Michael Cohen Thinks Trump Won’t Pardon Him
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Michael Cohen told friends he does not think that President Trump will pardon him, CNN reports.
He reportedly told a friend over the phone that he did not think Trump would use a presidential pardon for him. While Cohen has not been charged with anything yet, he is under criminal investigation in New York. Cohen also had his office raided in April by the FBI at the referral of Robert Mueller.
“I brought up the pardon, and he said, ‘I don’t think so. I just don’t think so,’” Cohen’s friend said to CNN. “He’s certain in his mind that he has been dismissed.”
A second friend told CNN that Cohen was not “operating under the assumption” that he would receive a pardon.
In the subsequent interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Cohen would not declare allegiance to the president, a sharp turn for the lawyer who once said he would take a bullet for the president.
“My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will — I put family and country first,” Cohen said to Stephanopoulos.
The first friend told CNN that Cohen “reiterated in their phone conversation how deeply concerned he is about his family, his livelihood and his future.”
Juliana Kaplan is a news intern at The Forward. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter, @julianamkaplan
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