President Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, completed three full days of testimony before Congress this week, two of those days behind closed doors. Don’t worry if you missed the public appearance. Here are some notable moments from his testimony:
Biggest headline if you’re anti-Trump
Trump is a tax cheat, womanizer, liar and racist. He’s also “filthy” with Russia contacts.
Biggest headline if you’re pro-Trump
Cohen actually may have assisted Trump in the Russia investigation when he said he knew of no evidence of Russia collusion. And he further discredited the Democratic-funded anti-Trump “dossier.”{mosads}
Biggest elephant in the room
At the start of the hearing, Cohen — an admitted perjurer and liar who pleaded guilty to a variety of charges — took an oath to tell the truth.
Smallest surprise
Cohen coordinated his appearance and testimony with Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.). Coordination with political leaders is routine among both Democrats and Republicans when they call witnesses and schedule hearings.
Biggest surprise
Cohen attorney Lanny Davis, a Hillary Clinton confidant, is working for Cohen without getting paid.
Six degrees of separation
While Cohen criticized Trump for his Russia business ties, which apparently are not illegal, Cohen himself allegedly failed to properly disclose his own work for foreigners — all while Cohen attorney Davis had signed a contract for $60,000 to $80,000 a month for work as a foreign agent representing a pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch.
Final nails in the coffins
Nail 1 — The Steele dossier: Cohen said, unequivocally, that he’s never visited Prague. That’s contrary to the now-discredited opposition research “dossier” the FBI presented to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to obtain secret wiretaps.
Nail 2 — BuzzFeed’s “bombshell”: Cohen said Trump never directed him to lie to investigators about the timing of a Trump Tower Moscow project during the 2016 campaign. That discredited the BuzzFeed “bombshell” and multiple anonymous sources that claimed Cohen had told special counsel Robert Mueller that Trump ordered Cohen to lie. Mueller also previously disputed the same report. (Note: While Cohen denied the BuzzFeed allegations that Trump had directed him to lie, Cohen stated that he did lie on Trump’s behalf, because he assumed Trump meant for him to do so.)
How Cohen helped Trump
On Russia: Cohen wouldn’t even venture to say that Trump “colluded” with Russia and said he was unaware of evidence that would prove such a thing occurred. Cohen claimed that Trump didn’t want to win the presidency, and didn’t think he would win. That undercuts the notion that Trump would have also conspired with Russian President Vladimir Putin to win.
On salacious matters: Cohen said he knows of no video recording of Trump hitting his wife Melania, which had been rumored, and said Trump would never do such a thing. He said he knows of no salacious Russian videos of Trump, as discussed in the Steele dossier. He said he knows nothing of a supposed, rumored “love child” of Trump’s.
Most cringe-worthy moment
Cohen quoting Trump as saying that his son Donald Trump Jr. has the worst judgment of anybody.
Worst luck
Cohen estimated that he secretly recorded people 100 times — but couldn’t cite any recordings proving claims against Trump.
Most-overpaid admission
Cohen said he accepted $1.2 million from drugmaker Novartis in exchange for insights on Trump. Cohen estimates he spoke to officials from the company approximately six times.
Sassiest remark
Cohen said he’d been contacted about “books, TV and movies” and told one congressman, “If you’d like to tell me who you want to play you, I’m happy to write the name down.”
Biggest overview
The FBI raided Cohen’s office and confiscated his clients’ materials as part of the Russia collusion probe but, to date, the only crimes revealed were on unrelated matters.
Biggest unanswered question
What does all this mean for the supposed sanctity of attorney-client privilege?
Most unnecessary statement by Cohen
“I am no longer your fixer, Mr. Trump.”
Runner-up statement: “I am not a perfect man.”
Sharyl Attkisson (@SharylAttkisson) is an Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist, author of The New York Times best-sellers “The Smear” and “Stonewalled,” and host of Sinclair’s Sunday TV program, “Full Measure.”