1. Trump didn’t know about the Trump Tower meeting
.. Again, Cohen’s version is secondhand and unconfirmed, but he’s apparently willing to testify to it. And if other people know about it, we can bet they’ll be forced to testify to that effect, too.
Were this denial to fall apart, it would be perhaps the most serious false denial, given the Trump Tower meeting’s centrality to the Russia investigation and the fact that it could open Trump Jr. to potential perjury allegations. It would also be among the most incontrovertibly false denials on this list.
2. Trump wasn’t involved in the response to the Trump Tower meeting
.. The Washington Post soon reported that Trump had dictated Trump Jr.’s initial, misleading statement on the meeting.
And last month, in court filings, Trump’s legal team for the first time admitted that on the record.
3. The Trump team didn’t talk to Russians
.. We now know about the Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer tied to Vladimir Putin (and other Russians), of course. We also know about various contacts between now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Russian ambassador. We also know about Erik Prince meeting in Seychelles with a Russian close to Putin, possibly to set up a back channel of communication.
The Post’s Philip Bump details all the connections here.
4. The Trump team didn’t know about the National Enquirer/Karen McDougal payment
.. Trump had spoken with Cohen about buying the rights to the story on a September 2016 tape that Cohen released publicly this week. It is not clear how many details of the situation Trump himself knew — apart from the purchase price and apparently that he was buying something from AMI head David Pecker — but he clearly knew enough for Hicks not to offer such an absolute denial. And Cohen clearly knew a lot.
5. Trump didn’t stay overnight in Moscow in 2013
.. Flight records indicated that Trump’s plane was in Moscow from Friday to Sunday morning — meaning he had to have stayed over at least one night.
Faced with this evidence, Trump denied that he had ever told Comey that he didn’t stay overnight in Moscow. “He said I didn’t stay there a night. Of course I stayed there,” Trump told Fox News. “I stayed there a very short period of time, but of course I stayed. Well, his memo said I left immediately. I never said that. I never said I left immediately.”
.. 6. Trump didn’t know about the Stormy Daniels payment
Rudolph W. Giuliani eventually spilled the beans, saying Cohen “funneled it through a law firm, and the president repaid it.” Trump later confirmed Cohen was placed on a retainer.