President Trump’s former lawyer reportedly is willing to tell special counsel Robert Mueller that his longtime client knew in advance of a meeting at Trump Tower to get dirt from Russians on Hillary Clinton.

Citing “sources with knowledge,” CNN reported Thursday night that Michael Cohen, the tycoon’s longtime fixer, is contradicting Mr. Trump’s longstanding claim to have known nothing about the meeting.

According to CNN, Mr. Cohen says he was present when Mr. Trump was told of the June 2016 meeting, which involved Donald Trump Jr. and several other campaign figures, by his son.

The elder Mr. Trump personally approved going ahead with the meeting, according to Mr. Cohen.

However, CNN cautioned, Mr. Cohen reportedly has no independent hard evidence, such as audio recordings, to prove his claim, though he will attest to it in court.

Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s current lead lawyer, dismissed Mr. Cohen’s account to CNN, calling him a “proven liar” and saying “he’s certainly a source that is not credible.”

Mr. Giuliani also said in an appearance on Chris Cuomo’s CNN show that even if Mr. Trump approved the meeting, that this wouldn’t be a crime anyway.

However Rep. Eric Swalwell, California Democrat and a former prosecutor, dismissed both claims on Mr. Cuomo’s show.

“All of [Mr. Cohen’s] lies in the past were on behalf of Donald Trump. As a prosecutor, I know that proven liars can turn around … and help prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said.

As for Mr. Trump’s purported acts, Mr. Swalwell said, “he was giving a green light for Russians to interfere. That’s a betrayal of our democracy.”

Former Nixon White House counselor John Dean also said on CNN that, if true, Mr. Trump’s approval could make him an accessory to Russians’ and others’ crimes on which Mr. Mueller has already passed down indictments.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said that Mr. Cohen’s account, if true, ties together the Russia scandal.

If Trump knew about the June 9 meeting, this is the chronology: The Russians offered Trump help. Trump approved getting Russian help. The Russians delivered help. Trump dictated a false statement about the true purpose of the meeting. Trump covered up his own role,” he wrote.

The June 2016 meeting, which also involved President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign-chairman Paul Manafort, came about when a publicist told Donald Trump Jr. that a senior Russian official “offered to provide the Trump campaign” with damaging information about Mrs. Clinton as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.”

Donald Trump Jr. and others acknowledged the meeting after it became public knowledge, but downplayed it, saying the Russians involved had nothing of importance and wanted to push their own agenda.

In testimony last year to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Donald Trump Jr. said of the meeting that his father “wasn’t aware of it … frankly, by the time anyone was aware of it, which was summer of this year, as I stated earlier, I wouldn’t have wanted to get him involved in it because it had nothing to do with him.”

According to CNN, the four Russians at the meeting included “a lawyer with Kremlin ties, a businessman who worked for an oligarch and a lobbyist with old KGB connections.”

Alan Futerfas, an attorney for Donald Trump Jr., denied that his client had lied.

“Donald Trump Jr. has been professional and responsible throughout the Mueller and Congressional investigations. We are very confident of the accuracy and reliability of the information that has been provided by Mr. Trump, Jr., and on his behalf,” Mr. Futerfas said in a statement.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.