President Donald Trump's former "fixer" Michael Cohen once hired a technology firm to rig online polling in Trump's favor prior to the presidential campaign and later to create a Twitter account called @WomenForCohen, which described the attorney as a "sex symbol."
The owner of the IT firm, John Gauger, told The Wall Street Journal in a report published Thursday about the $50,000 worth of tech services Cohen requested during President Trump's 2016 campaign.
According to Gauger, Cohen offered him a lucrative deal in early 2015 to manipulate two online polls in Trump's favor, though the tech founder said that both attempts to skew survey results were unsuccessful.
Later on during the campaign, Cohen solicited Gauger's firm to create a Twitter account called @WomenForCohen. The account began posting about Cohen and Trump in May 2016 and is run by a female friend of Gauger's.
The account promotes itself as being for "Women who love and support Michael Cohen. Strong, pit bull, sex symbol, no nonsense, business oriented, and ready to make a difference!"
In one post from December 2016, the Twitter account retweeted a photo of Cohen and president-elect Trump that was originally shared by the personal attorney. In the Twitter caption, the account wrote that the "best looking men award goes to" with an arrow pointing to the photograph. "We love you guys!" the account added.
Best looking men award goes to __ We love you guys! #ThankYouTour2016 #MakeAmericaGreatAgain https://t.co/d4x8kYkwTn
— Women For Cohen (@WomenForCohen) December 3, 2016
In another tweet, the Twitter account retweeted a post by Cohen with the caption: "Look at this guy, always taking care of those who love this country!"
Gauger told the Journal that Cohen never fully paid for the $50,000 deal, instead giving him a Walmart bag filled with somewhere between $12,000 and $13,000 in cash. Cohen disputed that portion of Gauger's account, telling the Journal, "All monies paid to Mr. Gauger were by check."
Cohen appeared to confirm the central allegations of the story in a tweet Thursday, writing that what he did was "at the direction of and for the sole benefit of" President Trump. "I truly regret my blind loyalty to a man who doesn't deserve it," Cohen added.
As for the @WSJ article on poll rigging, what I did was at the direction of and for the sole benefit of @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. I truly regret my blind loyalty to a man who doesn’t deserve it.
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) January 17, 2019
Records show that Cohen received full reimbursement from Trump's personal account for the $50,000 worth of work provided by Gauger's company. The reimbursement was acknowledged by federal prosecutors when they charged Cohen with eight felonies last August. Cohen has since pleaded guilty and will serve three years in prison for campaign finance violations, tax fraud and lying to Congress.
During an appearance in court last summer, Cohen made the extraordinary admission that he made illegal hush money payments to two women before the 2016 election "at the direction" of then-candidate Trump. Cohen added that the payments were made "for the principal purpose of influencing the election."
Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, told the Journal that this latest revelation only further establishes that "Michael Cohen is completely untrustworthy."
Both Giuliani and Trump have publicly bashed Cohen for turning against the president and have accused the attorney of lying to get a reduced sentence. Cohen's defense lawyer Lanny Davis said that the attacks against his client are coming because he is "the greatest threat" to Trump's presidency.
Cohen will voluntarily testify before Congress ahead of serving his prison sentence. He is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee on February 7. The testimony will allow him to "give a full and credible account of the events that transpired," Cohen said.
