Michael Cohen in 2018 had his then-attorney, Stephen Ryan, ask about the possibility of receiving a pardon from President Trump, Cohen's current lawyer, Lanny Davis, told The Wall Street Journal Wednesday. This request from Ryan was first reported by the Journal Monday but was not then confirmed by Cohen's camp.
Davis said Cohen last year "directed [Ryan] to explore possibilities of a pardon at one point with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani as well as other lawyers advising President Trump." The inquiry was made in spring 2018, after the FBI raided Cohen's home and office, and Giuliani reportedly suggested a future pardon was possible.
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But Davis argued to The New York Times there is no contradiction of the testimony because Cohen was talking about his actions after July 2018, "the period where he had made his decision to tell the truth." Davis also said Ryan contacted Trump's team because they had been "dangling" the possibility of a pardon, and that Cohen was "willing to explore" this when "he was still part of their club."
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