President Trump’s personal advocate Michael Cohen says he “doesn’t care” about one presidential pardon – and states that Mr. Trump will face legal issues shortly after leaving the White House.
“It has to do with your finances, it has to do with your tax returns, it has to do with your properties, it has to do with the personal financial statements you had made and provided to get loans,” Cohen said on CBSN Thursday.
A number of investigations could cause legal problems for Mr. Trump after he left office in January, including possible congressional investigations, as well as investigations by Attorneys General in New York and Washington, DC and the Manhattan District Attorney.
Cohen said he had been questioned by the state attorney general’s team and the district attorney’s office and said investigators are “well prepared” with their evidence to “move relatively quickly.” research.
“I think there’s a growing amount of evidence that they will pursue,” Cohen said. “Some part, of course, is civil and other parts are criminal.”
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges of fraud, campaign violations i lying in Congress and was sentenced to 3 years in prison. He was granted confinement in the home due to the pandemic earlier this year. President Trump has repeatedly busted Cohen as known Liar, but Cohen says he has documents to support his claims.
There is currently only one publicly known research this could lead to criminal charges for Mr. Trump, led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. Initially, it was aimed at the cash payments made during the 2016 campaign to adult film star Stormy Daniels, but since then Vance’s office has indicated in court records it has expanded to analyze possible crimes as widespread as fraud and tax evasion.
However, the chronology of Vance’s research is unclear. His seat is ready in 2021, and the case is unlikely to be resolved until a new district attorney takes office.
Cohen declined to comment on what he told investigators, but said “I know what they are looking for” and said they already have “a multitude of evidence” accumulated.
Asked about the president’s mindset, Cohen, who worked as Trump’s “fixer” for years before his public breakup, said: “What’s right now is very, very nervous and very scary because in 27 days he knows Joe Biden will be invested and it will be then when there will be a lot of litigation and summonses flying that he will no longer be able to control. “
Cohen admitted he lied to the president covering up what he now calls Mr. Trump’s “dirty facts.”
“When I started to realize that Trump and the administration were using me as their scapegoat, I didn’t want to end up being remembered in history as the bad guy in Donald Trump’s story,” Cohen told CBSN.
Unlike Mr. Trump’s associates Paul Manafort, Roger Stone i Michael Flynn, among others, Cohen has not received a pardon from the president, nor has he been “not expected.”
“I truly believe that those who accept Trump’s filth will smell of corruption following his name and his relatives for decades to come,” he said. “It’s just another embarrassing act of Trump.”
The president began announcing several pardons and commutations Wednesday evening. Among the first was Flynn, who had previously briefly served as national security adviser pleading guilty to lie to the FBI, and former Trump campaign staffer George Papadopoulos. Forgiveness for Stone and Manafort was announced the following evening.
All four Trump allies, including Cohen, were indicted on charges arising from Mueller’s investigation.
Graham Kates contributed to the reports.