Michael Cohen: 'I fear' Trump won't peacefully give up the White House if he loses the 2020 election
- President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen on Wednesday says he fears that Trump will not concede the White House if he loses the 2020 presidential election.
- Cohen's closing remarks come after more than seven hours in public testimony before the House Oversight Committee.
- Cohen also castigates Trump at the finale of his congressional hearing for his ''childish'' actions that he says denigrate the office of the president.
President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen on Wednesday said he fears that Trump will not peacefully relinquish the White House if he loses his reelection bid next year.
Cohen, 52, also castigated Trump at the finale of his congressional hearing for his ''childish'' actions that he says denigrate the office of the president.
"I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, that there will never be a peaceful transition of power. And this is why I agreed to appear before you today," Cohen said of Trump.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on Cohen's remarks.
Cohen's closing speech came after more than seven hours in public testimony before the House Oversight Committee, where he launched a fusillade of accusations against his former boss' character and actions.
Read Cohen's full closing statement below:
Thank you. So first I want to thank you, chairman, because I appreciate the opportunity to share some final thoughts.
I have acknowledged I have made my own mistakes and I have owned up to them publicly and under oath, but silence and complicity in the face of the daily destruction of our basic norms and civility to one another will not be one of them.
I did things and I acted improperly, at times at Mr. Trump's behest. I blindly followed his demands. My loyalty Mr. Trump has cost me everything, my family's happiness, friendships, my law license, my company, my livelihood, my honor, my reputation and soon my freedom. And I will not sit back, say nothing, and allow him to do the same to the country.
Indeed given my experience working for Mr. Trump I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power, and this is why I agreed to appear before you today. In closing, I'd like to say directly to the president, we honor our veterans even in the rain, you tell the truth even when it doesn't aggrandize you, you respect the law and incredible law enforcement agents, you don't villainize them, you don't disparage generals, gold star families, prisoners of war and other heroes who had the courage to fight for this country.
You don't attack the media and those who question what you don't like or what you don't want them to say and you take responsibility for your own dirty deeds. You don't use your power of your bully pulpit to destroy the credibility of those who speak out against you. You don't separate families from one another or demonize those looking to America for a better life. You don't vilify people based on the god they pray to and you don't cuddle up to our adversaries at the expense of our allies.
Finally, you don't shut down the government before Christmas and new year's just to simply appease your base. This behavior is childish, it denigrates the office of the president and it's simply un-American. And it's not you.
So to those who support the president and his rhetoric as I once did, I pray the country doesn't make the same mistakes that I have made or pay the heavy price that my family and I are paying, and I thank you very much for this additional time, chairman.