Michael Cohen Says Trump Praised Putin In ’16 To Get Help With Trump Tower Moscow Project

President Donald Trump‘s former lawyer Michael Cohen details why Trump admires dictators and mocks his working-class supporters in his new book Disloyal: A Memoir. Cohen agrees with Sen. Bernie Sanders‘ warning that the president will refuse to leave office if he loses the November election.

Cohen says that Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin during his campaign in 2016 because he was prepared for losing the election and wanted Putin’s help to build Trump Tower Moscow.

Cohen was sent by Trump to Russia to help advance the Trump Tower Moscow project in 2016. Cohen said, “The whole idea of patriotism and treason became irrelevant in his mind. Trump was using the campaign to make money for himself. Of course, he was.”

Trump’s ties with Putin was explained as “not a new concept,” Cohen says. A Russian oligarch had purchased Trump’s property in Palm Beach, Florida, for double the price that Trump paid for it. Cohen says that Trump believed that Putin was the one behind the funding.

White House spokesman Brian Morgenstern told NBC News, “Michael Cohen’s book is fan fiction. He readily admits to lying routinely but expects people to believe him now so that he can make money from book sales. It’s unfortunate that the media is exploiting this sad and desperate man to attack President Trump.”

Cohen previously served prison time for lying to Congress and is now serving time under home confinement.