Judge says Michael Cohen may have committed perjury, refuses to end his probation early
A federal judge has suggested Michael Cohen has committed perjury under oath, giving fresh support to former President Donald Trump's claims that his onetime personal lawyer and star witness at his upcoming criminal trial in New York is an untrustworthy liar
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge suggested Wednesday that Michael Cohen committed perjury under oath, giving fresh support to former President Donald Trump’s claims that his onetime personal lawyer and star witness at his upcoming criminal trial in New York is an untrustworthy liar.
Judge Jesse M. Furman in Manhattan questioned Cohen's truthfulness in a written order denying his request for early release from the court supervision that followed his three-year prison sentence for crimes including tax evasion, lying to banks and Congress and violating campaign finance laws.
Furman cited Cohen’s testimony at Trump's civil fraud trial last October. On the witness stand, Cohen had insisted he wasn't actually guilty of tax evasion, even though he pleaded guilty in 2018. Asked if he had lied to the judge who had presided over that case, Cohen said, “Yes.”
“Cohen repeatedly and unambiguously testified at the state court trial that he was not guilty of tax evasion and that he had lied under oath" to the late Judge William H. Pauley III, Furman wrote.
