Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer and self-proclaimed fixer, spent a significant portion of his remarks in front of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday testifying that Trump is a racist.
"Mr. Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries 's***holes,' Cohen said. "In private, he is even worse."
"He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn’t a 's***hole.' This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States," Cohen said.
Cohen then went on to tell a story about driving through a poor Chicago neighborhood. He claims Trump asked how black people could "live that way," and then went on to say that black people would never vote for him because they were "too stupid."
During a meeting at the White House in January 2018, Trump reportedly asked lawmakers why the United States were taking immigrants from s***hole countries like Haiti and other African nations. Trump also has received criticism for his comments defending white nationalists at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which a protester was killed.
President Trump often touts his support among black Americans, citing low unemployment among African-Americans.
Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and campaign finance charges in 2018. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
Republican lawmakers spent much of their time attacking Cohen's credibility during Wednesday's hearing. For his part, Cohen apologized for lying to Congress in his opening statement.
"For those who question my motives for being here today, I understand. I have lied, but I am not a liar. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man. I have fixed things, but I am no longer your “fixer,” Mr. Trump," Cohen said.
