Michael Cohens Long Arc From Trump Ally to Chief Antagonist – The New York Times
When Michael D. Cohen stood before a federal judge to ask for leniency, he attributed much of his behavior to the influence of one man: Donald J. Trump.
Time and time again, Mr. Cohen told the judge at his sentencing in late 2018, I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds.
Ever since, Mr. Cohen has made it his work to expose those deeds. He testified for roughly seven hours at a Congressional hearing in 2019, describing Mr. Trump as a liar and a cheater who made racist remarks. Mr. Cohen also met with the special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigators and federal prosecutors in New York. And he was the impetus for the New York Attorney Generals investigation into Mr. Trumps business practices, laying the groundwork for a lawsuit that accused the former president of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars.
Mr. Cohens transformation from trusted fixer to chief antagonist a 180-degree turn against a man he once vowed to take a bullet for upended his life. He went to prison for 13 months and then faced home confinement for more than a year. He endured years of attacks from Mr. Trumps allies, ultimately emerging with a book deal, cable news appearances and a podcast, Mea Culpa.
Now, Mr. Cohen is poised to seize his biggest moment yet: a day in court against Mr. Trump.
Mr. Cohen is the key witness in the Manhattan district attorneys investigation into a hush-money payment to a porn star named Stormy Daniels. The payment, which Mr. Cohen said he made at Mr. Trumps direction during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign, blocked Ms. Daniels from telling her story of an affair with Mr. Trump years earlier.
Mr. Cohen has met with the prosecutors some 20 times and recently testified before a grand jury that could indict Mr. Trump as soon as this week, people with knowledge of the matter said. And he has provided documentation that bolsters his testimony, the people added.
On Wednesday, the grand jury did not meet as expected, two people with knowledge of the matter said, meaning that any indictment of the former president would come Thursday at the earliest. The panel may hear from at least one more witness before being asked to vote. Because the proceedings are kept secret, the timing of any charges is unknown.
Mr. Trump has denied having any sexual encounter with Ms. Daniels and accused the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, a Democrat, of carrying out a political witch hunt against him.
Mr. Trumps team and Mr. Cohens critics maintain he is playing a cynical game based on rescuing his reputation and capitalizing on his guilty plea. But his supporters in Congress, in the Democratic Party and on his expansive social media presence credit him with a high-risk decision to challenge a president, and force the first significant cracks in Mr. Trumps edifice.
This account of the long, strange and now historically consequential arc of Mr. Trumps once-loyal lawyer and fixer is drawn from interviews with nearly a dozen people who know him, and records from his various legal entanglements. Collectively, they paint a portrait of a complicated witness a convicted liar and an opportunist, but also a compelling presence, who notes that his lies were on Mr. Trumps behalf, and whose emotional vulnerability and blunt recitation of history prosecutors may rely on to charm a jury.
I know theres a debate about the utilization of Michael as a witness, and that is going to be a colorful cross-examination, said Norman Eisen, who served as the counsel for House Democrats during the first impeachment inquiry and developed a relationship with Mr. Cohen over the course of multiple meetings.
In dealing with me, he has never varied from our first meeting in 2019 to today in the details of what happened both in the hush-money and in the larger financial frauds.
Mr. Cohen, the son of a Holocaust survivor, was a 2003 New York City Council candidate and a mega-fan of Mr. Trumps public persona before going to work for him. He got the job after impressing Mr. Trump, defending him at a condo board meeting at a Trump building in 2006.
And he endeared himself to Mr. Trump by trying to be an indispensable aide and pit bull adviser to a real-estate developer and reality-television star.
Part of his role became anticipating Mr. Trumps whims and desires, and interpreting directions spoken in what Mr. Cohen would later describe as code.
When one of Mr. Trumps friends asked Mr. Trump why he kept Mr. Cohen around, Mr. Trump replied, He has his purpose.
That purpose, Mr. Cohen later said, included cleaning up some of Mr. Trumps messes.
In October 2016, while visiting his daughter in London, Mr. Cohen received calls from top executives at The National Enquirer, which had forged close ties to Mr. Trump over the years. They warned that Ms. Daniels was looking to sell her story.
Within days, Mr. Cohen hammered out the hush money deal with Ms. Danielss lawyer, securing Ms. Danielss silence at a crucial moment for the campaign.
When Mr. Trump won the presidency soon after, Mr. Cohen did not accompany him to Washington, and left behind full-time employment at the Trump Organization to set up an office at the law firm Squire Patton Boggs in Midtown Manhattan.
The Trump presidency was shaping up to be lucrative for Mr. Cohen: He soon had a roster of corporate clients, including a private equity firm, a large pharmaceutical company and even AT&T, as he held himself out as the personal lawyer to the president.
But one issue trailed him: a complaint had been filed with the Federal Election Commission by the good-government group Common Cause about his payment to Ms. Daniels, which was publicly revealed in January 2018 by The Wall Street Journal.
Soon, Mr. Cohen acknowledged to the F.E.C. and The New York Times that he had made the payment, insisting he did it on his own and that neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign had been a party to it. But he would not say whether Mr. Trump had been aware of the payment.
At that time in Washington, Mr. Muellers investigation into whether Mr. Trumps campaign had conspired with Russians in 2016, and whether Mr. Trump had obstructed justice, was proceeding apace. So were congressional investigations into Mr. Trumps connections to Russia.
Mr. Cohen testified to Congress that discussions about a Trump Tower project in Moscow stopped in January 2016. That turned out to be a lie, for which he would later fault Mr. Trump .
Mr. Muellers team was also scrutinizing Mr. Cohen, including for the hush money deal, but soon handed off that inquiry to federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.
The inquiry came to a head in April 2018, when F.B.I. agents searched Mr. Cohens office, home and a hotel where his family stayed while repair work went on at their apartment, taking emails, business records and other material. The event went off like a political bomb: The personal lawyer for a sitting president was the subject of an F.B.I. search based on probable cause that a crime was committed.
It also imploded Mr. Cohens life. He confided in friends at the time that he was suicidal.
As the search garnered wall-to-wall news coverage, Mr. Cohen received a call from Mr. Trump at the White House, with a message: stay strong.
But as Mr. Cohens legal bills piled up, officials at the family-run Trump Organization began to balk at paying his lawyer, planting the seeds for Mr. Cohens break from a man he once idolized.
Within months, the fracture between Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen was clear.
Mr. Cohen soon hired Lanny J. Davis, a Democrat and a veteran Washington lawyer who worked in Bill Clintons White House.
Mr. Davis had seen Mr. Cohen on television and reached out to Stephen Ryan, Mr. Cohens lawyer at the time. Soon, Mr. Davis and Mr. Cohen were virtually inseparable.
Mr. Davis and Mr. Cohen had their first conversation in a furtive, middle-of-the-night phone call, with Mr. Davis in a hotel bathroom as he traveled with his family. Mr. Davis told Mr. Cohen that he had a path to winning back his credibility, but it wasnt going to be enough to simply say he was sorry for what he had done. He would have to fully come clean about Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen said he was ready.
Mr. Davis, affected by Mr. Cohens description of the pain his family had suffered, suggested going public. Ultimately, in early July 2018, Mr. Cohen gave an interview to ABC News in which he suggested his priority was his family, not the president.
The following month, the federal prosecutors in the Southern District readied charges against Mr. Cohen for the hush money and unrelated financial crimes. Mr. Davis said the prosecutors threatened to charge Mr. Cohens wife, Laura, with the financial crimes as well.
Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty in that case, and later, in another case brought by Mr. Mueller related to his congressional testimony about the potential Trump Tower deal in Moscow.
At his first plea hearing, on the hush money payment, Mr. Cohen pointed the finger at Mr. Trump, who he said directed him to pay it, an accusation that prosecutors later substantiated.
Mr. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison.
Mr. Cohen had several months before he was to report to prison. Mr. Davis suggested he use them to get his story out on a bigger stage.
He introduced Mr. Cohen to Rep. Elijah Cummings, the House Oversight Committee chair and a lion in the Democratic caucus, who Mr. Davis had known for decades. Mr. Cummings, a man deeply influenced by church teachings, was skeptical, but Mr. Davis told him it was about redemption, reminding him that he often counseled that all sinners can be redeemed.
It took time for Mr. Davis to persuade Mr. Cohen to testify he was concerned about attacks on his family but he ultimately agreed. In February 2019, Mr. Cummings announced that Mr. Cohen would be the sole witness at an unusual public hearing discussing the 45th president.
Even before he arrived, Mr. Trumps allies tried to intimidate him. Representative Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, posted on Twitter an accusation that Mr. Cohen had been unfaithful to his wife and she might not be loyal while he was in prison.
But when he assumed a seat at a witness table for what would become a daylong event, he appeared prepared for the onslaught. He fought back, potentially foreshadowing how he might respond to attacks from Mr. Trumps lawyers on the witness stand in the Manhattan case.
By coming today, I have caused my family to be the target of personal, scurrilous attacks by the president and his lawyer trying to intimidate me from appearing before this panel, Mr. Cohen said in opening remarks at the congressional hearing. Mr. Trump called me a rat for choosing to tell the truth, much like a mobster would do when one of his men decides to cooperate with the government.
As one Republican tried to rattle him, Mr. Cohen replied sternly, Shame on you.
And Mr. Cohen delivered a striking prediction about what might happen the following year: Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, there will never be a peaceful transition of power, he said.
In May 2019, Mr. Cohen began serving time at a minimum security facility at Otisville, N.Y. It was there that he began to meet with the Manhattan district attorneys office.
Although Mr. Cohen was released a year later on a medical furlough, he was soon thrown back in prison by the Trump administrations Bureau of Prisons, after he refused to agree to not write a book, something he was doing.
A judge soon ordered him released, saying the move was retaliatory. He has told friends that he spent 51 days overall in solitary confinement.
By early 2022, Mr. Cohen was home from prison and his visits with prosecutors moved to their offices in Lower Manhattan. This year, he seemed to visit almost weekly, staging impromptu news conferences outside to tell reporters that his former boss was in trouble.
Mr. Cohen is hardly a perfect witness. Mr. Trumps lawyers will undoubtedly attack his character and invoke his criminal record. Some appear eager to cross-examine him.
This week, at the request of Mr. Trumps lawyers, one of Mr. Cohens former legal advisers testified before the grand jury in hopes of undercutting Mr. Cohens credibility. The witness, Robert J. Costello, briefly advised Mr. Cohen when he was facing the federal investigation in 2018, but they had a falling out as Mr. Cohen began taking public swipes at Mr. Trump.
Mr. Costello, who was close with Mr. Trumps legal team at the time, said he told the grand jury that Mr. Cohen was a liar. Mr. Cohen, in turn, said on MSNBC that Mr. Costello lacks for any sense of veracity.
His cable news appearances, in which he makes off-the-cuff remarks about Mr. Trump and the investigation, have become quite frequent. Even the prosecutors who are relying on Mr. Cohen and have decided to stake a large part of their case on his testimony occasionally shake their heads at his media presence, according to a person close to the case.
But Mr. Cohen, who has said he feels the need to defend himself publicly, has largely won the at least qualified approval of the district attorneys office. In his book, Mark F. Pomerantz, the prosecutor who helped lead the investigation until early 2022, wrote that Mr. Cohen had impressed him as smart but manipulative.
He struck me as a somewhat feral creature, Mr. Pomerantz continued. Most importantly, I thought he was telling the truth.
Mr. Pomerantz argued that Mr. Cohen would play well with jurors, and that his anger at Mr. Trump could be explained: He was angry with Trump because Trump had seduced Cohen into his criminal orbit, and Cohen had been the only one of Trumps enablers to have gone to prison. Cohen was angry with himself for allowing himself to be seduced by Trump.
Mr. Cohens comprehensive knowledge of the hush-money case is likely another draw for prosecutors. The former fixer could connect all the dots that led to the payment. He liaised with each witness, and with Mr. Trump himself.
On the first day of his grand jury testimony this month, when Mr. Cohen stopped outside the courthouse to entertain questions from reporters, he harkened back to what he had told the judge five years earlier.
This is all about accountability, he said. He needs to be held accountable for his dirty deeds.
Here is the original post:
Michael Cohens Long Arc From Trump Ally to Chief Antagonist - The New York Times
- Why Donald Trump is facing doubts in the manosphere - CNN - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Donald Trump says those interested in Jeffrey Epstein inquiry are bad people - The Guardian - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Responds When Asked If He Was Told His Name Was in Epstein Files - Newsweek - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Gavin Newsom's Warning to Donald Trump Over Plan for Texas Republicans - Newsweek - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Rosie O'Donnell Scoffs At Donald Trump's Threat To Revoke Her Citizenship - Vanity Fair - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Buckingham Palace Announces Dates of Donald Trump's State Visit to the U.K. and It's Happening Soon - People.com - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Butler one year later: Revisiting the historic assassination attempt against Donald Trump - Fox News - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Donald Trump announces 30% tariffs on goods from the EU and Mexico - The Guardian - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- President Donald Trump Broke His Social Security Vow -- and It May Be the Best Thing That's Happened to Retirees - Yahoo Finance - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's frustration with Vladimir Putin prompts shift of tone on Ukraine - Financial Times - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Donald Trump, the Club World Cup final, and how security protect VIPs at major sporting events - The Athletic - The New York Times - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Donald Trump and the Scots: A not-so special relationship - BBC - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Does Donald Trump deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? We asked 5 experts - The Conversation - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Mary Trump Issues Warning on Long-Term Impact of Donald Trump Move - Newsweek - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Donald Trump threatens to impose 50% tariff on Brazil - Financial Times - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Is the Hispanic Red Wave for Donald Trump Starting to Crash? - The New Yorker - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- President Donald Trump's approval rating by state as of July 2025 - Yahoo - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Sending More Weapons to Ukraine: What We Know - Newsweek - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- It Appears Elon Musk REALLY Pissed Off Donald Trump This Time, And I'm Convinced They're DUNZO - Yahoo - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Wants to Add His Face to Mount Rushmore. Here's What Its Former Keeper Says About 'the Reality of the Rock' - Yahoo News - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Map Shows Donald Trump's Approval Rating in Every State on 4th of July - Newsweek - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Keir Starmer says good relationship with Donald Trump based on shared family values - The Guardian - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Heads Back to the House: What's Next? - Newsweek - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- The play-by-play of the 24-hour war of words between Elon Musk and Donald Trump - Business Insider - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Donald Trump Says Hes Found a Group of Very Wealthy People to Buy TikTok and Keep App in U.S. - Variety - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Says Group Of "Very Wealthy People" Looking To Acquire TikTok - Deadline - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Confirmed to Return with Speaking Part in Disney World's Hall of Presidents - WDWMagic - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Warns NY Mayor Candidate Zohran Mamdani: 'Do the Right Thing' - Newsweek - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Donald Trump says 'very wealthy group' has agreed to buy TikTok in the US - Sky News - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Orchestrated grovel: critics react to Europes attempts to tame Donald Trump - The Guardian - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Is About to Confront the Real Reason the US Keeps Starting Wars - Politico - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Cuts Off Trade Talks With Canada, 'Effective Immediately' - Newsweek - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Jen's Version: Are we really going to pretend Donald Trump is concerned about classified material? - MSNBC News - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Makes Major Change to Mortgages: What to Know - Newsweek - June 26th, 2025 [June 26th, 2025]
- 'It's possible' Putin will invade more than Ukraine, says Donald Trump - Euronews.com - June 26th, 2025 [June 26th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Nobel Peace Prize Nomination Withdrawn - Newsweek - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Dear heads of state: Donald Trump wont love you back. He may be the worst boyfriend the world has ever seen - The Guardian - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Marjorie Taylor Greene Flips Out Over 'Dirty Rumors' About Her And Donald Trump - Yahoo - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- 'How angry Donald Trump is': Social media reacts to Trump dropping F-bomb live on TV - Times of India - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- President Donald Trump: The strikes were a spectacular military success - Fox News - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Donald Trump Bombs Iran, and America Waits - The New Yorker - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Bombing Iran, Donald Trump is triggering a tragedy that Thucydides foretold long ago - The Forward - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Is Donald Trump an Antagonist or Champion of the Gay Community? - The New York Times - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Donald Trump to Address Nation After Attacking Iran Nuclear Sites - Newsweek - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Donald Trump says US has attacked three Iranian nuclear sites and totally obliterated them - The Guardian - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Juventus meet Donald Trump at the White House as he discusses Iran conflict and transgender women in sport - The New York Times - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Trump denies approving Iran attack plan but will make decision within two weeks | Donald Trump - The Guardian - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's National Park Tip Line Flooded With Angry Messages - Newsweek - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Opinion | What the Godfather of American Conservatism Would Think About Donald Trump - Politico - June 16th, 2025 [June 16th, 2025]
- The quiet truce between Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump is over - CalMatters - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- Gavin Newsom Dares Donald Trump to Arrest Him: 'Get It Over With' - Newsweek - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Accused Of Inciting Violence With Chilling New Rhyme - Yahoo News - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- Opinion | Donald Trump vs. California (and everywhere else) - The Washington Post - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- 'So much for being nice guy': Donald Trump reignites trade tensions, warns China it has violated tariff d - Times of India - May 30th, 2025 [May 30th, 2025]
- Mike Pence Accuses Donald Trump of Ignoring Constitution - Newsweek - May 30th, 2025 [May 30th, 2025]
- We demanded justice after George Floyds death. Donald Trump made things worse, but we fight on | Al Sharpton - The Guardian - May 26th, 2025 [May 26th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Posts All-Caps Memorial Day Message Attacking USA Hating Judges And Scum Who Are Trying To Destroy Our Country - Deadline - May 26th, 2025 [May 26th, 2025]
- CNN abruptly stopped for breaking news as Donald Trump explodes at reporter over Ukraine question - The Mirror US - May 26th, 2025 [May 26th, 2025]
- Donald Trump is throttling Americas oil industry - The Economist - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Donald Trump prizes more Gulf investment in the US - BBC - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Vows to Reduce Prescription Drug Costs by Up to 80 Percent - Newsweek - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- What is habeas corpus and why might Donald Trump want to suspend it? - BBC - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Donald Trump calls for 20,000 new officers to aid with deportations - BBC - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Donald Trump is a bigger threat to UK than terrorists, poll says - politico.eu - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- Donald Trump to announce 'major trade deal' with a big and highly respected nation - Times of India - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- Donald Trump picks the wrong trade fight with China - The Economist - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Donald Trump says he will be talking to Australias prime minister about tariffs - The Guardian - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Names His Dream Successor for Pope Francis Ahead of the Papal Conclave - People.com - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Giants say they had no conversations with Donald Trump about Saquon Barkley - NBC Sports - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Donald Trump is proving disastrous for big tech - The Economist - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Opinion | Donald Trump Is Selling the White House to the Highest Bidder - The New York Times - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- 'Kicking butt' or 'going too fast'? Donald Trump voters reflect on 100 days - BBC - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's approval rating takes a hit as he reaches 100 days: New polls - USA Today - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Experts On Russia Say Donald Trump Is Wrong About The War In Ukraine - Forbes - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Donald Trump went after one of America's top law firms. Its decision to fight back took just two hours. - Business Insider - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Sweeping change. Donald Trump voters reflect on controversial first 100 days of second term. - Chicago Tribune - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Donald Trump wants celebrities to kiss the ring. Bill Maher did: wholl be next? | Emma Brockes - The Guardian - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's trip to Pope Francis' funeral puts a sharper focus on their clashes over the years - AP News - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Is Tanking One of Americas Greatest Exports in the Middle of a Trade War - Slate - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- 'Reality bites Donald Trump in the you know where': China contradicts the White House over tariffs - MSNBC News - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]