President Trump speaks at Ohio Republican Party state dinner – live updates

A difficult week for Trump

The event Friday caps a difficult week for Mr. Trump. On Tuesday, his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty on eight counts including tax fraud, the first major victory by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecutors in his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Within minutes of Manafort’s guilty verdict, the president’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to eight counts, including paying two women just before the election — allegedly at Mr. Trump’s direction — to stay silent about their claimed affairs with Mr. Trump.

In an interview with Fox & Friends Thursday, Mr. Trump said that “flipping” like Cohen should be “illegal.”

On Friday, Trump Organization chief financial officer Alan Weisselberg, one of the president’s closest private sector confidantes, was granted immunity in connection to the investigation which led to Cohen’s guilty plea. It was also reported Friday that the Manhattan district attorney is opening an investigation into the Trump Organization.