Trump has nothing to fear from Cohen's cooperation with prosecutors, Giuliani says

Gregory Korte | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Giuliani: Trump didn’t ‘originally’ know about Stormy Daniels payment Rudy Giuliani said that to his knowledge President Trump did not know about Michael Cohen's $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels to keep silent over their alleged affair. Veuer's Maria Mercedes Galuppo has more.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s lawyer in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election said the president has no reason to fear cooperation between Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen and federal prosecutors.

"If he wants to cooperate, I think it's great," Rudy Giuliani said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "It's going to lead to nothing."

In an interview that aired last week, Cohen said he did not share Trump's animosity toward Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller. Cohen told ABC he did not dismiss the possibility of cooperating with the Russia investigation.

For years, Cohen was one of Trump's closest aides who ran interference for his boss on a wide range of personal and legal matters, earning the reputation as a loyal "fixer."

Mueller is investigating whether Trump or anyone on his campaign cooperated with Russia in its efforts to influence the presidential campaign. Trump denied any collusion and called Mueller’s inquiry a “witch hunt.”

Separately, federal prosecutors are investigating Cohen’s business dealings, including a $130,000 payment made to porn actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about her claim of a sexual relationship with Trump. Although Trump denied the relationship, the payment was authorized on the eve of the 2016 presidential election.

Federal prosecutors in New York took possession last week of 1.3 million documents the FBI seized in a raid on Cohen's offices in April.

Giuliani told ABC's "This Week" that Trump "did not originally know" about the $130,000 payment to Daniels, but it was "probably a little foggy as to exactly when the president found out" and reimbursed his former lawyer. Trump has given contradictory accounts of the timeline.

The timing and structure of the payment could have an impact on whether it should be considered a campaign contribution or an improper advance of settlement funds.

Giuliani was asked what Trump might have known about a meeting in July 2016 at Trump Tower between campaign officials – including son Donald Trump Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner – and Russians who claimed to have compromising information on Hillary Clinton.

"I think that you could have very, very different recollections on that because it was right in the heat of the campaign," he said. "You know what a campaign is like, it’s complete helter skelter."

Giuliani told NBC News that he recommended that Trump not agree to an interview with Mueller. Giuliani called Mueller's inquiry "a witch hunt and an attempt to trap him in perjury."

"President Trump wants to testify. We have to hold him back," he said.