Trump's personal lawyer is now a person of interest in the Russia probe


President Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is now facing scrutiny in the ongoing investigation into the Trump team's ties to Russia, ABC News reports. Cohen was asked to "provide information and testimony" about any contact he has had with people connected to the Russian government, but he declined "as the request was poorly phrased, overly broad, and not capable of being answered," Cohen said.
That prompted the Senate Intelligence Committee to unanimously vote to allow chairman Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and ranking Democrat Sen. Mark Warner (Va.) to issue subpoenas as they see fit. Trump's ousted national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who is at the heart of the investigations, earlier refused to comply with a subpoena issued by the committee. Other people of interest in the investigation, including Trump's informal adviser Roger Stone and his former foreign policy adviser Carter Page, are cooperating with the committee.
Cohen was identified by name in an unverified dossier prepared by former British spy Christopher Steele, which alleged he had worked with Russia to hack the Democratic Party during the campaign. Cohen has called the allegations "laughably false," and several details have been debunked by ABC News. Read the full report at ABC News here.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
The best historical fiction of 2025
The Week Recommends Let these compelling tales whisk you away to another century
-
Taz Sarhane's mallard with pine nut sauce and boulangère potatoes
The Week Recommends Bold duck, crispy potatoes and silky pine-nut sauce come together in this earthy yet refined dish
-
Cambodian pork and rice recipe
The Week Recommends This street-food dish is traditionally eaten for breakfast, but makes a delicious dinner, too
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suit
Speed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law