team, after previously saying on Sunday that he didn't know if Trump and Cohen spoke ahead of Cohen's congressional testimony.
Giuliani said that Trump's legal team talked with Cohen's lawyers before his testimony before the House and Senate Intelligence committees in September 2017.
“Anything that happened between the lawyers would have been part of the joint defense agreement,†Giuliani told the Daily News, adding that all parties involved believed at the time that Cohen’s planned testimony was truthful.
Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress when he said discussions about a Trump Tower deal in Moscow ended in January 2016.
BuzzFeed News reported last week that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress about the deal, but special counsel Robert Mueller's office has disputed the accuracy of the story.
It's not clear which parts of the story Mueller's office takes issue with, and BuzzFeed said it stands by its reporting.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/426312-giuliani-says-he-confirmed-trump-never-spoke-with-cohen-about