CONGRESS/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP BUSINESS/WOMEN: “Yesterday’s testimony by Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, before the House Oversight Committee was full of theatrics. But between allegations of presidential lawbreaking and racism were revelations about how the Trump Organization operated. They weren’t flattering. Mr. Trump inflated his net worth to apply for bank loans, according to Mr. Cohen. When he asked Deutsche Bank for financing to buy the Buffalo Bills, he claimed to have $4 billion in unquantified ‘brand value.’ He also exaggerated the value of properties, according to financial statements that Mr. Cohen gave to the House. Democratic lawmakers pushed Mr. Cohen to talk about other kinds of fraud. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for instance, asked him whether Mr. Trump inflated the value of assets when insuring them. ‘Yes,’ he replied. The testimony may have hurt Mr. Trump’s inner circle. Potential victims: Donald Trump Jr. and Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s C.F.O., both of whom were said to have played a role in hush-money payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels…”
-NYT Staff, “DealBook Briefing: Cohen Trashes Trump’s Business Image,” The New York Times online, February 28, 2019