Michael Cohen secretly met Russians in Prague
| Michael Cohen secretly met Russians in Prague | |
|---|---|
| FALSE | |
| "Trump lawyer Michael Cohen traveled to Prague in 2016 to meet Kremlin-linked figures and arrange the hacking, as the Steele dossier alleged." | |
| Domain | Politics & Elections |
| Tactic | Fabrication Conspiracy Theory |
| Era | Current |
| First seen | 2017 |
| Origin | A claim in the Steele dossier, and an April 2018 McClatchy report that investigators had evidence of the trip |
| Last reviewed | 2026-11-03 |
| Further reading: books on Politics & Elections | |
The claim that Michael Cohen secretly met Russians in Prague is one of the most specific allegations in the Steele dossier, and it has not held up.
What the evidence shows
- The dossier made the allegation. Steele's reporting said Cohen met Kremlin-linked figures in Prague in August or September 2016 to cover up Russian contacts and hacking.
- McClatchy reported support in 2018. In April 2018 the news organization reported that investigators had evidence Cohen had traveled to Prague, which raised the claim's profile.
- Cohen denied it. He said he had never been to Prague. In congressional testimony in 2019 he repeated that.
- The Mueller report did not find the trip. The report, released in April 2019, said Cohen had not traveled to Prague. Mueller's team had Cohen's cooperation and travel records.
- The rest of Cohen's account was mixed. Cohen was convicted of other crimes, including lying to Congress about the Moscow project, so his denials were not self-validating. The documents are what resolve the question.
Why it persists
It was the most concrete piece of the dossier, and the Prague claim also appeared in coverage by reputable outlets. Corrections are less widely shared than the first report.
Lessons for readers
- A specific, checkable claim is useful because it can be checked, and this one was.
- Credibility belongs to the documents, not to the person speaking.
See also
- The Trump Moscow tower deal proves Trump was compromised by the Kremlin
- The Steele dossier proved Trump was compromised by Russia
- The Trump pee tape exists
Sources
- Special Counsel Mueller, report, Volume I.
- McClatchy, report on Cohen and Prague, April 2018.
- Michael Cohen, congressional testimony, 2019.