Trump denies directing lawyer to break law

Donald Trump on Thursday denied directing his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen to break the law after the US president's longtime close ally was sentenced to three years for campaign finance violations and other crimes.

"I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law," Trump tweeted.

"It is called 'advice of counsel,' and a lawyer has great liability if a mistake is made. That is why they get paid."
"Those charges were just agreed to by him in order to embarrass the president and get a much reduced prison sentence, which he did-including the fact that his family was temporarily let off the hook. As a lawyer, Michael has great liability to me!"