In a major revelation by the US media report, President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has claimed his client knew in advance of a June 2016 meeting between his aides and a Russian delegation that offered to help his campaign.

Michael Cohen says he was present when President Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, informed his father of the meeting.He is reportedly willing to state this to the special counsel investigation into alleged Russian election meddling.

The meeting at Trump Tower in New York City involved Trump's son, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an influential Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya.

However, Trump has denied knowing in advance about the meeting.

It was set up after a Russian intermediary contacted Trump Jr with a promise to provide material that would "incriminate" Hillary Clinton – the Democratic candidate in the 2016 presidential election.

Donald Trump Jr and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have both testified – one to Congress, the other to the special counsel – that the president knew nothing about the meeting until details of it emerged a year later.

What's unclear is whether Michael Cohen has anything to corroborate his claim. That's led President Trump's new lawyer Rudy Giuliani to launch a scathing attack on Cohen's character, describing him as a "pathological liar".

Until very recently Michael Cohen had said he would take a bullet for the president. He now seems to be pointing a gun at Trump's head.

(Source : BBC)

(Featured Image : The Times)