Trump denies ordering Michael Cohen to break the law

President Trump on Thursday denied ever ordering Michael Cohen to break the law — a day after his former personal attorney and “fixer” was sentenced to three years for financial crimes that included hush payments to two women before the 2016 election.

“I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called ‘advice of counsel,’ and a lawyer has great liability if a mistake is made,” Trump tweeted.

“That is why they get paid. Despite that many campaign finance lawyers have strongly stated that I did nothing wrong with respect to campaign finance laws, if they even apply, because this was not campaign finance,” he continued.

“Cohen was guilty on many charges unrelated to me, but he plead to two campaign charges which were not criminal and of which he probably was not guilty even on a civil basis,” Trump wrote.

“Those charges were just agreed to by him in order to embarrass the president and get a much reduced prison sentence, which he did-including the fact that his family was temporarily let off the hook. As a lawyer, Michael has great liability to me!”

Cohen, 52, apologized Wednesday for covering up the “dirty deeds” of his former boss, saying he had been led astray by misplaced admiration for Trump and pleading for leniency before US District Judge William H. Pauley II.

Trump has denied having affairs with porn vixen Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, and argued that the payments to them were not campaign contributions.

Cohen also pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress — a charge stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump’s presidential campaign colluded with Russia to get him into the White House.

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