Michael Cohen's explosive comments - but is Trump's ex-lawyer telling the truth?
Michael Cohen's comments were dramatic, but there is some doubt over their veracity.
Wednesday 27 February 2019 23:13, UK
What Michael Cohen had to say was certainly explosive - the question is whether anyone should believe a word of it.
Donald Trump's former personal lawyer is due to start a prison sentence in May, in part, for telling lies when he testified before the US Congress.
It meant that Cohen's return to Capitol Hill to testify in public to the House of Representatives' oversight committee gave Mr Trump's supporters plenty of ammunition to question his credibility.
Cohen says he has nothing to gain by telling lies now. He also warned those Republicans fighting the president's corner that he should be a salutary lesson to them in where protecting Mr Trump can lead.
The most incendiary elements of his testimony had already been released by the time he raised his hand and promised to tell the whole truth. The anger and outrage of Republicans was already evident - this is the cost of losing control of the House, you lose control of the committees too.
Having labelled his old boss a racist, a conman and a cheat, he went on to say the president had advance knowledge of WikiLeaks' release of hacked Democrat emails, the notorious Trump Tower meeting with the Russians and had lied about the length of his pursuit of a Trump hotel in Moscow.
He also claimed Mr Trump had reimbursed him for hush money payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleged an affair with the president-to-be, and brought a cheque along as his evidence.
It was notable that he confirmed he was aware of other possible illegal acts that were being investigated by federal prosecutors.
But - for all the novelty of hearing the words from Cohen's mouth - it is unlikely that anyone learned anything very new of substance.
It is equally unlikely that Cohen's words will have changed anyone's mind, so divided is America on what they believe about their president and his actions.
Mr Trump has repeatedly signalled what he thinks of the man he used to trust, saying Cohen is lying to reduce his prison sentence.
It was undoubtedly a political circus, staged by Democrats keen to use their new-won power in Congress, and the 'split-screen effect' of contrasting Washington with goings-on in Hanoi, revealed much about the state of American politics.
So, for all the details of Mr Trump buying a portrait of himself with charity funds or threatening colleges not to release his exam results, it was another tour around well-worn and unedifying facts.
Cohen said he's describe himself as a "fool' for his part in Trump-world: "I wish I could go back in time," he added.