Donald Trump speaking at CPAC 2011 in Washington, D.C. (Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia)
President Donald Trump continues to stand by his longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen, and on Tuesday he was visibly irked by a question about whether he would pardon Cohen.
Jon Karl of ABC asked Trump the query, and the president — who was hosting French President Emmnauel Macron — simply scowled and replied, “Stupid question.”
SLIDESHOW: DONALD TRUMP’S 30 CRAZIEST TWEETS
Cohen’s home, hotel room and office were raided by federal agents two weeks ago, and since then Trump and his attorney — who has gained more of a reputation as a fixer have faced several questions about the searches and the work Cohen has done for the president. The raids were done to seek documents related to Trump’s extramarital affairs with many women including porn star Stormy Daniels, whom Cohen paid $130,000 before the 2016 election to cover up a 2006 sexual encounter she had with Trump.
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Daniels and her lawyer Michael Avenatti have sought to deposed Cohen and Trump, and both sides have appeared in a court in New York for a hearing on the issue. Some political pundits have predicted that this scandal could be more dangerous to Trump than any other controversies he has become involved with, even more so than special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Avenatti has heavily criticized both Trump and Cohen, and recently said he does not believe the president will be able to serve out his first four-year term.
Daniels’ lawyer and other legal experts, as well as some media outlets, have suggested that Cohen could potentially “flip” on Trump and testify as a witness against the president before federal prosecutors. CNN even suggested Cohen could wear a wire.
Several members of Trump’s inner circle have recently deflected questions about the president and his relationship with Cohen.
“I don’t think that we are going to talk about hypotheticals that don’t exist right now,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said to reporters on Monday.
Among the issues Trump and Macron have reportedly discussed are the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate Agreement.
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