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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 18 January 2019
Cohen says he rigged online polls for Trump in 2014, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — President "had no knowledge" of any University in Lynchburg, Vir-
Donald Trump's estranged effort to manipulate polling ginia. His attorney declined
former lawyer acknowl- data on his behalf. to comment. Cohen was
edged Thursday that he He called Cohen a "liar" recently sentenced to three
paid a technology compa- and a "thief" for seeking years in prison after plead-
ny to rig Trump's standing in reimbursement for more ing guilty to tax crimes,
two online polls before the money than he'd paid bank fraud and campaign
presidential campaign. Gauger's company, Red- violations that were not re-
Michael Cohen tweeted Finch Solutions LLC. lated to his dealings with
that "what I did was at the Gauger is also the chief in- Gauger and the technol-
direction of and for the sole formation officer at Liberty ogy company.q
benefit of" Trump.
"I truly regret my blind loy- Congressman who
alty to a man who doesn't
deserve it," he added.
Cohen was responding to In this Dec. 7, 2018 file photo, Michael Cohen, former lawyer to worked on Trump's PA
an article in The Wall Street President Donald Trump, leaves his apartment building in New
Journal that said Cohen York. campaign is resigning
stiffed the owner of the Associated Press
technology company out
of tens of thousands of dol- ing glove Cohen claimed payments to two women Marino and former Rep.
lars he promised for work had been worn by a Brazil- who claim they had extra- Lou Barletta "thunder and
that included using a com- ian mixed-martial arts fight- marital affairs with Trump. lightning" when they co-
puter script to enter fake er. They said in a charging chaired his campaign in
votes for Trump in a 2014 Cohen disputed he paid document that Cohen Pennsylvania.
CNBC poll asking people to cash, telling the Journal had been reimbursed by Trump nominated Marino
identify top business lead- that "all monies paid to Mr. the Trump Organization for in 2017 to become the na-
ers and a 2015 poll of po- Gauger were by check." payments to the women, tion's drug czar, but Ma-
tential presidential candi- He offered no further com- plus $50,000 for "tech ser- rino withdrew his name
dates. ment. vices" that he requested in from consideration after
The company owner, John Federal prosecutors re- a handwritten note. reports he played a key
Gauger, told the newspa- ferred to a payment to Messages seeking com- role in a law that weak-
per that Cohen promised Gauger's company— ment were sent to the ened federal power to
him $50,000 for the work though not by name— Trump Organization Thurs- stop companies from dis-
but instead gave him a when Cohen was charged day. tributing opioids.
blue Walmart bag stuffed last summer with violating Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giu- At the time, Marino de-
with between $12,000 and campaign-finance laws liani, told The Associated In this file photo from Dec. 15, fended his work on the
2016 Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa.,
$13,000 in cash, plus a box- by arranging hush-money Press that the president stands with other elected law, which passed with-
officials as then President- out opposition in the
elect Donald Trump, departs House and Senate and
a rally in Hershey, Pa. was signed by President
Associated Press Barack Obama, and said
it will help "facilitate a bal-
By MARC LEVY and MARK anced solution" between
SCOLFORO access to medication and
Associated Press law enforcement's efforts
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — to prevent abuse.
Tom Marino, a five-term Marino, who lives in Co-
Republican congressman gan Station, was a U.S.
who helped steer Don- attorney in the Middle Dis-
ald Trump's successful trict of Pennsylvania under
presidential campaign in President George W. Bush
Pennsylvania, said Thurs- and has survived multiple
day that he is resigning bouts of kidney cancer.
just days into a new term. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Demo-
In a statement, Marino crat, must schedule a spe-
said his last day will be Jan. cial election to fill Marino's
23 and that he is taking a seat.
job in the private sector. Marino's resignation is
Marino and his office did likely to set off a furious
not respond to questions scramble to secure votes
about the announcement among the committee
Thursday. members of the state Re-
Marino easily won re-elec- publican Party who will
tion in November in his select a nominee to run in
heavily Republican district the special election.
in northern Pennsylvania. The sprawling district cov-
The 66-year-old former ers all or parts of 15 coun-
county and federal pros- ties. Registered Republi-
ecutor was one of Trump's cans outnumber Demo-
earliest supporters in Con- crats there by nearly
gress. Trump nicknamed 100,000.q