It is exceedingly unlikely that he did not know what members of his staff and his lawyers learned about what Mr. Cohen was prepared to say. We also know that Mr. Cohen lied about the Moscow hotel project. Did Mr. Trump encourage Mr. Cohen directly, or through others, to lie about the hotel project, to protect his public account? In the same week we learned that Michael Flynn, unlike Mr. Cohen and Mr. Manafort, was actively cooperating. In other words, Mr. Trump steered clear of holding Mr. Flynn responsible for the criminal offense.

Source: New York Times December 08, 2018 16:38 UTC