Former President Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen says he is “not interested” in a presidential pardon – and says Trump will face legal issues on his own shortly after leaving the White House.
“It has to do with his finances, it has to do with his tax returns, it has to do with his properties, it has to do with the personal financial statements he has made and provided to obtain loans,” said Cohen. on CBSN Thursday.
AN number of investigations could cause legal problems for Mr. Trump after he stepped down in January, including possible investigations by Congress, as well as investigations by New York and Washington, DC, attorney generals and the Manhattan District Attorney.
Cohen said he was questioned by the team of the state attorney general and the district attorney’s office and said the investigators are “well prepared” with their evidence to “act relatively quickly” in their investigations.
“I believe there is an increasing amount of evidence that they will be suing,” said Cohen. “Some parts, of course, are civilians and other parts are criminal.”
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges of fraud, campaign violations and lying to the congress and was sentenced to 3 years in prison. He was granted confinement at home due to the pandemic earlier this year. President Trump has repeatedly criticized Cohen as a known liar, but Cohen says he has documents to support his claims.
There is currently only one publicly known investigation this could lead to criminal charges for Trump, led by Manhattan prosecutor Cyrus Vance Jr.. Initially, it aimed at secret payments made during the 2016 campaign for adult movie star Stormy Daniels, but Vance’s office has since indicated in court cases that it has expanded to examine possible crimes as far-reaching as fraud and tax evasion.
However, the timing of Vance’s investigation is unclear. His vacancy is in dispute in 2021 and it is unlikely that the case will be resolved until a new prosecutor is installed.
Cohen declined to comment on any details of what he told investigators, but said “I know what they are looking for” and said they already have a “multitude of evidence” built.
Asked about the mentality of the president, Cohen, who worked as Trump’s “fixer” for years before his public split, said: “What he is now is very, very nervous and he is very scared because in 27 days he knows Joe Biden will be sworn in, and that is when there will be a multitude of litigations and subpoenas that will be circulating and that he can no longer control. “
Cohen admitted to lying to the president to cover up what he now calls Trump’s “dirty acts”.
“When I started to realize that I was being used by Trump and the government as his scapegoat, I didn’t want to end up being remembered in history as the villain in Donald Trump’s story,” Cohen told CBSN.
Instead Mr. Trump’s partners Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, among others, Cohen received no pardon from the president – and he “didn’t expect one” either.
“I really believe that those who accepted Trump’s filth will have the stench of corruption following his name and that of his family in the coming decades,” he said. “It’s just another shameful act by Trump.”
The president began announcing several pardons and commutations on Wednesday night. Among the first was Flynn, who briefly served as a national security adviser before pleading guilty lying to the FBI and former Trump campaign official George Papadopoulos. Forgiveness for Stone and Manafort were announced the following night.
All four of Trump’s allies, like Cohen, have been indicted on charges stemming from the Mueller investigation.
Graham Kates contributed reporting.