Trump denies asking Whitaker if ally could oversee Cohen probe

President Donald Trump on Tuesday denied a report that he asked then-Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker if an ally could undo his recusal in an investigation of his former personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen.

Longtime Trump ally Geoffrey Berman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, had already recused himself from the Cohen case at the point of Trump’s request. But the president wanted him to oversee an investigation into Trump, Cohen, and payments made during the 2016 campaign to several women to keep them quiet about extramarital affairs with Trump.

The New York Times first reported the alleged request, citing “several American officials with direct knowledge of the call.”

The New York Times first reported the alleged request, citing “several American officials with direct knowledge of the call.”

“No,” the president said when asked about the report during a space policy event in the Oval Office, “I don’t know who gave you that.”