A lawyer for Michael Cohen brought up the possibility of a pardon to President Trump's attorneys last April, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal in a report published Monday.
The discussion took place after FBI agents raided Cohen's home, office, and hotel room. His lawyer at the time, Stephen Ryan, was reviewing seized files with Trump's attorneys. The lawyers — Jay Sekulow, Rudy Giuliani, and Joanna Hendon — rejected the idea of a pardon, although Giuliani said it could happen in the future, the Journal reports.
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.
After Ryan finished reviewing the seized documents, Cohen hired a new attorney and went on ABC News, saying his "first loyalty" was to his family and the United States. He has spoken to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office several times, as well as investigators in the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan who are investigating the Trump Organization.
Last year, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations in connection with paying off two women who said they had sexual affairs with Trump.
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed 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 lawSpeed 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 lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed 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 regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
