Michael Cohen Claims He Discussed A Pardon With Trump's Team, So, Uh, There's That
Just when we thought all the tea about Donald Trump and Michael Cohen had spilled, it looks like another we're heating up another kettle. On Feb. 27, Cohen appeared before the House Oversight Committee to discuss his experience working with President Trump, and it was truly a wild ride. During the testimony, the former attorney had some less-than kind words to say about his past client, but apparently, Michael Cohen claims he discussed a pardon with Trump's team before delivering his testimony. Oh, OK then.
Cohen has very publicly said that he would not accept a pardon from the president, but apparently, that wasn't always the case — by his own admission. On Thursday, March 7, Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis shared a statement with Elite Daily claiming that Cohen had been interested in the "dangling" of a possible pardon. The statement read,
Prior to Michael Cohen’s decision to leave the 'Joint Defense Group' and tell the truth on July 2, 2018, Michael was open to the ongoing 'dangling' of a possible pardon by Trump representatives privately and in the media. During that time period, he directed his attorney to explore possibilities of a pardon at one point with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani as well as other lawyers advising President Trump. But after July 2, 2018, Mr. Cohen authorized me as a new lawyer to say publicly Mr. Cohen would never accept a pardon from President Trump even if offered. That continues to be the case. And his statement at the Oversight Hearing was true — and consistent with his post joint defense agreement commitment to tell the truth.
The White House did not immediately respond to Elite Daily's request for comment about Cohen's claim. However, reports of Cohen asking Trump about a pardon is a huge contradiction to the former attorney's testimony on Feb. 27, in which he told the House Oversight Committee that he had never asked for, or would accept, a pardon from Trump.
Cohen worked as Trump's personal attorney for a decade, closely handling Trump Tower real estate negotiations and finance matters. However, Cohen and Trump's relationship has taken a turn for the worse over the past year. Not only has Trump openly spoken against Cohen on Twitter, but he's also referred to him as a "a very weak person" in front of reporters. Trump's attitude towards Cohen is likely due to his former attorney's recent cooperation with lawmakers, especially his admission that he lied to Congress concerning plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, Russia. Those real estate plans, while not illegal, may be of interest to FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether the Trump campaign actively colluded with Russian operatives during the 2016 presidential election, given that they would indicate Trump had financial interests in Russia during his campaign. Trump has referred to the plans as "very legal and very cool" in response to Cohen's claims on the subject.
On Feb. 27, tensions between Trump and Cohen reached new heights when the former attorney testified in front of the House Oversight Committee and called Trump "a racist," "a conman," and "a cheat." In a statement to Newsweek, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that "it was "pathetic to see [Cohen] given yet another opportunity to spread his lies," but the White House did not offer any additional comment on Cohen's claims in response to Elite Daily's requests. In addition to the harsh words, Cohen also made a few juicy claims, including that Trump wanted him to lie about the Trump Tower Moscow deal; presented checks allegedly from Trump reimbursing him for a payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with the president (Trump denies the claims of an affair, but admitted to reimbursing Cohen); and said that there's apparently another investigation involving Trump taking place. The special counsel's office declined to comment to Elite Daily regarding Cohen's claims of another investigation. Honestly, the drama is too much to handle.
Despite their tight history, I think it's safe to say that Trump and Cohen's bromance has officially come to an end. Cohen is set to start his prison sentence on May 6, and will spend three years in jail. Until then, let's see what this political thriller has in store for us.
