In a damning depiction of Donald Trump, the president’s former lawyer on Wednesday cast him as a racist and conman who used his inner circle to cover up politically damaging allegations about sex and lied about his business interests in Russia throughout the campaign that sent him to the White House.Cohen, who pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress, testified that Trump had advance knowledge and embraced the news that emails damaging to Hillary Clinton would be released. But he also said he has no “direct evidence” that the Trump presidential campaign colluded with Russia.Shaking off incessant criticism from Republicans anxious to paint him as a felon and liar, Cohen became the first Trump insider to pull back the curtain on his version of the inner workings of Trump’s political and business operations. He likened the president to a “mobster” who demands blind loyalty from underlings and expects them to lie on his behalf to conceal information and protect him — even if it means breaking the law.“I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty, of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him,” Cohen said. “I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump’s illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is.”READ COHEN'S OPENING STATEMENT HEREFollow along as the hearing continues (all times eastern.)10 a.m. Rep. Mark Meadows asks Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings for a delay in the Cohen testimony because the committee did not get Cohen’s opening statements in time, according to committee rules. The panel is now voting on a motion to delay the hearing, the motion fails and the hearing continues with Cummings offering his opening statement. Cohen is expected to detail before the House Oversight and Reform Committee what he believes is Trump’s lying, racism, cheating, and possibly even criminal conduct.Cohen, who was Trump’s longtime fixer, is the first high-profile witness called before the committee as newly empowered Democrats pursue an aggressive effort to investigate the president.Cohen played a pivotal role in buying the silence of a porn actress and a former Playboy Playmate who both alleged they had sex with Trump. The president has denied their claims.Cohen has pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations connected to the payments and to lying to Congress.He’s set to begin a three-year prison sentence in May.___10:15 a.m.A Democratic member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee says that restrictions on questions about Russia have been lifted when the committee questions Cohen.Just before the hearing began, Rep. Gerry Connolly said he’d discussed the issue with the committee’s leadership. The Virginia congressman said previous limits on questions about Russia were “null and void” because Cohen mentioned the issue in his opening statement.The committee chairman had issued a memo outlining the scope of the hearing, and it didn’t include questions about Russia. Cummings had said that he didn’t want to interfere with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.___10:30 a.m. Cohen claims Trump was told in advance that WikiLeaks planned to release emails damaging to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 White House campaign.In his prepared testimony, Cohen says he was in Trump’s office in 2016 when Trump adviser Roger Stone called.Cohen says Stone told Trump that Stone had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange, who run the anti-secrecy WikiLeaks group, and that there would be a “massive dump” of emails harmful to the Clinton campaign.Cohen’s allegation would contradict the president’s assertions that he was in the dark on this issue.It’s not immediately clear what evidence Cohen has to support the allegation or how legally problematic this claim it might be for Trump.Special counsel Robert Mueller hasn’t suggested that merely being aware of WikiLeaks’ plans is by itself a crime.Stone has pleaded not guilty to witness tampering and obstruction in Mueller’s investigation.___10:45 a.m. During his testimony, Cohen said while he did not have evidence the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians, he has his suspicions. Cohen recalled a moment in June of 2016 while he was in Trump's office when Donald Trump, Jr. came into the room."I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying, 'The meeting is all set.' I remember Mr. Trump saying, 'Ok good … let me know,'" Cohen told Congress."I also knew that nothing went on in Trump world, especially the campaign, without Mr. Trump’s knowledge and approval," he added.___10:55 a.m.Cohen tells Congress Trump lied about his wealth to look richer to Forbes magazine and less wealthy for tax authorities.Cohen says financial documents show Trump inflated his assets to rank higher on the Forbes world’s billionaires list. Trump ranked 766th on the publication’s latest list, which was released last March.Cohen claims Trump would also deflate his assets to pay lower real estate taxes.___10:58 a.m.Cohen says the president personally signed checks repaying him for hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels.Cohen has presented a check to the House Oversight and Reform Committee. The $35,000 check was from dated August 2017.Cohen has pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations connected to a $130,000 hush-money deal involving porn actress Stormy Daniels. She alleges an affair; Trump denies it.Cohen says he personally paid Daniels. But Trump’s current lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has said Cohen was repaid through a retainer agreement.Prosecutors have said the Trump Organization paid Cohen in monthly installments to reimburse him for the Daniels’ payment. They say Cohen used “sham” invoices to try to conceal the true nature of the payments.A second check from March 2017 was signed by Donald Trump Jr. and Trump’s chief financial officer.___11 a.m.Cohen says he wouldn’t accept a pardon from the president and he didn’t ask for one.Cohen is testifying that Trump instructed him to pay off women who said they’d had affairs with the president. Trump has denied the claims.Cohen says he’s speaking before the committee to set the record straight and try to atone for some of his mistakes. ___11:20 a.m. Cohen tells the committee he has spoken with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office seven times. ___11:40 a.m.In his questioning, Meadows introduced a guest he brought to today's hearing: Lynne Patton, a high-ranking political official in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.In a stunning exchange, Meadows claimed Patton, who is black, doesn't agree with Cohen's assessment that Trump is a racist, since she was hired to work for him.Cohen responded that — by that logic — he also should not work for the President. Cohen is the son of a Holocaust survivor.Meadows: Mr. Cohen, do you know Lynn Patton? Cohen: Yes, I do. Meadows: I asked Lynn to come today in her personal capacity to shed some light. How long have you known Ms. Patton? Cohen: I'm responsible for Ms. Patton joining the Trump organization in the job that she currently holds. Meadows: Well, I'm glad you acknowledge that because you made some very demeaning comments about the President that Ms. Patton doesn't agree with. In fact, it has to do with your claim of racism. She says that as a daughter of a man born in Birmingham, Alabama, that there is no way that she would work for an individual who was racist. How do you reconcile the two of those? Cohen: And neither should I as the son of a Holocaust survivor.___12 p.m.In a heated exchange, Rep. Paul Gosar, a Republican from Arizona, called Michael Cohen "a pathological liar.""No one should ever listen to you and give you credibility. It's sad," he said.At one point, Cohen chimed in to ask: "Are you referring to me or the president?"At the hearing, Gosar put up a sign that read “Liar, Liar Pants on Fire” and called Cohen a “pathological liar.”Democrats shot back, with Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch saying committee Republicans “aren’t afraid you’re going to lie. I think they’re afraid you’re going to tell the truth.”Cohen turned the focus on the president, saying lying became “the norm” working for Trump.___12:30 p.m.Cohen pointed out that many committee members had not asked about President Trump during his testimony today.The remarks came in an exchange with Republican Congressman Jim Jordan."All I wanted to say is I just find it interesting, sir, that between yourself and your colleagues that not one question so far since I'm here has been asked about President Trump. That's actually why I thought I was coming today. Not to confess the mistakes that I've made," Cohen said.He went on to say that he's already talked about his mistakes."Yes, I've made mistakes and I'll say it now again and I'll pay the ultimate price and I am not here today and the American people don't care about my they want to know what it is that I know about Mr. Trump and not one question so far has been asked about Mr. Trump," Cohen said.___1 p.m.Cohen, says prosecutors in New York are investigating conversations that Trump or his advisers had with Cohen after his hotel room was raided by the FBI.Cohen is testifying before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, and he was asked by a Democrat, Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, about the last contact Cohen had with Trump or any agent representing the president.Cohen says it was about two months after his hotel room was raided by the FBI in April 2018. But Cohen is declining to provide more specific details and says prosecutors are investigating the matter.___1:15 p.m.Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly said committee staff uncovered an email the White House had mistakenly released to lawmakers that revealed a meeting President Trump had requested in May of 2017 with Michael Cohen and Jay Sekulow, a member of the president’s legal team.Cohen could not remember the meeting "off the top" of his head, but said, “I recall being in the White House with Jay Sekulow and it was in regard to the document production as well as my appearance before the House Select Intel but I’m not sure if that specifically is what you’re referring.”Cohen said in that trip to the White House he had a conversation with Trump about his impending testimony.“He wanted me to cooperate, he also wanted just to ensure I’m making the statement, and I said it in my testimony, ‘There is no Russia, there is no collusion, there is no deal,’ he goes, ‘It’s all a witch hunt,’ he goes, ‘This stuff has to end.’”“At the end of the day I knew exactly what he wanted me to say,” Cohen said.He said he would check his documents and get a more fulsome answer for Connolly. Cohen said he thought Sekulow was in the meeting as a hand-off, “because he was going to be representing Mr. Trump going forward as one of his personal attorneys in this matter.”Asked by Connolly if he was “coached” by the president on how he should testify before the Intelligence Committee, Cohen said “it’s difficult to answer” and repeated his previous testimony about the way Trump had back-handedly discussed Russia with him.“He doesn’t tell you what he wants. What he does is again, ‘Michael, there’s no Russia, there’s no collusion, there’s no involvement, there’s no interference.’ I know what he means because I’ve been around him for so long. So if you’re asking me whether or not that’s the message, that’s staying on point, that’s the party line that he created that so many others are now touting, yes, that’s the message that he wanted to reinforce.”___1:25 p.m.Michael Cohen said he helped launch the website, shouldtrumprun.com, which he says eventually triggered Donald Trump's campaign for president.Rep. Jim Jordan asked Cohen: "You started the campaign for President of the United States for Donald Trump?""I certainly did, sir," Cohen responded.Cohen then explained that he had started the website after reading a newspaper that polled people on who they'd vote for in 2012.He added: "6 percent said they'd vote" for Trump."So I brought it into his office and I said to him, 'Mr. Trump, take a look at this, and he said wouldn't that be great?' And with that is where it all started," Cohen said.___1:50 p.m.Cohen denies he's ever visited Prague and the Czech Republic despite an explosive claim made in the infamous Russia dossier.The dossier contains allegations against several of Trump's campaign officials and associates of having secret contacts with Russians during the campaign. The dossier also claims Cohen secretly met Russian officials in Prague to coordinate Kremlin interference in the election and do damage control if the alleged collusion was exposed or if Clinton won.Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier asked Michael Cohen about how many people and entities Trump asked him to threaten in the decade Cohen worked as the president's personal lawyer.Cohen eventually said the number is around 500.___2 p.m.Cohen says President Trump called him and asked him to mislead the public about hush money paid to a porn actress.Cohen told the House Oversight and Reform Committee that Trump called him in February 2018 to discuss the public messaging about $130,000 paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about allegations of an extramarital affair.Cohen says Trump asked him to say that the president “wasn’t knowledgeable” about the payments.In fact, Cohen says Trump directed and coordinated the payments. Documents also show Trump personally signed at least one check paid to Cohen to reimburse him for the payments.The White House has denied Trump had an affair with Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford.Daniels released a statement on Twitter thanking Cohen for his testimony. "Thank you for having the courage, at long last, to begin to tell the truth," Daniels wrote. "I hope that someday soon your family and mine can both leave this nightmare behind." ___2:10 p.m.Fordham University is confirming it received a letter from Michael Cohen threatening legal action if Trump’s academic records became public.Cohen testified to Congress that Trump directed him to write letters warning his schools and the College Board not to disclose his grades or SAT scores.Cohen has given the House Oversight and Reform Committee a copy of his letter to Fordham. It was dated May 2015, about a month before Trump started his presidential campaign.Fordham says the letter from Trump’s lawyer was preceded by a phone call from a campaign staffer. Fordham says it’s bound by federal law barring the release of student records.Trump attended the Roman Catholic university in New York City for two years. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. UPenn and the College Board declined to comment.___2:30 p.m.The hearing has gone into recess for the second time. ___3:00 p.m.Trump campaign spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany did not outright deny the claims Cohen made in his testimony, but did slam him as "a felon, a disbarred lawyer and a convicted perjurer."___4:30 p.m.Cohen's congressional testimony resumes___4:40 p.m.Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a Democrat from California, asked Cohen about President Trump's tax returns.Trump did not release his returns during the 2016 presidential campaign, saying they were under audit."Mr. Cohen, do you know whether President Trump's tax returns were really under audit by the IRS in 2016?" Gomez asked."I don't know the answer. I asked for a copy of the audit so that I could use it in terms of my statements to the press, and I was never able to obtain one," Cohen said.Gomez followed up: "So, do you have any inside knowledge about what was in the President's tax returns that he refused to release?""I do not," Cohen said.Cohen then explained why he believed Trump refused to release his returns."Statements that he has said to me is that what he didn't want was to have an entire group of think tanks that are tax experts run through his tax return and start ripping it to pieces and then he'll end up in an audit and he'll ultimately have taxable consequences, penalties and so on."___5:15 p.m.Former President Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen remarked on a lengthy day of testimony, casting blame on the president.Cohen acknowledged he acted improperly but also said that happened "at times at Mr. Trump's behest."He said his loyalty to Trump has cost him everything, from his company to his law license and, soon, his freedom. Cohen is expected to begin a three-year prison sentence in May.Cohen said that, given his experience, he fears if Trump loses the election in 2020, there would never be a peaceful transition of power.