Michael Cohen Is 99% Certain To Flip: Trump Lawyer Warns President
Michael Cohen Image by Gettty Images
By Dave Goldiner April 19, 2018
A lawyer and close Jewish confidant of President Trump has warned him that Michael Cohen is virtually certain to cooperate with prosecutors if he faces a lengthy prison term.
Jay Goldberg, who did extensive legal work for the Donald, told Trump that on a loyalty scale of 1 to 100, Cohen is “less than 1,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
“Michael will never stand up (for you)” if he’s charged, Goldberg told the paper and CNN, recounting the phone conversation with Trump.
Goldberg, who represented Trump in his divorces from Ivana Trump and Marla Maples, told the president not to put stock in Cohen’s expressions of devotion, such as the time the lawyer claimed he would “take a bullet” for his boss.
All that bravado will melt away if and when Cohen starts staring at the prospect of spending most of the rest of his life behind bars, Goldberg warned.
“Anybody who is facing 30 years never stands up,” he told CNN. “Without exception, a person facing a prison term cooperates.”
Cohen was clearly shaken by last week’s dramatic raids on his home and law office, and was apparently unaware that he was under serious criminal scrutiny. He appeared chastened and has shelved his aggressive “pit bull” demeanor for the time being.
Trump may also fear that prosecutors now hold extensive incriminating material about him which legal analysts say would not be covered by attorney-client privilege claims.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
