Trump avoids mention of Manafort, Cohen at rally

President Trump addressed a rally in Charleston, West Virginia, Tuesday evening to lend his support to U.S. Senate candidate Patrick Morrisey.

It was his sixth visit to West Virginia since taking office in January 2017.  He promoted his plan to loosen Obama-era pollution limits, which he argues will revive the coal industry. The proposal broadly increases the authority given to states to decide how and how much to regulate existing coal power plants.

Trump avoided mentioning his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his former personal attorney Michael Cohen at the event.

The closest reference on Tuesday night came when he slammed the special counsel investigation into Russian election interference as a “witch hunt” and asked: “Where is the collusion?”

Hours before the rally, Manafort was convicted in federal court in Virginia on eight counts of financial crimes. Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in New York to eight felonies, including breaking federal campaign finance law by arranging payments to two women who said they had sexual relationships with Trump before he became president.

Trump has denied the relationships.