DIG FOR MORE DIRT
N.Y. wants to grill Cohen on taxes as part of Don-foundation probe
The state Tax Department is eager to meet with the commander-in-chief’s former fixer Michael Cohen.
One day after eight guilty pleas by the President’s oncetrusted former personal attorney stirred up Trump’s wrath, Cuomo administration tax officials subpoenaed the self-styled tough-guy lawyer Wednesday as part of an ongoing probe into the President’s charitable foundation.
Cohen, in an unexpected twist, personally responded to the legal summons.
The subpoena seeks unspecified “relevant information” from Cohen in a state tax department-led probe that will involve “the New York State Attorney General and the Manhattan District Attorney as appropriate,” said Tax Department spokesman James Gazzale.
Other state agencies might also be involved, a Cuomo administration source said.
The betrayed Trump lashed out via Twitter at his old sidekick, questioning the attorney’s competence and loyalty.
“If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!” tweeted Trump to start his cyber-tirade.
Trump then compared Cohen with former campaign manager Paul Manafort, who faces more than 60 years in prison after a Virginia jury convicted him on eight counts of bank and tax fraud.
“I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family,” Trump tweeted. “‘Justice’ took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to ‘break’ -make up stories in order to get a ‘deal.’ Such respect for a brave man!”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said despite Cohen’s tale of
Trump payoffs to a porn star and a Playboy model during the run-up to the 2016 election, the president did nothing wrong.
“Just because Michael Cohen made a plea deal doesn’t mean that implicates the president on anything,” she said.
Cohen personally contacted the Tax Department after receiving his subpoena, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.
While the source declined to discuss what was said, standard procedure in such cases involves contact with the lawyer rather than the target of a subpoena.
Gov. Cuomo noted that Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis “went out of his way to say Cohen would be forthcoming on both federal and state investigations.”
Davis, in a Wednesday afternoon tweet, said Cohen “has decided to tell the truth about Donald Trump and put his country first.”
The state Attorney General’s office, in a civil lawsuit, accused Trump and his three oldest children of operating a bogus namesake charity “in persistent violation” of federal and state laws for more than a decade — including allegations that money was used for his presidential campaign and on a $10,000 portrait of the wealthy developer.
Additionally, the Tax Department is investigating whether Trump and his charitable foundation violated state law by transferring assets or making misrepresentations to the state with respect to tax liability and tax assignment. Any findings of wrongdoing would have to be referred for prosecution.
Trump, interviewed Wednesday on his favorite morning show “Fox & Friends,” insisted no crimes were committed when Cohen funneled the cash to porn actress Stormy Daniels and onetime Playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump, contradicting himself, had previously insisted that he was unaware of the $130,000 payoff to Daniels.
“They didn’t come out of the campaign,” he said about the payoffs. “In fact, my first question when I heard about it was, ‘Did they come out of the campaign?’ because that could be a little dicey. And they didn’t come out of the campaign, and that’s big.”
Noah Bookbinder, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Trump was clearly misinformed about his criminal liability. “The payments were made for the benefit of the campaign,” he said.