Who is Michael Cohen, key figure in hush money investigation?
- Cohen will be the key witness in the hush money case if Trump is indicted
- He was Trump's long-time personal lawyer and "fixer"
- Some say he is an unreliable witness due to his previous convictions
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(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump’s former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen is the man at the center of the hush money case against Trump.
Cohen is a key witness in the New York probe that could get Trump indicted for allegedly paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2006. Cohen is testifying that the payments were made on Trump’s behalf in order to hide his alleged affair with Daniels.
Cohen has relationships with nearly everyone involved in the case against Trump. He was Trump’s attorney for several years, even saying he would take a bullet from him at one point.
“It’s not a question, as I stated before, about revenge. My position is that at the end of the day, Donald Trump needs to be held accountable for his dirty deeds,” Cohen said to members of the press.
While he claims revenge is not his motive, Cohen tweeted Tuesday morning that his book, entitled “Revenge,” is back to being a No. 1 seller.
On his podcast, “Mea Culpa,” Cohen told listeners to prepare for turbulence.
“This is Michael Cohen and you’re listening to the ‘Mea Culpa’ podcast. So, here’s the question: What did the NYPD, the Secret Service, the FBI and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office all have in common? The answer: They’re all busy preparing for the indictment of Donald J. Trump. So welcome back and buckle up folks, because I think we’re in for a bumpy ride.”
Last year, Cohen had Daniels on his podcast, and they openly poked fun at the former president before Daniels did a psychic reading on Cohen.
Former President Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. Initially, Daniels denied the affair as well in writing, later changing her story.
Cohen has had his share of legal problems. In 2018, he pleaded guilty to eight counts, including criminal tax evasion and campaign finance violations. He was charged with concealing more than $4 million from the Internal Revenue Service from 2012 to 2016.
The former lawyer was also charged with influencing the 2016 election by making two payments to women on what he claimed was Trump’s behalf.
Trump’s spokeswoman, Liz Harrington, told NewsNation‘s Chris Cuomo Monday that Cohen is worried about his own crimes, which is why he turned on Trump.
“They had plenty of other stuff unrelated to President Trump on Michael Cohen that they could have gone after him, and that’s why he did it. They don’t have any evidence.”
