Michael Cohen, Trump’s long-time personal lawyer, is currently under two separate federal investigations. And the President’s allies are beginning to worry that Cohen may not stay loyal to Trump, especially if he is threatened with serious prison time. According to Politico , other Trump lawyers think that federal prosecutors will “threaten [Cohen] with a long prison term and try to turn him into a canary that sings.” Another lawyer also echoed those thoughts.
“Is he two years loyal? Is he 10 years loyal? Is he 15 years loyal?…That’s the currency. It’s not measured in inches. It’s measured in years.”
Meaning, how many years is Cohen willing to serve to protect Trump? It’s a question that only Cohen seems to know. In the meantime, speculation about Cohen’s loyalty places him all over the board. Some believe he will have zero loyalty when threatened with doing time, whereas others believe he will continue to serve as a loyal ally. After all, Cohen told Vanity Fair last summer that “I’m the guy who would take a bullet for the president.” Plus, the relationship he has with Trump has lasted over a dozen years, and Cohen has been by his side from the beginning of the presidential campaign.
However, one of Trump’s lawyers, Jay Goldberg, made a startling statement , according to New York Magazine . Goldberg told Trump that “Michael will never stand up [for you],” explaining that “the mob was broken by Sammy ‘The Bull’ Gravano caving in out of the prospect of a jail sentence.” It seems like a general consensus among Trump lawyers is that Cohen will be pressured and threatened with a lengthy prison sentence.
Since the FBI raided Cohen’s office and seized his private files, people have wondered what investigators might find. Trump is angry over the raid, saying that it infringes upon attorney-client privilege. And even if Cohen were sentenced to prison, most likely for charges involving wire and bank fraud, there’s always the possibility of a presidential pardon. However, such a pardon wouldn’t be guaranteed, and Cohen could get stuck serving an entire prison sentence.
In the meantime, investigators are looking into what role Cohen played in making payments to Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, both women who have filed lawsuits for the right to speak out about the alleged affairs. McDougal has reached a settlement, while Daniels’ case is still ongoing.