United States | Nothing but the truth

Michael Cohen’s turn in the barrel

The testimony from the president’s former fixer was at once familiar and shocking

Nothing but the truth
|WASHINGTON, DC

FOR TEN years, Michael Cohen was Donald Trump’s attack dog. By his own estimate, the president’s former fixer threatened more than 500 people or entities at Mr Trump’s request. But in sworn testimony before the House Oversight Committee on February 27th, and armed with documents to bolster several striking accusations, Mr Cohen called his former boss “a racist…a con man [and] a cheat” who is “fundamentally disloyal” and a threat to American democracy. The parties’ responses to his testimony hinted at how they will respond to Robert Mueller’s imminently expected report, providing a preview of the political battles likely to rage for the rest of Mr Trump’s term.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “His turn in the barrel”

Modi’s dangerous moment

From the March 2nd 2019 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition
Elon Musk wears a red baseball cap with white writing that reads 'Trump was right about everything' whilst attending a cabinet meeting in Washington, DC, USA.

Checks and Balance newsletter: Who is (or was) the smartest person in government?

The site of a crash where a pickup truck crashed into another pickup during a police chase near the border city of Del Rio, Texas.

Texas troopers are in more and more lethal car chases

An unremarked cost of greater border security



The cover-up is worse than the group chat

A wiser president would admit a lapse and be grateful for the chance to prevent a more devastating blunder

White House denials over the Signal snafu ring hollow

The breach raises questions of security and legality

America’s Supreme Court tackles a thorny voting-rights case

Louisiana v Callais could affect control of the House of Representatives in next year’s midterms