What A Falling Out With Michael Cohen Could Mean For Donald Trump
Traditionally speaking, the title of “fixer” is not formal one in the business world, but it is one that Michael Cohen eagerly embraced as a lawyer with the Trump Organization, The New York Times reports. In his capacity as the go-to problem solver for Donald Trump, Cohen, over the years, developed an unrivaled perspective on Trump’s business and personal life.
Cohen was not a key part of Trump’s business, but he was very much the man who tended to be by his side, particularly in the 10 years or so that preceded his rise to the presidency. Less an employee of the Trump Organization and more of a personal aide, Cohen famously arranged hush money payments to two different women in response to affairs they had with Trump.
And while Cohen’s loyalty was, for years, essentially unparalleled, it would seem that that loyalty often went unreciprocated by his notoriously impetuous and temperamental boss. It was that disconnect which, in a falling out that would ultimately have reverberations across the Trump presidency, led to a tense situation as the FBI raided Cohen’s home and office while the one-time fixer wondered whether his most high-profile of clients would have his back when it mattered most.
Cohen eventually pleaded guilty to multiple crimes in connection with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. He is scheduled to serve a three-year prison term and, after months of uncertainty, has apparently turned on his former employer.
Cohen now unabashedly offers the information which he has absorbed over the years, even going so far as to personally suggest that he could fill in many of the gaps redacted by the attorney general in Mueller’s extensive report.
May 6 is the date on which Cohen is scheduled to appear to begin his prison sentence.
Exclusive: Missed cues, clashing egos, veiled threats and unaddressed money worries all contributed to Michael Cohen’s halting decision to turn on President Trump, a man he had long idolized and even once vowed to take a bullet for https://t.co/IpdUOZVQAE
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 21, 2019
As that day approaches, Cohen’s lawyers seem to be making one final effort to help their client avoid prison. Writing earlier this month to Democrats in Congress, they asked that they support reducing his sentence or postponing his surrender. That effort has not appeared to have gone anywhere.
At this point, Cohen, who is currently facing the most jail time of anyone arrested in connection with the investigation, could very well find himself in a position to broker his own freedom in exchange for the information Trump’s opponents have so desperately sought in their efforts to bring down one of the most divisive presidencies in modern American history.
