Michael Cohen has erased all signs of Donald Trump from his Twitter bio, fueling the rumors that the president’s former personal attorney could be turning on him.
On the Fourth of July, Cohen took down the picture of himself with the president that had served as his banner image, replacing it with an American flag. Cohen also erased the reference to himself as the “Personal attorney to President Donald J. Trump.”
Cohen is facing significant pressure after an FBI raid on his office and residence and growing rumors that he will face prosecution for actions related to the hush agreement with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Cohen reportedly made illegal payments on Trump’s behalf, including the money to keep Daniels quiet about her alleged affair with Trump.
Cohen has given signs that he could be cooperating with prosecutors in their move against Donald Trump, saying in an interview with George Stephanopoulos that his family is his top priority.
“My wife, my daughter, and my son, and this country have my first loyalty,” Cohen said (via NyMag ).
When asked if Donald Trump had directed Cohen to make the payment — which could be a campaign contribution violation — Cohen said he could not answer “on advice of my counsel.”
Cohen then re-tweeted the article, which noted in the headline that the lawyer’s loyalty was not to Donald Trump but rather to his family.
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) July 3, 2018
As CNN reported, Cohen kept significant amount of evidence that could be used against either himself or Donald Trump. And even though Trump appears to be floating the idea that he could pardon others connected to his campaign, Cohen would likely face state charges that Trump would be unable to pardon.
In a matter of weeks, Michael Cohen has gone from top pitbull to actively floating the prospect of cooperating with federal investigators—“snitching,” as numerous Trump allies and advisers would dub it. Here’s how it happened: https://t.co/FbmZYaip9s
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) July 4, 2018
In an essay published in the Washington Post , a group of lawyers said the circumstances make Michael Cohen the perfect target for prosecutors to try to flip on a bigger target.
“To criminal law practitioners like us with many decades of experience dealing with cooperators, Cohen fits the profile of someone extremely likely to be targeted by investigators seeking to proceed up the criminal food chain. There is apparently significant evidence of Cohen’s own potential criminality — as evidenced by prosecutors successfully obtaining a search warrant of his premises, which is highly unusual against a lawyer in an investigation of alleged white-collar crimes. Potentially facing a substantial jail sentence and crippling financial penalties, Cohen is highly motivated to place his own interests above that of his former patron and trade information about the president and others for his own freedom.”
But with the possibility of legal troubles of his own, Michael Cohen has not said anything publicly about the case or any potential plans to flip on Donald Trump.
