[dropcap]P[/dropcap]resident Trump’s ex- lawyer, Michael Cohen went to court once again on Thursday, this time to plead guilty about Trump’s real estate project in Russia in a 30-minute session in the New York federal court in the southern district.

At the root of the charge is Cohen’s testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2017 where he made false statements concerning Trump’s plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Cohen said in court, “Prior to the 2016 elections, I was a counsel and advisor to Donald Trump Organization. By 2016, I no longer did that work, but I continued to work for Donald Trump who became President of the United States, referenced as Individual one in the agreement, I continued to follow the political messaging of Individual one and his advisors. I was aware that Individual one said he was not tied to Russia, attacks were politically motivated, and all interactions were terminated by the time of the Iowa Caucuses.”

Telling the court that he had provided a false description of Trump’s Moscow Tower Project, he went on to say, “I asserted all efforts ceased in January 2016.” Cohen then told the court that those talks continued well into that year. 

“Cohen made the false statements to minimize links between the Moscow Project and Individual one (Trump) and give the false impression that the Moscow Project ended before ‘the Iowa caucus … the very first primary,’ in hopes of limiting the ongoing Russia investigations,” Mueller said in a release on Thursday.

Trump time and again told voters on the campaign trail that he no longer had ties with Russia throughout 2016 and 2017.

This newest charge comes on the heels of Cohen’s guilty plea to five counts of tax evasion, willfully causing an unlawful corporate contribution, and making an excessive campaign contribution. The last charge in August is in connection with the $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels said to be made at the direction of Trump.

Trump has continuously denied knowledge to Daniel’s payment, making various inconsistent statements.

Trump said of Cohen, his long-time lawyer, to reporters as he was departing to the G20 summit in Argentina, “He is a weak person and not a very smart person. It’s very simple. He’s got himself a big prison sentence and he’s trying to get a much lesser prison sentence by making up a story. And here’s the thing, even if he’s right, I was allowed to do whatever I wanted during the campaign.”

Trump also submitted written responses to Mueller’s questions on the Trump Tower Project recently. It is yet unknown if Trump lied to Muellerin those statements.

As a part of Cohen’s plea deal, Cohen has agreed to not challenge his presumed sentence of 46 to 63 months.

When leaving the courthouse, Cohen made no statements to the press.

Cohen is scheduled for sentencing on December 12th.

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