SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Lawyer Michael Cohen arrives at Trump Tower for meetings with then-President-elect Donald Trump in December 2016. (Photo: Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images)
Fear Not, Says Trump, Personal Lawyer Michael Cohen Won't "Flip"
President lashes out after story suggests his high-profile attorney may not be as loyal as many have assumed
Apr 21, 2018
Amid tweets in which he attacked a New York Times reporter and declared what a "beautiful day!" it will be as he watches on TV the funeral of former First Lady Barbara Bush, President Donald Trump on Saturday also let the world know via Twitter that he doesn't believe his long-time personal lawyer Michael Cohen will "flip" on him.
"Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble," tweeted Trump, "even if it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don't see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!"
Trump's remarks stemmed from reporting by a team of journalists at the New York Times on Friday evening which suggested that while Cohen was once thought to be so loyal to the president that he would "take a bullet for him," those days may now be over.
Cohen's current legal troubles--and, in turn, possibly Trump's--center around Stormy Daniels and the payment she received from Cohen to keep quiet about an affair she claims she had with Trump years before he ran for president. Earlier this week, Daniel's attorney, Michael Avenatti, predicted that Cohen "is going to be indicted" by the federal prosecutors now looking into the case.
According to the Times, "Mr. Trump's lawyers and advisers have become resigned to the strong possibility that Mr. Cohen, who has a wife and two children and faces the prospect of devastating legal fees, if not criminal charges, could end up cooperating with federal officials who are investigating him for activity that could relate, at least in part, to work he did for Mr. Trump."
Angered by the report, Trump also used his Twitter outburst on Saturday to lash out personally against Maggie Haberman, one of the Times' journalist who wrote the story:
In response, Haberman herself seemed not even a little nonplussed:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Amid tweets in which he attacked a New York Times reporter and declared what a "beautiful day!" it will be as he watches on TV the funeral of former First Lady Barbara Bush, President Donald Trump on Saturday also let the world know via Twitter that he doesn't believe his long-time personal lawyer Michael Cohen will "flip" on him.
"Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble," tweeted Trump, "even if it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don't see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!"
Trump's remarks stemmed from reporting by a team of journalists at the New York Times on Friday evening which suggested that while Cohen was once thought to be so loyal to the president that he would "take a bullet for him," those days may now be over.
Cohen's current legal troubles--and, in turn, possibly Trump's--center around Stormy Daniels and the payment she received from Cohen to keep quiet about an affair she claims she had with Trump years before he ran for president. Earlier this week, Daniel's attorney, Michael Avenatti, predicted that Cohen "is going to be indicted" by the federal prosecutors now looking into the case.
According to the Times, "Mr. Trump's lawyers and advisers have become resigned to the strong possibility that Mr. Cohen, who has a wife and two children and faces the prospect of devastating legal fees, if not criminal charges, could end up cooperating with federal officials who are investigating him for activity that could relate, at least in part, to work he did for Mr. Trump."
Angered by the report, Trump also used his Twitter outburst on Saturday to lash out personally against Maggie Haberman, one of the Times' journalist who wrote the story:
In response, Haberman herself seemed not even a little nonplussed:
Amid tweets in which he attacked a New York Times reporter and declared what a "beautiful day!" it will be as he watches on TV the funeral of former First Lady Barbara Bush, President Donald Trump on Saturday also let the world know via Twitter that he doesn't believe his long-time personal lawyer Michael Cohen will "flip" on him.
"Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble," tweeted Trump, "even if it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don't see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!"
Trump's remarks stemmed from reporting by a team of journalists at the New York Times on Friday evening which suggested that while Cohen was once thought to be so loyal to the president that he would "take a bullet for him," those days may now be over.
Cohen's current legal troubles--and, in turn, possibly Trump's--center around Stormy Daniels and the payment she received from Cohen to keep quiet about an affair she claims she had with Trump years before he ran for president. Earlier this week, Daniel's attorney, Michael Avenatti, predicted that Cohen "is going to be indicted" by the federal prosecutors now looking into the case.
According to the Times, "Mr. Trump's lawyers and advisers have become resigned to the strong possibility that Mr. Cohen, who has a wife and two children and faces the prospect of devastating legal fees, if not criminal charges, could end up cooperating with federal officials who are investigating him for activity that could relate, at least in part, to work he did for Mr. Trump."
Angered by the report, Trump also used his Twitter outburst on Saturday to lash out personally against Maggie Haberman, one of the Times' journalist who wrote the story:
In response, Haberman herself seemed not even a little nonplussed:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.