LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, told Senate investigators on Tuesday [9-19-17] that the president’s critics were using rumors and innuendo about Russian interference in the election in an attempt to undercut Mr. Trump’s presidency.
Their rush to presume guilt, Mr. Cohen said, had overtaken the facts, smeared supporters of the president — like him — and diverted attention from a pressing national security threat: Russia’s meddling in the United States’ elections…
Mr. Cohen has said he had no involvement in Russian election meddling and had no information that anyone around Mr. Trump did either. In his opening statement, he expressed frustration at how a swirl investigations and media reports have characterized him and others close to the president.
Mr. Cohen is the latest high-profile witness connected to the presidential campaign to meet with congressional investigators. A copy of Mr. Cohen’s opening remarks were obtained by The New York Times.”
-Nicholas Fandos and Matt Apuzzo, “Trump’s Lawyer Says Rumors About Russia Undercut the President,” The New York Times online, Sept. 19, 2017