Day 455: If Trump is Innocent, Why Are Members of His Team Terrified About Cohen Flipping?
If there’s been a single pattern since Donald Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, had his office raided, it’s the cries from Trump team about the patent unfairness of it all. Trump himself has claimed that attorney-client privilege is dead or that the search is merely another finger of the Russia witch hunt.
Now, a new pattern has emerged: everyone is concerned about Trump’s exposure.
President Donald Trump and his outside advisers are increasingly worried that his longtime personal attorney might be susceptible to cooperating with federal prosecutors.
Two sources close to the president said people in Trump’s inner circle have in recent days been actively discussing the possibility that Michael Cohen — long seen as one of Trump’s most loyal personal allies — might flip if he faces serious charges as a result of his work on behalf of Trump.
“I think for two years or four years or five years, Michael Cohen would be a stand-up guy. I think he’d tell them go piss up a rope. But depending on dollars involved, which can be a big driver, or if they look at him and say it’s not two to four years, it’s 18 to 22, then how loyal is he?” said one defense lawyer who represents a senior Trump aide in Mueller’s Russia investigation.
“Is he two years loyal? Is he 10 years loyal? Is he 15 years loyal?” the attorney added. “That’s the currency. It’s not measured in inches. It’s measured in years.”
Trump’s former attorney thinks the same.
One of President Donald Trump’s longtime legal advisers said he warned the president in a phone call Friday that Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer and close friend, would turn against the president and cooperate with federal prosecutors if faced with criminal charges.
Mr. Trump made the call seeking advice from Jay Goldberg, who represented Mr. Trump in the 1990s and early 2000s. Mr. Goldberg said he cautioned the president not to trust Mr. Cohen. On a scale of 100 to 1, where 100 is fully protecting the president, Mr. Cohen “isn’t even a 1,” he said he told Mr. Trump.
“Michael will never stand up [for you]” if charged by the government, Mr. Goldberg said he cautioned the president.
Anthony Scaramucci, who served as White House Communications Secretary for 11 days last year, doesn’t think Cohen will flip.
“If you said to me and I had to flip a coin is he going to turn on President Trump or turn on other people? I would say adamantly no,” he said.
The most obvious defense from Trump allies and surrogates would be that Trump is totally innocent and that it’s the precedence of raiding an attorney’s files that concerns them most.
But that’s not what they’re saying.
There’s one ribbon of commonality from all of the above-sources, whether or not they believe Cohen will flip: they are concerned Trump is guilty. They invoke words like loyalty to underscore their point that no one knows if Cohen can remain devoted to protecting Trump’s secrets.
Current aides, former aides, others’ attorneys and Trump’s former attorney’s comments all-but-concede the fact that Trump faces legal exposure if Cohen cooperates with federal investigators. The only logical conclusion there is Trump has done something wrong for which there is reason to fear.
455 days in, 1007 to go
Follow us on Twitter at @TrumpTimer
