Cohen's lawyer indignantly questions why Trump wasn't charged with a crime

President Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to eight counts of financial crimes, something his own lawyer said he needed to do "so that his family can move on to the next chapter."

Cohen lawyer Lanny Davis said on Twitter that Cohen is "fulfilling his promise made on July 2 to put his family and country first and tell the truth about Donald Trump." In a follow-up tweet, Davis said Cohen "stood up and testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election. If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?"

Two of the charges are in connection with payments Cohen made before the 2016 presidential election to two women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, who said they had affairs with Trump. In his plea agreement, Cohen said he made those payments "in coordination with an at the direction of a candidate for federal office" with the "purpose of influencing the election."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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