Michael Cohen has been having a rough year or so. Donald Trump left him behind when he went to be president, and the FBI has been investigating him for possible bank and wire fraud, plus campaign finance violations. Now, things are going to get better.
Cohen just broke his silence in a tweet, indicating that he finally had his priorities right. He used to say he would take a bullet for Trump, but now he said that he would always put his family first and his country second.
Secondly, federal prosecutors got over 1.3 million items that the FBI siezed during a raid on Cohen’s home, temporary home, and even his bank vault. Why is that an improvement?
Cohen may be making a deal with the federal prosecutors to flip on Trump. That could significantly reduce the sentence for any crimes he committed and lessen the time he would be under such stark pressure. At this time, he has not been charged with anything.
The Trump attorneys are still looking over 22,633 items, according to The New York Post. They must turn them over to the Southern District of New York by Thursday. The FBI seized a total of 3.7 million documents from Cohen, plus all electronic devices, including cell phones.
Cohen was the president’s personal attorney, but most of the documents dealt more with his job as Trump’s fixer, when he worked for the Trump organization. That meant, they probably did not deal with attorney-client privilege.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating Russia’s attack on the U.S. 2016 presidential election and any possible connection to the Trump campaign. Mueller referred Cohen’s information to the Southern District of New York, because he felt as if it probably fell outside the purview of his investigation.
Cohen paid $130,000 in hush money on Trump’s behalf to the adult entertainment actress and director, Stormy Daniels, just days prior to the 2016 election. Of course, the Southern District would probably share anything appropriate to the Russia investigation with Mueller.
The reason Cohen paid the money was that, as Trump’s fixer, aka former personal attorney, it was his job to pay Daniels to seal the deal on a nondisclosure agreement. It said that she would remain silent about the affair she and POTUS allegedly had. The sexual encounter occurred just months after the president’s and first lady’s first child was born.
Featured Image via Getty Images/Tom Williams.
