U.S. President Donald Trump denied Friday that he had advance knowledge of a 2016 meeting between a Russian lawyer and his campaign staff at Trump Tower in which the Russians offered to provide information about Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
In a series of early morning tweets, the president dismissed reports that his former lawyer Michael Cohen said Trump was aware of the meeting.
READ MORE: Donald Trump’s ex-attorney says Trump knew of 2016 meeting with Russian lawyer in advance
“I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr. Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?),” Trump tweeted. “He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary’s lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!”
Citing unnamed sources, CNN reported Thursday that Cohen said that his ex-client knew the meeting would happen — despite assertions by the president and others that they didn’t know anything about it.
And that’s information that Cohen is willing to share with Robert Mueller, the special counsel looking into Russian interference in the 2016 election, NBC News reported, also citing an unnamed source.
WATCH: Rudy Giuliani dismisses report Trump knew about Trump Tower meeting in advance, calls Cohen a ‘liar’
Cohen has said he and a number of other people were present when Donald Trump Jr. informed his father about the offer from the Russians — adding that the then-Republican candidate approved the meet, according to CNN.
READ MORE: 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Russians under further scrutiny
That would contradict Trump Jr.’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, in which he said his father didn’t know of the meeting.
Coverage of allegations of Russian election interference on Globalnews.ca:
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Bernie Sanders: We have got to make sure that Russia does not interfere -
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Russian agent Maria Butina was at 2015 conference attended by Trump -
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U.S. ‘foolish’ to think Russia won’t attempt to influence 2018 midterm elections: DHS -
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House Democrats introduce bill aimed at tackling Russian election meddling -
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‘Better not happen again in 2018’: Mitch McConnell on Russian election meddling
But CNN’s sources said Cohen doesn’t have any evidence to back up his claims, though he is willing to stand by his remarks
— with files from Jesse Ferreras
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