Rep. Ryan Costello said that Michael Cohen's assertion that President Donald Trump knew about the 2016 meeting where Russian officials offered dirt on Hillary Clinton is just the "opening salvo" in the conflict between the two.
"What it's going to change here is now the playing field is shaped just a little bit differently," Costello said Friday on CNN's "New Day."
"When you have Lanny Davis, a former Clinton operative who is very well experienced in PR crisis management, and now you’re starting to see the dripping of information on behalf of Michael Cohen — adversarial now to President Trump — I think that this is just the opening salvo," Costello said.
He said that Trump supporters are likely to see the issue as Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer, protecting himself, while those who reject Trump will find it consistent with their stances.
"I think, largely speaking, Trump supporters are going to look at this and say, 'Oh, it’s Michael Cohen covering for himself, he has the Clinton apparatus around him,'" Costello said.
However, Costello noted that "on the flip side, this is the kind of information, which is consistent with those who have been critical of the president and who have raised concerns about the Mueller investigation and Russian interference and this issue of collusion, which the president continues to deny, but which this kind of information, as it drips out, would clearly contradict,” Costello said.
Costello said his colleagues in Congress are going to focus not on Trump, but on the successes of the administration’s policies.
“My colleagues are going to focus on the fact that we have historically low unemployment, very successful economic growth, a regulatory reform package, we have a very tough foreign policy. There are a lot of good things happening in this country,” the congressman said.
Politicians in both parties should allow the investigation to reach its conclusion, he said.
"Republicans and Democrats really should step back — it’s tough to do — but let the investigation take its course,” Costello said.
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