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:
\u201cThe New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Haberman, known as a Crooked H flunkie who I don\u2019t speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will \u201cflip.\u201d They use....\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1524316200
In response, Haberman herself seemed not even a little nonplussed:
\u201cWhen I was reporting this story, I said to one person who\u2019s observed the Cohen-Trump relationship that Trump has been abusive to him. The person replied, \u201cHe\u2019s abusive to everybody.\u201d https://t.co/coxNMRVCUl\u201d— Maggie Haberman (@Maggie Haberman) 1524317619
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. 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. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - 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:
\u201cThe New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Haberman, known as a Crooked H flunkie who I don\u2019t speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will \u201cflip.\u201d They use....\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1524316200
In response, Haberman herself seemed not even a little nonplussed:
\u201cWhen I was reporting this story, I said to one person who\u2019s observed the Cohen-Trump relationship that Trump has been abusive to him. The person replied, \u201cHe\u2019s abusive to everybody.\u201d https://t.co/coxNMRVCUl\u201d— Maggie Haberman (@Maggie Haberman) 1524317619
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:
\u201cThe New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Haberman, known as a Crooked H flunkie who I don\u2019t speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will \u201cflip.\u201d They use....\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1524316200
In response, Haberman herself seemed not even a little nonplussed:
\u201cWhen I was reporting this story, I said to one person who\u2019s observed the Cohen-Trump relationship that Trump has been abusive to him. The person replied, \u201cHe\u2019s abusive to everybody.\u201d https://t.co/coxNMRVCUl\u201d— Maggie Haberman (@Maggie Haberman) 1524317619
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.