Cohen Admits Rigging Polls for Trump in 2014 and 2015
Share
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s estranged former lawyer acknowledged Thursday that he paid a technology company to rig Trump’s standing in two online polls before the presidential campaign.
Michael Cohen tweeted that “what I did was at the direction of and for the sole benefit of” Trump.
“I truly regret my blind loyalty to a man who doesn’t deserve it.” — Michael Cohen
“I truly regret my blind loyalty to a man who doesn’t deserve it,” he added.Cohen was responding to an article in The Wall Street Journal that said Cohen stiffed the owner of the technology company out of tens of thousands of dollars he promised for work including using computers to enter fake votes for Trump in a 2014 CNBC poll asking people to identify top business leaders and a 2015 poll of potential presidential candidates.
The company owner, John Gauger, told the newspaper that Cohen promised him $50,000 for the work but instead gave him a blue Walmart bag stuffed with between $12,000 and $13,000 in cash, plus a boxing glove Cohen claimed had been worn by a Brazilian mixed-martial arts fighter.
Cohen disputed he paid cash, telling the Journal that “all monies paid to Mr. Gauger were by check.” He offered no further comment.
Cohen Recently Sentenced to Three Years in Prison
Federal prosecutors referred to a payment to Gauger’s company— though not by name— when Cohen was charged last summer with violating campaign-finance laws by arranging hush-money payments to two women who claim they had extramarital affairs with Trump. They said in a charging document that Cohen had sought reimbursement from the Trump Organization for those payments with a handwritten note requesting $50,000 for “tech services.”
“If one thing has been established, it’s that Michael Cohen is completely untrustworthy.” — Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s lawyer
The Trump Organization paid the full amount, prosecutors said.Messages seeking comment were sent to the Trump Organization Thursday.
Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, didn’t immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press, but told the Journal that Cohen was a thief for seeking reimbursement for more money than he’d paid Gauger’s company, RedFinch Solutions LLC.
“If one thing has been established, it’s that Michael Cohen is completely untrustworthy,” he said.
Gauger is also the chief information officer at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. His attorney declined to comment.
Cohen was recently sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges that were not related to his dealings with Gauger and the technology company.
Israel Demands UN Scrap Investigation Body for Palestinian Territories
World /
14 hours ago
Trump Signs Executive Order Creating New Classification of Non-Career Federal Workers
Politics /
15 hours ago
Judge Rules Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner Was Illegal
Politics /
16 hours ago
US House Passes Stablecoin Legislation, Sending Bill to Trump
Crypto /
16 hours ago
Homeowners With Solar Rise Up to Defang Bill Authored by Former Utility Executive
Energy /
17 hours ago
Man Admits to Killing Missing Bass Lake Resident, Madera County Authorities Say
Crime /
18 hours ago
Trump Diagnosed With Vein Condition Causing Leg Swelling, White House Says
News /
18 hours ago
Latest
Videos

Crime /
14 hours ago
Former Los Banos Teacher Indicted on Federal Child Exploitation Charges

World /
14 hours ago
Israel Demands UN Scrap Investigation Body for Palestinian Territories

Politics /
15 hours ago
Trump Signs Executive Order Creating New Classification of Non-Career Federal Workers

Politics /
16 hours ago
Judge Rules Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner Was Illegal

Crypto /
16 hours ago