Michael Cohen's lawyer says Cohen wouldn't accept a pardon from Trump

Lanny Davis turns down a Trump pardon for Michael Cohen — (Image credit: Screenshow/Twitter/Today)

Michael Cohen is a changed man who now wants only to tell the truth about President Trump, for the good of his family and his country, Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis told Samantha Guthrie on Wednesday's Today, a day after Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts of tax evasion, lying to a bank, and campaign finance violations, some of which directly implicate Trump. Davis said prosecutors have an airtight case that Trump committed a crime, and after the second time he pitched Cohen's legal GoFundMe site, Guthrie brought up the wild card in all this.

"There's one person who could make Michael Cohen's legal problems go away in an instant," Guthrie said. "Is he hoping for a pardon from President Trump?" "Not only is he not hoping for it, he would not accept a pardon," Davis said. "He considers a pardon from somebody who has acted so corruptly as president to be something he would never accept."

You can't accept what isn't offered, of course, and Trump famously bristles at perceived disloyalty.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.