Trump had his second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week in Hanoi, Vietnam. The two planned to follow up on the historic summit they had in June 2018, during which both Trump and Kim made commitments - albeit vague ones - to denuclearization. On Thursday, however, the talks abruptly collapsed after the leaders were unable to come to an agreement about sanctions or progress.
According to Trump, "Basically they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn't do that. We had to walk away from that." However, two other members of the US delegation to North Korea contradicted this claim, saying that Kim only wanted a rollback of UN sanctions first imposed in 2016, not the complete removal of all sanctions over the past decade.
It's unclear what the path forward will be, though Trump seems to be offering continued goodwill to Kim and North Korea. Trump even defended Kim in the death of Otto Warmbier, a young American who fell into a coma during his detainment in North Korea and ultimately died shortly after his release. Trump said Kim told "[him] he didn't know about it, and I take him at his word." Warmbier's parents have publicly criticized Trump's glib acceptance of Kim's claim.
Trump's former longtime attorney, fixer, and personal confidant Michael Cohen testified before Congress this week. He testified first before the Senate and then before the House. Only one of three total days of testimony was made public. In the public portion of his testimony, Cohen accused Trump of "criminal conduct" both while campaigning and while in office. He alleged that Trump knew in advance of WikiLeak's plan to release hacked DNC emails intended to damage rival candidate Hillary Clinton's credibility and that Trump knew Roger Stone was in communication with WikiLeaks about the matter. Cohen also confirmed that he had paid hush money to women with whom Trump had affairs. Cohen also said he did not have direct evidence of Russia collusion, but had reason to suspect this was the case, such as Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer who promised dirt on Hillary Clinton in June 2016 - a meeting that Trump Jr. previously denied having, but now claims was actually about adopting Russian children. Cohen also described his personal views of Trump as "racist," "conman," and a "cheat."
Congress will seek further testimony from Cohen in March, along with other Trump Organization notables, such as Felix Sater, who worked on the Moscow Trump Tower project, and former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg. They're also reportedly seeking testimony from Ivanka Trump and Trump Jr. Trump, for his part, has dismissed Cohen as a liar who has given "fake testimony."
In other scandal-related news, the investigation into Trump's inaugural committee continued this week, as the attorney general for the city of Washington D.C. subpoenaed documents. It is the third government agency to open an inquiry into the committee, how it accrued $107 million, and how it spent these funds. New documents have also revealed that Trump directly issued orders for his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to receive security access, despite his previous claims that he had no involvement in the matter.