Cohen got $ from AT&T on merger help

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S embattled personal attorney Michael Cohen advised AT&T on a corporate merger that required approval from the federal government, raising an array of potential ethical concerns, according to a report.

Internal documents obtained by The Washington Post reveal Cohen’s $600,000 deal with the telecom giant involved giving advice on an $85 billion merger with Time Warner, a proposal opposed by Trump that had to be approved by federal antitrust regulators.

Cohen, who’s under criminal investigation in New York, has come under increased scrutiny since porn star Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti revealed Tuesday that Cohen’s company Essential Consultants took at least $4.4 million from corporations with business before the government following the 2016 election.

The AT&T contract stands out since it involved Cohen giving advice on antitrust law — a complex field in which he has no known experience. The AT&T merger is currently held up in the courts following a lawsuit from the Justice Department.

Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor in Illinois who has practiced antitrust law, said he found AT&T’s decision to hire Cohen bizarre.

“The idea that Michael Cohen would be able to provide any insight on a complex, antitrust matter is absurd,” Mariotti told the Daily News. “It would be as if you hired a pediatrician to do neurosurgery.”