Trump's former attorney is warning him about his current one
A blast from President Trump's past had an urgent message for him on Friday: Don't trust Michael Cohen.
Jay Goldberg, Trump's former attorney, told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that Trump called him last week seeking advice, and he let the president know that on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 meaning Cohen would fully protect Trump, Cohen "isn't even a 1." Cohen, Trump's personal lawyer, is under criminal investigation, and last week, FBI agents raided his home, office, and hotel room, searching for documents having to do with payments made to two women who claim they had sexual encounters with Trump, among other matters.
Cohen is known for his loyalty to Trump, but Goldberg told the Journal he let Trump know he thinks Cohen "will never stand up" for him and might even agree to wear a wire, "I don't care what Michael says." Goldberg also said he doesn't think Trump has done anything illegal, but if charged, Cohen would turn against him and begin cooperating with prosecutors. "The mob was broken by Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano caving in out of the prospect of a jail sentence," Goldberg noted.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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