A filing from Robert Mueller debunks the claim in the Trump Russia Dossier that Michael Cohen traveled to Prague to negotiat with Russians on behalf of Donald Trump.
Officials familiar with the case said the proof is in the lack of evidence in the 25 pages of court papers Mueller has filed on Cohen over the past two weeks. The alleged Prague visit is not evident in the plea agreement, the criminal information statement or the sentencing memorandum, none of which contain redactions.
In fact, language in the filings strongly indicates prosecutors have not found evidence to authenticate the Prague rumor, according to people familiar with the case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.
They point to the sentencing memo filed Friday, for starters. On page 5, Mueller stated that Cohen “has provided relevant and truthful information†about “his own contacts with Russian interests during the campaign†to prosecutors in their investigation of Russian election interference. Though Mueller details contacts Cohen made with various Russians, he offers no evidence he contacted Kremlin officials in Prague, as described in the dossier. The Czech city, in fact, is not cited in any of his filings, though Moscow, St. Petersburg, Davos and other cities are.
Prosecutors corroborated the information Cohen provided about his Russia contacts with evidence — including travel records — they seized from him.
In addition, Cohen pleaded guilty last month to a single count of providing false testimony to Congress related to a Moscow real estate venture – which suggests there was no reason for him to correct his September 2017 statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee claiming, “I have never in my life been to Prague or to anywhere in the Czech Republic.â€
In that same sworn testimony, Cohen also categorically denied plotting with Russian officials to hack the election.
“I have never engaged with, been paid by, paid for, or conversed with any member of the Russian Federation or anyone else to hack or interfere with the election,†Cohen told the Senate. “I emphatically state that I had nothing to do with any Russian involvement in our electoral process.â€
He added that he saw “not a hint of anything†that demonstrated Trump’s involvement in Russian interference in the election, either.
As a Twitter sleuth pointed out this story was debunked awhile ago by right wing media
This was debunked awhile ago and by @MichaelCohen212’s own attorney, @lannydavis, no less— a well-known, long-time Democrat party operative and @HillaryClinton supporter:https://t.co/X50OMGcYRj
— Skeptical Stoic (@skepticalstoic7) December 12, 2018
Although we did cover this story months ago it means much more coming from Robert Mueller himself. This is just another major claim by the Dossier that has been debunked.
