Michael Cohen warned the attorney representing his ex-client, former President Donald Trump, in the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents to “run, run as fast as you can.”
A federal judge ruled on Friday that prosecutors leading the probe of classified materials found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, will be allowed to ask additional questions to Trump’s personal lawyer, M. Evan Corcoran, reported The New York Times.
Corcoran appeared before a federal grand jury for questioning in the spring, but declined to answer some of the prosecutors’ questions, repeatedly asserting attorney-client privilege.
As the Times writes, however, the judge presiding over the Mar-a-Lago investigation ruled that the DOJ met the threshold for a principle known as the crime-fraud exception, which allows prosecutors to work around attorney-client privilege if they believe the lawyer and a client are attempting to cover up or engage in criminal activity by refusing to answer questions.
Speaking with MSNBC host Chris Hayes on Friday, Cohen, longtime lawyer and confidant to Trump, discussed his role in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office probe of Trump’s actions in the payment of hush money to adult-film star Stormy Daniels in 2016. Cohen previously pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations for paying Daniels $130,000 to stay quiet about her supposed involvement with the former president. Cohen has said under oath that he was later reimbursed by Trump for the transaction.
Toward the end of the conversation, Hayes asked Cohen what advice he would give attorneys, including Corcoran, who have or are considering “signing up” to represent Trump.
“I would say I hope that you watched me as I testified before the House Oversight Committee, when I turned around and I said to both Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows, I know what you’re doing, and I know the plays that you’re trying to run, because I wrote the playbook,” Cohen said. “And it didn’t work out well for me, and it’s not going to work out well for you.”
“The smartest thing that a lawyer could do if Donald Trump asks you to represent him in this nightmare that he is going to be living, run,” he continued. “Run as fast as you can, and don’t run to Florida, and especially not Palm Beach. Run someplace east or west, but definitely don’t get involved with Donald. That’s what I would say.”
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s press team via email for comment.
“The smartest thing a lawyer can do if Donald Trump asks to represent him in this nightmare that he is going to be living: Run! Run as fast as you can!” says former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. pic.twitter.com/EHmrWTNK2y
— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) March 18, 2023
Investigations into whether Trump mishandled the top-secret materials discovered at Mar-a-Lago ramped up this week as Special Counsel Jack Smith issued subpoenas to over two dozen people tied to the former president’s resort, including restaurant workers and other staff members.
Andrew Lieb, attorney and legal political analyst, previously told Newsweek that the move by the DOJ “tells us that Special Counsel Jack Smith wants to cross corroborate his evidence as to where the documents were at Trump’s Club, who knew where they were, especially Trump, and who had access, especially those unauthorized to them.”
Cohen also told CNN on Thursday that an indictment of Trump was “imminent,” as Manhattan prosecutors are expected to issue criminal charges in the coming days regarding their investigation of the hush money paid to Daniels.
Trump has claimed innocence in both investigations.
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