According to an Iran Press report, In a statement, a spokesperson for Speaker Paul Ryan said: “We are aware of Mr Cohen’s guilty plea to these serious charges. We will need more information than is currently available at this point.”
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump critic in the past, emphasized that both cases had nothing to do with Russia. “The American legal system is working its will in both the Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen cases,” Graham said in a statement.
“Thus far, there have yet to be any charges or convictions for colluding with the Russian government by any member of the Trump campaign in the 2016 election. It’s important to let this process continue without interference. I hope Mr Mueller can conclude his investigation sooner rather than later for the benefit of the nation.”
John Cornyn, the number two ranking Republican in the Senate echoed Graham’s comments on Tuesday. According to CNN, Cornyn said: “If Manafort and Cohen did things that [they] shouldn’t have done, which it sounds like they did, I think they ought to be held responsible for it but I don’t see any of this having anything to do with the president and Russia.”
However, Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who has long been a Trump critic , and one of the few Republicans willing to consistently break with Trump on policy grounds, offered direct criticism of Cohen and Manafort. “Paul Manafort is a founding member of the DC swamp and Michael Cohen is the Gotham version of the same,” said Sasse. “Neither one of these felons should have been anywhere near the presidency.”
