President Donald Trump on Thursday gave an angry and defiant briefing with reporters on the White House lawn after his former “fixer” Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about his dealings with Moscow.

While speaking with reporters, the president denounced Cohen as a “weak person and not a very smart person” after he pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress in 2017. Trump also said that Cohen “lied” to investigators to get a reduced sentence.

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Trump also dismissed concerns that he was trying to secure a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government even as he was running for President of the United States.

“When I’m running for president that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to do business,” the president said.

BREAKING: Trump tells reporters on Cohen Moscow project “When I’m running for president that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to do business.” Says of Cohen “this is a weak person and not a very smart person” — Shannon Pettypiece (@spettypi) November 29, 2018

Watch the video below.

TRUMP, speaking to reporters outside the White House, says Michael Cohen is “a weak person. And by being weak, unlike other people that you watch, he’s a weak person, and what he’s trying to do is get a reduced sentence. So he is lying about a project everybody knew about.” pic.twitter.com/QVSGJcoRa6 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 29, 2018