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Fixer. The title was not formal, but Michael D. Cohen fully accepted the role of Trump Organization lawyer. This was to serve as the main problem solver for Donald J. Trump, offering Mr. Cohen an exceptionally close view of his boss's personal and professional life.
Mr. Cohen has often been with Mr. Trump in the decade leading up to his position as President, including helping him resolve the hardships that led to the election of 2016. Most famous, he helped organize secret payments for two women – including pornographic actress Stormy Daniels – who claimed to have had relations with Mr. Trump.
His unfailing loyalty to his boss was often non-reciprocal. And it was this imbalance that left the two men on perilous ground last April, after the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided Mr. Cohen's home, office, and bedroom. hotel. The searches were part of an investigation conducted by the South District Attorney's Office in the United States, based on a review of Robert S. Mueller III's electoral intervention.
In the end, Mr. Cohen would plead guilty to several crimes and should serve a three-year sentence on May 6. After months of indecision, he attacked Mr. Trump last summer and has since spoken to the South District attorneys about the Trump family business and more, as well as providing information to the Trump office. special counsel, Mr. Mueller.
Here are five reasons why the dissolution of their relationship is important.
Mr. Cohen involved the president in a crime
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan effectively called Mr. Trump co-conspirator not charged in the payment of hidden sums, which constituted a violation of the laws on the financing of the electoral campaign, because they aimed to influence the result of the ballot.
At the pleading hearing, Mr. Cohen testified that he made the payments on Mr. Trump's instructions, which was consistent with the other evidence gathered by the attorneys.
Under the current policy of the Department of Justice, a president can not be charged with a crime. But when a president is no longer in power, prosecutors are free to lay charges – a possibility mentioned in the Mueller report released Thursday.
He participated in criminal investigations into Mr. Trump's cases.
Mr. Cohen did not enter into a formal cooperation agreement with the South District prosecutors, but voluntarily met with them to let them know that he was familiar with Mr. Trump's family, business, and inner circle. .
If prosecutors determine that he has provided them with useful information, it is possible that his three-year sentence may be reduced in accordance with federal sentencing rules. As such, Mr. Trump and others have dismissed his cooperation as a desperate game for clemency.
Until now, its information has been useful to several investigations, including one on The inaugural festivities of Mr. Trump.
Mr. Cohen used the projector to attack the character of the president
Since he's attacked his former boss, Mr. Cohen has become one of Mr. Trump's most savage critics, offering fodder to the president's detractors.
In his congressional testimony, Mr. Cohen testified before Congress at the end of February, revealing what he described as the dark side of his business and political life. "He's racist. This is a scammer. And it's a cheater, "said Mr. Cohen.
During the hearing, Trump's supporters repeatedly questioned the veracity of Mr. Cohen's statements, particularly because he pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress in a previous appearance on Mr. Trump's relations in Moscow.
But Mr Cohen said that he was going to clean up.
"I've corrected things, but I'm no longer your" proofreader ", Mr. Trump, said Mr. Cohen.
He gave Congress an overview of the president's finances
Mr. Cohen's testimony also provided a kind of roadmap for Congressional investigators reviewing Trump's finances. Last week, the House Oversight and Reform Committee summoned documents from Mazars USA, an accounting firm that had been preparing Mr. Trumps' taxes for many years.
The chairman of the committee, Elijah Cummings of Maryland, Democrat, said he was looking for the documents because Mr. Cohen testified that Mr. Trump overestimated his holdings prior to his election.
Mr. Cohen provided the panel with copies of financial statements indicating that Mr. Trump's net worth had soared to $ 8.66 billion in 2013 from $ 4.55 billion the previous year. a line item identified as "brand value".
Republican Republican Jim Jordan said the subpoena had no valid legislative purpose, suggesting it was meant to embarrass the president.
There is no clear final
The status of several criminal investigations resulting from Mr. Cohen's interviews with federal prosecutors remains unclear. But as recently as in February, a judge revealed that the secret money inquiry, centered on those responsible for the Trump Organization, remained open.
In New York, several investigations by state authorities in response to Mr. Cohen's testimony in Congress are still ongoing. Of these, one by the Attorney General in Mr. Trump's real estate projects, and another by the state regulators in his insurance practices.
And as May 6, the date of Mr. Cohen's surrender, approaches, his lawyers seem to be making a last effort to keep him out of jail. Earlier this month, they wrote to Democratic members of Congress asking them to support a campaign to reduce his sentence or postpone his surrender. But the effort does not seem to have paid off.
Mr. Cohen's three-year sentence is the longest of all cases resulting from the special advocate's investigation, after that of Paul J. Manafort, who was sentenced to more than seven years of jail.
Nevertheless, the redacted version of the Mueller report indicates that the federal authorities reported to Mr. Cohen as recently as last month.
All the topics discussed are not known. But the footnotes indicate a F.B.I. document dated March 19, based on an interview with Mr. Cohen. The document is cited in connection with statements he made about his conversations with the President after the minutes. on a project of the Trump Tower in Russia, as well as discussions with the president's attorney about a possible forgiveness.
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