Donald Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen will call him a “conman” and a “cheat” when he testifies publicly before Congress today and accuses the US president of lying and being racist.
He will also claim the president knew in advance about a leak of emails that would hurt his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, orchestrated by adviser Roger Stone’s and WikiLeaks.
If his statements are true, it would be the first time anyone with direct knowledge has admitted that Trump knew that WikiLeaks would publish Clinton’s hacked emails in advance.
Cohen is expected to provide documents that he will claim is evidence of Trump’s conduct, including cheques signed by Trump that were to reimburse him for hush money payments to two women who allege they had affairs with Trump.
His opening testimony was leaked to the media ahead of his public hearing.
Trump’s former personal “fixer” arrived on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to begin three days of congressional appearances, starting with a closed-door interview with the Senate intelligence committee.
The public will have a chance to hear from him today, when he testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Tuesday it was “laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies”.
Politicians are alternately suspicious of Cohen — who is set to serve prison time for lying to the House and Senate intelligence committees in 2017 — and eager to hear what he has to say after he turned on his longtime boss.
Cohen’s testimony is among the most anticipated since the House and Senate started investigating the Trump campaign’s Russia ties two years ago.
In addition to lying to Congress, Cohen pleaded guilty last year to campaign finance violations for his involvement in payments to two women who allege they had affairs with Trump.
Cohen, who is set to begin a three-year prison sentence in May, was officially disbarred on Tuesday.
By pleading guilty, a New York court ruled, Cohen automatically lost his eligibility to practise law.
Cohen’s week of interviews comes as House Democrats open multiple investigations into Trump’s ties to Russia and conflict-of-interest issues within the administration.