Rudy Giuliani says he believes Michael Cohen's alleged consulting business has nothing to do with President Trump, and the president was not aware of what Cohen was doing.
Cohen reportedly worked hard to sell himself as the consummate Trump insider after his longtime boss won the presidency and collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from several corporations that landed in the same LLC used to pay $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
CNN:
"I talked to the President only one time about this and that was the first day it came out and he wasn't aware of that situation that now, I guess, the facts are getting a little contorted," Giuliani said when asked about Cohen's pitch and if the President knew about it.
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Giuliani also said Trump "wasn't aware of the situation in which he got money from any of that group that was mentioned originally. I doubt it. Yeah, I doubt it. He didn't know about any of the original stuff."
If Trump had some kind of legal exposure, Giuliani said, Russia special counsel Robert Mueller would not have passed on the information to federal prosecutors in New York who are investigating Cohen's business dealings.
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Giuliani also scoffed at a suggestion made by [Stormy] Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti that Russian money went to the adult film star to keep her quiet about an alleged affair with Trump.
I don't see how that could be the case," Giuliani said, noting that the entity cited by Avenatti is "not Russian; it's an American company."
However, The Atlantic's Natasha Bertrand notes the website for Columbus Nova, the firm that has been trying to distance itself from oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, is registered to Renova – Vekselberg's company.
A bio for Andrew Intrater, Columbus Nova's CEO and Vekselberg's cousin, posted on a related technology investment firm's website says Intrater is "a former director and current Member of the Executive Board of Renova Management."
Furthermore, the "Our Team" page on Columbus Nova's own site now is inaccessible.
CNN points out Columbus Nova "is described in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as Renova's US affiliate."
Rudy Giuliani says Michael Cohen's issues have nothing to do with Donald Trump (USA Today)
Giuliani says Trump 'wasn't aware' of Cohen pitch promising access (CNN)