Michael Cohen has confirmed the veracity of a Wall Street Journal report Thursday that he hired an IT firm to rig online polls for Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign. Cohen also paid the firm to create a @WomenforCohen twitter account to promote his own physical attractiveness and his media appearances.
Trump’s then-attorney—who has since spectacularly fallen out with the president—promised to pay $50,000 to the small tech firm run by a Liberty University staffer to help distort online polls on CNBC and the Drudge Report.
Cohen has confirmed the bombshell report to CNN, and claimed it was carried out “at the direction and for the sole benefit of Donald J. Trump.”
The IT firm doesn’t appear to have been particularly good at the task. Cohen reportedly asked for its help in a January 2014’s CNBC poll to name the country’s top business leaders. RedFinch Solutions founder John Gauger reportedly wrote a computer script to repeatedly vote for Trump—but was still unable to get him into the top 100 candidates.
Gauger is chief information officer at Virginia’s Liberty University, the evangelical Christian college run by Jerry Fallwell Jr., a close Trump supporter. Cohen reportedly helped arrange Falwell Jr.’s endorsement of Trump in January 2016.
Cohen, who has been sentenced to three years in prison for lying to Congress and campaign-finance violations, returned to Gauger a year later, in February 2015, according to the Journal report. Cohen asked for help in a Drudge Report poll of potential Republican candidates—he only managed fifth place, with about 24,000 votes.
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Gauger disclosed the work to the Journal after he received much less money for his efforts than he expected. Gauger said he believed he was due $50,000 for it—alongside a promise of lucrative work with the president-elect—but Cohen reportedly handed him “a blue Walmart bag containing between $12,000 and $13,000 in cash and, randomly, a boxing glove that Mr. Cohen said had been worn by a Brazilian mixed-martial-arts fighter.”
Cohen denied that claim to the Journal—his only comment on the allegations was to say that all payments given to Gauger “were by check.”
Cohen says his "blind loyalty" to Trump guided his actions.
Cohen is scheduled to testify publicly before Congress on February 7th, but President Trump's attacks on Cohen and his family have the president's former fixer spooked.
In an interview with FOX News on Saturday, Trump called Cohen “weak,” accused him of lying to prosecutors in order to get a reduced sentence, and hinted -- unprompted and without evidence -- that he possessed damaging information about Cohen’s family.
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Trump’s comments to FOX News ... drew a swift rebuke from Maryland Democrat Elijah Cummings, the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee, who announced last week that Cohen had accepted an invitation to testify in public next month.
“The integrity of our process to serve as an independent check on the Executive Branch must be respected by everyone, including the President,” Cummings said in a statement released Sunday that was joined by Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the Democratic chairmen of the House Intelligence and Houses Judiciary Committees.
“Our nation’s laws prohibit efforts to discourage, intimidate, or otherwise pressure a witness not to provide testimony to Congress. The President should make no statement or take any action to obstruct Congress’ independent oversight and investigative efforts, including by seeking to discourage any witness from testifying in response to a duly authorized request from Congress,” the statement said.
CNN reports Cohen remains concerned for his and his family's safety, but, as of now, still intends to appear.
Michael Cohen still intends to testify before Congress despite concerns for his family (CNN)
Michael Cohen: I Rigged Online Polls for Trump (Daily Beast)
Michael Cohen fears Trump rhetoric could put his family at risk: Sources (ABC News)
Cohen Hired IT Firm to Rig Early CNBC, Drudge Polls to Favor Trump (WSJ) *Note: WSJ articles appear behind a paywall