...Freed from Trump, Michael Cohen Sees a New Identity: National Hero

[DonViejo]

“He Could Go Down in History as the Man That Saved This Country”: Freed from Trump, Michael Cohen Sees a New Identity: National Hero

As Cohen is further distanced from the president, friends have been encouraging him to change his narrative. “Washington is actively pushing him away,” a person close to Cohen says. “At the same time, he has all these people telling him that he could change the course of the midterms, or 2020.”

EMILY JANE FOX JUNE 28, 2018 7:51 PM

There was no shortage of global geopolitical matters weighing on President Donald Trump this week. His administration has taken custody of thousands of migrant children after separating them from their families at the border; photos revealed that Trump’s newfound friend Kim Jong Un was perhaps not being so honest when he vowed to halt North Korea’s nuclear program; and U.S. allies are terrified that the president’s upcoming summit with Vladimir Putin will be yet another diplomatic disaster.

But perhaps the biggest threat to Donald Trump has been playing out much closer to home. On Wednesday morning, Michael Cohen, Steve Bannon, Sam Nunberg, and Tom Arnold were all milling about the Regency Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. To be sure, they were not all there together. Cohen, Trump’s longtime lawyer, has been living at the hotel for months. (It was there, rather famously, where F.B.I. agents executed a search warrant in early April as part of a criminal investigation out of the Southern District of New York.) Bannon, Trump’s firebrand former chief strategist, frequently stays at the hotel when he comes to New York, and Nunberg, the former Trump aide who’s become something of a fixture on cable news, was there to visit him. Arnold, who made the cable rounds himself last week after posting a selfie with Cohen in the Regency lobby, was in town filming episodes for his upcoming Viceland show, for which the comedian searches for damaging tapes that could bring the president down.

The convocation of Trump foes and foils, under one roof, would be an ominous portent under any circumstance. More recently, however, it is Cohen who has come to represent the most existential threat to the president. Ever since April, when the F.B.I. came calling, Trump’s friends and advisers have fretted over whether Cohen—who has an intimate knowledge of the Trump Organization’s foreign dealings—will ultimately cooperate with federal prosecutors if charges are brought against him. Lawyers for Trump and for the Trump Organization have joined Cohen in contesting which of Cohen’s documents (including a number of audio files) may be protected by attorney-client privilege, and have been given until next week to finish their review. So far, however, it seems Cohen will be an open book: the special master in charge of mediating the issue has determined that only 161 of nearly 4 million items are privileged, meaning the government will be able to have access to almost everything taken in the F.B.I. raid.

For the president, Cohen’s moves in recent days have been even more foreboding. Last week, I reported that Cohen will switch from his current attorneys, who have handled the document review, to a new lawyer, Guy Petrillo, who served as the head of the criminal division of the S.D.N.Y.—a signal that Cohen may be preparing to resolve his situation without going to trial. Days later, Cohen resigned from his leadership position at the Republican National Committee in a letter taking a lash at Trump’s immigration policies. Shortly thereafter, Cohen retweeted a photo taken by Arnold with the two smiling next to one another in the Regency lobby—a photo that Arnold told me he hoped would send a shock wave through the Oval Office.

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https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/06/michael-cohen-identity/amp?__twitter_impression=true

[genxlib]

1. Well that would be a great path to redemption

If it weren't for the Russian assassins lurking around every corner.

I believe it is a real stretch to assign any heroic characteristics to what will be an ass-saving move to keep himself out of prison. But if it helps move the needle...let's build him a fucking statue.

[lamsmy]

2. Cohen will talk.

1. If Cohen faces charges only at the State level, a Presidential pardon does not apply. As it is primarily the SDNY currently investigating him, it is safe to assume any charges will definitely include State charges.

2. Even if Cohen was eligible for pardon, he could then be compelled to testify in any trial in which he might have witness testimony - a pardon automatically negates the 5th Amendment.

If Cohen faces charges in NY he will certainly do a LOT of time unless he agrees to cooperate in any other investigations prosecuters demand. Plus, if he chooses to fight the charges, prosecutors will most likely demand significant forfeiture of property and other assets alleging that they were obtained with ill-gotten gains. So jail, bankruptcy (though his father-in-law could support the wife and daughter), and public disgrace all too protect a guy who treated him like dirt.

Cohen now has a well-respected, experienced attorney who will make sure he understands all of the above. His options are shitty or worse. He'll talk.