WASHINGTON, U.S. – Indicating that the U.S. President Donald Trump and his team are not afraid of Michael Cohen flipping on the President and cooperating with federal prosecutors – Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said – that there were not concerned.
Returning to the mainstream with a string of interviews this week, Giuliani, told the media amid reports that Cohen might flip on Trump – that the President’s team was not concerned.
He said that Trump’s longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen should feel free to cooperate with the special counsel and federal prosecutors investigating him.
Explaining his stance, Giuliani said, “If he wants to cooperate, I think it’s great. We’ve been through all his records. I know Michael. He has no evidence of, nor was he involved in anything untoward, with the president.”
Giuliani further pointed out that Cohen should cooperate with investigators, “Because it’s going to lead to nothing.”
Cohen, who worked at the Trump Organization for over ten years, beginning in 2006 and leaving the company in 2017 only serve as Trump’s personal lawyer, has been referred to at different times as Trump’s fixer, pit bull and consigliere and his relationship with Trump stretches back decades.
In April this year, Cohen first faced the possibility of landing severe charges, when his $130,000 hush-money payment to the porn star Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford) was revealed.
Cohen was said to have made the payment just weeks before the 2016 presidential election to deter Daniels from going public about her accusations against the U.S. President’s efforts of trying to cover up an affair she had with him in 2006.
Subsequently, FBI agents overseen by federal prosecutors in New York raided Cohen’s office, apartment, and a hotel room and seized 3.7 million documents, including emails, tax documents, tape recordings, financial records, and documents related to his $130,000 payment to Daniels.
It was also revealed that investigators had seized material relating to a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape featuring Trump saying lewd things about women, electronic devices, and communications between Trump and Cohen.
Citing violation of attorney-client privilege, Cohen entered a legal battle against the seizure of his records by federal investigators in New York, which is still ongoing.
However, Cohen is also under a separate investigation for his business dealings and is facing a federal criminal investigation on suspicion of bank fraud, wire fraud, and election law violations.
Further, he is also one of the key figures in the ongoing Russia collusion investigation being overseen by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
So far, while Cohen has not been publicly charged with any crimes, he continues to face a range of criminal charges, some serious ones, and an indictment is in the offing – fueling speculation that he is susceptible to cooperating with federal prosecutors.
Last week, Cohen, who had once said that he would “take a bullet” for Trump said that he is putting his loyalty to “family and country” before Trump, indicating his potential willingness to cooperate with federal investigators.
Cohen added, “To be crystal clear, my wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will. I put family and country first.”
In an apparent response to that interview by Cohen, on Sunday, Giuliani said that he and Trump were fine with Cohen’s interview, and that he has “zero” concerns about what Cohen could tell authorities “as long as he tells the truth.”
Further adding, “Michael Cohen should cooperate with the government. We have no reason to believe he did anything wrong. The president did nothing wrong with him.”
He further stressed, “There’s no evidence of wrongdoing with President Trump.”
Meanwhile, Giuliani also threw more light on negations for Trump’s sit down for an interview with Mueller, and repeated his new demands.
Giuliani has said that he wants the Mueller to show a “factual basis” before Trump agrees to testify under oath.
Adding, “We’re not asking to show us that he committed a crime. Of course he didn’t commit a crime. They can investigate forever. They’re not going to find any of that. What we’re asking them for is: Is this the witch hunt that a lot of people think it is? Or is there a factual basis for this?”
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