One of the scary moments comes after about two hours. Michael Cohen, ex-lawyer for Donald Trump, speaks in a low, haunting voice before the US Congress.
"Everybody's got a job in the Trump organization: it's about protecting Donald Trump, we came to the office every day, and we knew we were lying to him at some point," Cohen says. "That was the norm, and that's the same thing that's happening in the government right now."
For a brief moment there is silence in the hall. Republicans and Democrats are looking down on the floor. It almost seems as if Michael Cohen has not talked about the president of the United States, but about the boss of a criminal organization.
Video: Billing with Trump in the US Congress
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Trump's longtime personal lawyer delivers many such disturbing statements at his hearing before the US Congress Oversight Committee. The former Trump confidant is questioned about his relationship to the president for most of the day. Under oath, he paints the picture of a man who is not to be trusted, who lies, cheats and who may be involved in several crimes.
Millions of Americans watch the spectacle live in front of the screens. Cohen worked closely with Trump for ten years, he was his "fixer", the man for delicate tasks, until the two broke up in the last year in the dispute. It quickly becomes clear that Cohen inflicts considerable damage on his ex-boss with his appearance - politically, but also legally.
A man makes a clean sweep
Although Cohen provides no definitive evidence, but many explosive information and new starting points for further investigations in the Trump cosmos. The Trump-loyal republican delegates in the hall can still labor so hard to portray him as a "pathological liar" and "convicted criminals." It does not help: Much of what Cohen has to say against Trump sounds believable.
Cohen will soon have to serve his three-year prison sentence, which was condemned by a New York court, including for tax evasion. That's probably why he speaks like a man who is now above all about finally cleaning up.
Several times he apologizes for lied in the past. He was concerned to protect Trump. But now he had come to Washington to make amends and finally to tell the truth. "I'm ashamed of my weakness and my false loyalty to Trump," says Cohen. That sounds honestly remorseful and in fact the question arises: Why should he lie now again?
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Donald Trump
Cohen tells many serious, but also bizarre stories from his years with Trump. As Trump has told him that he once successfully succumbed to his military service in the Vietnam War. "I'm not an idiot and go to Vietnam," said Trump.
Once Cohen wants to have threatened on behalf of Trump its former university. If she dared publish Trump's notes, he would sue her immediately. Another time, Trump is said to have instructed Cohen to bid for a Trump portrait at auction by a straw man. Later, Trump stated that his portrait had achieved the maximum price. He did not say that he had bought it himself.
Courtesy Michael Cohen / Handout via REUTERS
Then Cohen says that he does not believe that Trump has an illegitimate child, even though there have been such rumors. He also reports that Trump has inflated his assets against the Deutsche Bank to obtain a loan for the purchase of a football team. Or that he misrepresented the actual value of his golf courses in order to pay less taxes. And and and.
Tricky statements about Russia
The more important points in Cohen's testimony undoubtedly include the new insights he gives to Russia's investigations. Although Cohen may not say much about his collaboration with special investigator Robert Mueller at this public hearing for reasons of secrecy, he makes one thing clear: Trump knew very well in advance that the WikiLeaks disclosure platform would publish e-mails during the election campaign previously stolen from Democratic headquarters, presumably by Russian hackers.
He was present when the Trump friend called Roger Stone over a speaker phone, Cohen describes a summer 2016 scene. Stone told Trump he had just phoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The WikiLeaks emails should be published soon, Stone said to Trump. The responded to it allegedly pleased.
Trump had always denied having known about the whole thing. And Stone had stated that he had not talked to either Trump or Assange. At least one of the men is lying here: Cohen, Trump or Stone. The only question is: who and why?
He has no direct evidence that Trump or his team have worked with Russia to manipulate the presidential election, Cohen says. "But I have my suspicions."
The Stormy-Daniels affair
Another important point is Cohen's testimony regarding suspected hushback payments to two women who allegedly had affairs with Trump. For Trump, this matter may be even more legal than the Russian affair. These include the notorious Stormy-Daniels scandal and payments to Playboy model Karen McDougal.
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Stormy Daniels
Cohen has now publicly stated for the first time that Trump knew before the election 2016 of the hush money payments: Trump had instructed him to take over and then tried together with him to cover the matter in public by false information, said Cohen. Prior to the election, it was a matter of preventing damaging coverage of the affair at all costs, Cohen admitted.
Later Trump had refunded him with covert payments the money. These would be two possible offenses: a violation of US stringent electoral fines and penalties.
When the payments to Stormy Daniels became known in more detail in the spring of 2018 through reports in the Wall Street Journal, the president allegedly told him, Cohen, to declare that Trump did not know about the payments. Possibly bad for Trump: According to Cohen, the chief financial officer of Trump's corporate empire, Allen Weisselberg, was involved in the whole thing. Weisselberg has already testified before the prosecutor in New York. So far it is not known whether he too Trump charged. Should Weisselberg confirm Cohen's testimony, Trump might face a charge.
The Moscow project
There was also a third important point in the Cohen hearing clear: There are still several inconsistencies around a real estate project of Trumps in Russia, the "Trump Tower Moscow". Cohen had lied about it in a first appearance before the US Congress last year. He had stated that this project had not been pursued during the election campaign.
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Trump Tower in New York
Now Cohen admitted that this was wrong. The project had been pursued well throughout the election campaign, Trump had also inquired about the stand again and again. He had been wrong in his congressional statement to hide this fact in the interest of Trumps. He thought Trump would expect that from him. Finally, Trump has repeatedly stated publicly that he has "absolutely nothing" to do with Russia.
That's why he also co-ordinated Trump's lawyers' first false statement on the congressional project last year. These had checked his written information and changed it in places, so Cohen.
This is a controversial statement, which will certainly be further investigated, at least by the Democrats in Congress: If Trump and / or his lawyers are implicated in Cohen's false testimony before Congress, that too would be an offense. A false statement before congress and instigating it is a criminal offense.
A mysterious process in New York
Either way, it is clear: The hearing of Michael Cohen is not the end, but perhaps only the prelude to further investigations.
As early as next week, the Mueller final report could be published with new allegations against Trump. And Cohen suggests that the prosecutor in New York still has a hitherto unknown procedure in which Trump is involved. But he had been asked by the investigators to say nothing about it now, so Cohen.
Surely Trump and his lawyers will have listened very carefully.