Lanny Davis says he regrets ‘major mistake’ about Cohen and Trump Tower meeting

Lanny Davis, who represents President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, said on Tuesday that it was a “major mistake” to confirm that his client would testify that then-candidate Trump knew in advance about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians.

“I regret not being much clearer in saying I’m not sure about this story,” Davis told NBC News. “It’s a major mistake for which I am 100 percent sorry. Period. I never should have done it unless I was certain and could prove it.”

Davis said Cohen’s previous testimony was accurate. Cohen told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he did not know, before it was made public last summer, about the Trump Tower meeting that included members of the Trump campaign and Russians.

{mosads}Davis told The Washington Post over the weekend that he is unsure if Cohen knows whether Trump was aware of Russian meddling on his behalf during the 2016 presidential election, walking back his claim last week that Cohen knew Trump had knowledge of those efforts.

“I should have been more clear — including with you — that I could not independently confirm what happened,” Davis, who is an opinion contributor to The Hill, told The Washington Post. “I regret my error.”

Cohen has said he does not want to amend his testimony, according to Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee. The panel is investigating alleged collusion between Moscow and Trump’s campaign.

In addition, Davis told BuzzFeed News on Monday he was an anonymous source behind CNN’s story suggesting that Trump knew about the Trump tower meeting in advance. 

“I made a mistake,” Davis told BuzzFeed.

CNN has said it stands by its story.

Throughout Davis’s various statements, Trump has insisted that he did not have advance knowledge about the meeting.

Michaels Cohen’s attorney clarified the record, saying his client does not know if President Trump knew about the Trump Tower meeting (out of which came nothing!). The answer is that I did NOT know about the meeting. Just another phony story by the Fake News Media!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2018