‘Mr Fix-it’ Cohen is pointing the finger of blame at his former boss
FOR a decade, Michael Cohen served as Donald Trump’s lawyer and fixer, once saying he would “take a bullet” for the president. His job was simple: to clean up any problems that came the way of the tycoon-turned-politician.
Now Cohen, who on Tuesday pleaded guilty to eight charges relating to unpaid tax and campaign finances, has become Mr Trump’s greatest threat by offering to co-operate with the investigation into possible Russian collusion in the 2016 election.
Once front and centre of the Trump empire, Cohen would protect Mr Trump’s image and business at all costs. “If somebody does something Mr Trump doesn’t like, I do everything in my power to resolve it to Mr Trump’s benefit,” Cohen told ABC News in 2011.
Behind the scenes, Cohen was fixing another problem for Mr Trump – buying the silence of two women who alleged affairs, the porn star Stormy Daniels, and the former Playboy model, Karen Mcdougal.
When the payments first came to light, Cohen was defiant and claimed they did not constitute campaign finance donations.
Cohen started out as a personal injury lawyer but it was his place within Mr Trump’s inner circle that led him into the tangled web of the Russia investigation, headed up by the special counsel Robert Mueller.
Cohen was reportedly wounded when Mr Trump opted not to give him a role in the White House, reportedly on the advice of his daughter Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner.
The real turning point came in April, when the FBI raided his home and offices and seized hundreds of items – on the back of information handed to them by Mr Mueller.
The suggestion his allegiances had changed emerged when a recording Cohen made of himself and Mr Trump discussing a hush-money payment to Ms Mcdougal was leaked to the press.
In a complete change in rhetoric, Cohen told the press his “first loyalty” was to his family and country, not Mr Trump. Faced with a lengthy stretch in prison, Cohen has now pointed the blame squarely at his former boss.
On Tuesday he testified in court that Mr Trump “directed him” to commit a crime by making payments to two women, with the express intention of influencing the election.
Yesterday his lawyer, Lanny Davis, hinted that Cohen may testify that Mr Trump knew in advance about the computer hacking which undermined his opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Trusted with Mr Trump’s most sensitive issues for 12 years, Cohen could be an invaluable witness for Mr Mueller.